Women in Irish prisons four times more likely to self harm than male inmates

Irish Prison Service reports call for screening and continuity of care  

The percentage of female prisoners self-harming (12.7%) was substantially higher than male prisoners (2.9%). Picture: iStock 

The rate of self-harm by women in Irish prisons is “disproportionately high”, with over one in eight prisoners saying they had self harmed.

On Monday, the Irish Prison Service published its fifth and sixth annual self-harm assessment and data analysis (SADA) reports for the period from 2022 to 2024.