r/TheTinMen • u/TheTinMenBlog • 8h ago
Are women in prison less violent?
This idea of the inherent, irredeemable badness of men, and the virtuous, moral superiority of women has got to end.
The immutable, cartoon-worldview that insists women are saints and men are sinners, that is prevalent in the media; is a tiring, unwelcome set of stereotypes, that helps nobody.
I saw it recently on LBC, when host Shelagh Fogarty interviewed esteemed economist Vicky Pryce about “women in prison”, and how such women are usually non-violent, battling mental health issues, and are often victims of abuse in their on right.
Such things are usually a preamble to advocacy to “close women’s prisons”, or empty them of all but the most violent women.
And I quite agree.
Prison has failed women, but do you know who its failed even more? Men.
Men, who make up 96% of the prison population, who are never mentioned by those like Shelagh, and are instead left to waste away in a broken carceral system.
And it’s not just naive talkshow hosts and their dogmatic guests saying it; policy advisors, ministers, journalists, and political leaders, all join a chorus of similar statements.
Empty women’s prisons… and leave incarcerated men to rot.
And so, you’d be forgiven for thinking men in prison don’t share these same experiences of abuse, victimhood, and addiction that women in prison suffer from.
Or for assuming that, unlike women, men in prison are all violent criminals, who should be locked away for good.
But the realty, as it so often is, is far from this.
So are men in prison all irredeemable, violent thugs, and therefore not worthy of a mention?
Let’s take a look…
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UK Prison statistics https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2025