The Pain Inside: women and self-injury in prison

Abstract

Over the past few years the issue of self-injury (or self-harm as it is more commonly known) is slowly making its way into the public eye. From the character of Lisa on the popular evening soap ‘Hollyoaks’, to an admission by Dame Kelly Holmes about her self-injury prior to her double gold medal winning performance at the Athens Olympics. Understanding and awareness of the issues surrounding self-injury are still questionable, with derogatory articles about self-injury still published in the national press. For those working with and supporting people who self-injure this is of course the tip of the iceberg. The Bristol Crisis Service for Women not only supports women who self-injure, but over the past three years has focused on producing information specifically for women considered most at risk.