The screening should take place within two weeks of a domestic abuse protection notice or order being issued, or within two weeks of a domestic abuse charge against an alleged perpetrator, states Labour MP Chris Bryant’s tabled amendment to the bill.
Bryant has also put forward an amendment stating that female prisoners must be screened for TBI and other forms of acquired brain injury, including concussion, within two weeks of starting their sentence.
The screening will help to determine if the woman has been the subject of domestic abuse and, if testing shows that this abuse caused a brain injury, she should be “given appropriate rehabilitation treatment and advice”.
“My clause seeks to say every single woman prisoner coming onto [the] prison estate should be screened,” Bryant said in the House of Commons hearing of the bill yesterday.
“Secondly, every single woman who it’s already been decided is victim of domestic violence should be screened for brain injury so we can give them the proper neurorehabilitation they require so they can understand condition they have and lead a fuller life.”
Bryant referred to a programme carried out by the Disabilities Trust from 2016 to 2018, where prisoners in Drake Hall women’s prison were screened for brain injuries.
Of 173 women within the prison, 64 per cent reported a history indicative of brain injury, and of those, 96 per cent reported a history indicative of TBI. Almost two thirds of those supported through the service reported sustaining their brain injury through domestic violence.
“It showed real benefits in terms of preventing reoffending and managing prisoners’ space,” Bryant told NR Times.
“A common feature of TBI is not responding well to loud noise and a chaotic environment. Putting prisoners who’ve had a brain injury in a quieter end of the prison makes a different to their ability to be in the prison calmly.”
But Bryant’s tabled amendments were not a smooth process in the House of Commons yesterday.
“All I wanted to do was get this started again in all female prisons,” Bryant told NR Times. “But the government seemed to think I was calling for all adults across the UK to be screened for TBI.
“I wasn’t, and had a row with the minister afterwards. She’s now guaranteed a meeting before the bill goes to the House of Lords.”
The two tabled amendments were signed by MPs including Stella Creasy, Caroline Lucas and Clive Lewis, and have received support online from numerous charities and organisations.
Chloe Hayward, executive director of United Kingdom Acquired Brain Injury Forum (UKABIF), tells NR Times: “UKABIF would like to thank Chris Bryant for his tenacity. His continued endeavours to ensure that people with acquired brain injury are supported and rehabilitated are much appreciated. We are grateful that Chris continues to raise issues at the highest level.”
