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One in four women prisoners self-harm every year

Research

As many as one in four women prisoners in England and Wales self-harm every year, with women in prison four times more likely to self-harm than men.

The findings come from the largest ever study of self-harm in prisons led by Dr Seena Fazel and Professor Keith Hawton from the University of Oxford.

The researchers examined the prevalence of self-harm in all prisoners in England and Wales between 2004 and 2009 and the results are published in the medical journal The Lancet.

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