The government has immediately implemented the first recommendation of Susannah Hancock’s independent review into girls in the Children and Young People Secure Estate (CYPSE):  girls will no longer be placed in Young Offender Institutions.

This is a positive step to address some of the issues of treatment and care of girls in custody, but further recommendations from the independent review should be considered as soon as possible.

The independent review into placements and care for girls in the CYPSE

Girls make up less than 2% of the children in the CYPSE currently.  Despite the small number of girls in custody, the long-standing issue of appropriate placements for girls has not been resolved.

In March 2025, Susannah Hancock published her report following an independent review into placement and care for girls in the CYPSE.

The review identified several key themes relating to girls in custody:

• Girls entering the youth justice system are vulnerable and have complex needs.  They have likely experienced trauma, physical abuse, sexual abuse and/or victimisation.  Custodial settings can therefore retraumatise girls.
• Girls often experience mental health challenges resulting from trauma and are involved in more than half the self-harm incidents across the youth estate in England and Wales.
• Currently, there is inadequate trauma-informed care for girls and a lack of focus on girl-specific physical health issues that can often impact behaviour and wellbeing.
• Black, Brown and Racialised girls and girls with other protected characteristics experience discrimination and disadvantage in the youth justice system as compared to white girls.
• There is a lack of specialised support in the community, in particular around health and welfare. This is significant given the connection between girls’ involvement in the care system and likelihood of offending.