Are single sex units always a good thing?
The Government has made good on its pledge to provide single-sex secure units for women with mental health problems. Three years ago such women would not necessarily have had this option – too often they were integrated into mixed wards where they were vulnerable to abuse from male patients. But women-only units are more expensive than men’s units to maintain, and are considered more stressful for the staff - who are predominantly female.
Jenni is joined by Anna Motz, Consultant clinical and forensic psychologist with the Thames Valley Forensic Mental Health Services and Dr Ray Travers, clinical psychiatrist and director of the Primrose Project: a service for personality disordered female offenders to discuss whether our sentimental attitude to women’s relationships with other women could be hampering the potential of such units to change lives. |
