More community sentences should be tailor-made for women to keep them out of jail, a women’s equality group has claimed.

The Fawcett Society urged the Ministry of Justice to devise the punishments because jail terms for many female offenders are “futile”.

The report, by academics Loraine Gelsthorpe and Gilly Sharpe and consultant Jenny Roberts, said effective community schemes would cut re-offending and allow offenders to stay with their children.

The charity’s Jon Collins said: “Women who offend have specific needs which are not being met in a prison system designed for men.

“This report shows how community services designed specifically for female offenders can better meet the needs of women and their families, reducing re-offending and benefiting wider society.”

He said nearly two-thirds of women inmates have drug problems, most have experienced domestic violence or sexual abuse and at least 70 per cent have mental health problems.

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