This article reveals the main contributory factors to suicide among female prisoners and shows that overcrowding is a factor exacerbating the risk of suicide. In-depth interviews were conducted with ten female prisoners in one closed prison in 2007. They focused on incidents of self-harm and attempted suicide revealing the negative impact of the prison experience and, in particular, the effect of overcrowding. There are few studies looking at the link between overcrowding and suicide. This study highlights the need to explore this link especially at a time when overcrowding and suicide in prisons are high.

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