Some of these include the small number of women in British prisons, the ways in which they express distress at imprisonment, and their role as primary carers for children. Women in prison have different offending patterns from men and a higher proportion are from minority groups. While the use of custody is increasing for women, this report argues that attention must be given to reducing the use of imprisonment for women, most of whom are convicted of property offenses. In addition, the number of women remanded into custody should be reduced and greater use should be made of the Crown Prosecution Service's power to discontinue prosecution on public interest grounds. Women should be remanded in custody as close to home as possible and should be afforded full opportunities to exercise their due process rights. In areas where there is no prison for women, women offenders should be held, on an experimental basis, in local houses or hostel-style prisons. Other recommendations in this report refer to the situation of foreign national women imprisoned in the UK and other aspects of equal opportunities for women prisoners. 5 tables and 11 references