As Christmas approaches in a women's prison, the decorations and trees become brighter and fill up more of the available space, covering up blank walls and distracting the eye from harsh lighting and a maze of corridors. The women have taken part in creating the decorations, made drawings and paintings, put glitter balls on trees, and hung homemade paper chains. The overall effect is striking, evoking both nostalgia and sadness.

Yet the image is one of a fantasy, an ideal of Christmas rather than an accurate representation of what this holiday was actually like when the vast majority of women were outside, with families. For so many of the women incarcerated for crimes, often nonviolent, the holidays were not times of joy, peace, and harmonious family gatherings, but were marred by scenes of violence within their families, often alcohol- or drug-fueled, and characterised by disappointment and pain. The women in prison have often been the victims rather than the perpetrators of such violence, and many suffer lasting consequences, including acquired brain injury. In one study of women in a U.K. prison, 64% of women reported histories indicative of brain injuries, far exceeding general population rates. Furthermore, the majority of these injuries (72%) were traumatic, with

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