Unemployment is one of the BIGGEST scourges of modern society. Correspondingly, the last 16 years have seen a 50 percent rise in crime committed by women - as opposed to "just" 18% - among their male counterparts.

Imagine, then, the many difficulties faced by those women who've served custodial sentences ... ... not least the problem of finding suitable character references upon their release

However, here are inspiring stories of women who have successfully turned their lives around by putting skills they previously hadn't realised they'd possessed, to good use, by setting themselves up
in legitimate businesses.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38315132 ...