We are delighted by the Lord Chancellor’s announcement that this government will take a fundamentally different approach to women’s contact with the criminal justice system, marked by the creation of the Women’s Justice Board. We have led calls for the creation of this board, through our involvement in the National Women’s Justice Coalition, in order to radically reduce the women’s prison population, prevent women from being separated from their children, and prioritise community-based services to address the drivers of women’s offending – poverty, unmet mental health needs, trauma and abuse.
Prison has never been, and will never be, a safe or appropriate place for pregnant women and mothers of infants. We have campaigned for a different approach since our foundation in 1996. Better solutions can, and do, lie in the community, through the support delivered by specialist women’s services. We look forward to working closely with the Women’s Justice Board to foreground these alternatives to prison and deliver better, kinder and more effective solutions for women.
As the only charity specialising in the needs associated with criminal justice involvement during pregnancy and early motherhood, we expect Birth Companions to have a seat at this important new table.
If you would like to discuss this news, or Birth Companions' wider work in this area, please get in touch with Kirsty Kitchen.
