Centre for Women’s Justice (CWJ) welcomes the government’s announcement of new funding for women’s specialist services, and the Women’s Justice Board’s report and recommendations for reducing women’s imprisonment, published on 16 March, which we urge the government to adopt in full. In particular, the Board has recommended that the government should:
Strengthen decision-making by police and prosecutors about victims of violence against women and girls (VAWG) who are accused of offending, and provide effective defences.
Conduct research into the circumstances and needs of longer sentenced women currently in prison, to help women progress towards release and draw out learning to reduce future imprisonment where appropriate for women accused of more serious offences, particularly for those whose experience of VAWG was relevant to their offence.
Legislate to end imprisonment of pregnant women in all but the most exceptional cases.
Develop a Young Women’s Strategy aimed at preventing young women’s entry into the criminal justice system and imprisonment, particularly for victims of VAWG.
Adopt an anti-racist, intersectional approach in all work to reduce women’s imprisonment, to address disparities faced by Black, Asian, minoritised and migrant women, and those with other protected characteristics.
Nearly 70% of women in prison are victims of domestic abuse, and for many it was the experience of abuse that directly led to them being accused of offending. More than half of women in prison are estimated to have suffered a traumatic brain injury, often through domestic abuse.
Victim-survivors of coercive control who have shared their experiences as part of our research and short films, have told us how their experience of abuse led directly to them being prosecuted – with the state effectively extending the abuse experienced from their perpetrator and causing untold additional harm and trauma.
The government must now act to address these harms by changing the law and ensuring victims have an effective defence when they are accused of offending.
We also join our sister organisations in urging the government to reconsider its harmful proposals on asylum and ‘earned settlement’ which will put Black and minoritised migrant victims of VAWG further into harm’s way, and increase their risk of unfair criminalisation.
The government must now respond to this important report by publishing a cross-government strategy for reducing women’s imprisonment, with measurable and time-bound aims, a coherent plan for communication with external stakeholders and a commitment to publish regular reviews of progress.
Harriet Wistrich, Solicitor and CEO of CWJ, said:
“The evidence has been clear for many years that the criminal justice system is failing women who – when reporting abuse or fighting back against their abuser, or after being forced by their abuser to commit an offence – find themselves in the dock while their perpetrator goes free.
“The government made important commitments in its Freedom from Violence and Abuse strategy to improve training and awareness amongst criminal justice practitioners of how victim-survivors can become criminalised as a result of abuse. However, tweaks to the system won’t give women the protection they need. The government must now go further and implement the Women’s Justice Board’s recommendations in full, including effective defences for victims of domestic abuse who are accused of offending.”
ENDS