Incidence of trauma amongst women involved in the criminal justice system is significantly higher
than that of the general population and is regularly linked with women’s offending. In recent years
there has been growing interest in trauma-informed practice which seeks to recognise and respond
to the prevalence of trauma. This interest has spread to the criminal justice sector, with numerous
prisons, probation services and the third sector in the UK all experimenting with implementing
trauma-informed approaches. Contact with a legal professional is a common thread that runs
through many women’s journeys through the criminal justice system but, in the UK at least, has not
been explored as an area in which the aforementioned trauma-informed practices could be utilised.
Through hearing the voices of women that have worked with lawyers and the voices of lawyers
themselves, this study seeks to examine the extent to which trauma-informed approaches could be
usefully implemented at this ‘touchpoint’ in the criminal justice system and whether lawyers could
become part of the trauma-informed offer for women.

There has been a growing recognition of the devastating impact that custodial sentences disproportionately have on women and their children. Yet there is there is a striking gap in the research literature and policy discourse on the distinct challenges women face earlier in their criminal justice journey – particularly in the court system.

Judicial guidance in England and Wales acknowledges that the interests of justice are unlikely to be served by either party being late or distracted because of worries over childcare, and calls for caring responsibilities to be “accommodated as far as reasonably possible”. If this standard is not met in our courts, it is likely to have a disproportionate impact on women, who are the primary carer of 90% of UK families.

Through qualitative interviews with 12 women, this research seeks to examine the extent to which the caring responsibilities of women are accommodated “as far as reasonably possible”, and the impact this has on their ability to attend and engage with the court process, as either a defendant or a witness. While small-scale, this project is an important start to the conversation about the shape of reform needed for the women, and their children, who come through our courts.

By law in England and Wales, defendants in criminal proceedings have a right to bail while awaiting trial or sentencing. The right to bail can be overturned and custodial remand imposed, only as an exceptional measure of last resort. Foreign national women are more likely to be remanded in custody than their British counterparts, often for less serious offences. They make up a significant and increasing proportion of prison admissions on remand, raising concerns that compliance with national and international standards of justice is being eroded in practice. This research explores these disparities by examining the context and processes in which bail decisions are made in England and Wales.

By law in England and Wales, defendants in criminal proceedings have a right to bail while awaiting trial or sentencing. The right to bail can be overturned and custodial remand imposed, only as an exceptional measure of last resort. Foreign national women are more likely to be remanded in custody than their British counterparts, often for less serious offences. They make up a significant and increasing proportion of prison admissions on remand, raising concerns that compliance with national and international standards of justice is being eroded in practice. This research explores these disparities by examining the context and processes in which bail decisions are made in England and Wales.

Appeals to the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) have dropped by 36% from 2011-2019. Recent research has highlighted the particular vulnerabilities of women in prison, leading to concerns women may have particular difficulties successfully accessing their right to appeal. There has been no prior research of women's experiences of appealing, so this research project set out to identify the barriers faced by women seeking to overturn unsafe convictions or unfair sentences in the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division).

The overall numbers of girls in the youth justice system and in the secure estate have fallen rapidly over the past decade. The recent decline in the use of custody is very welcome but poses significant challenges for the commissioning of placements, custodial establishments and resettlement services. Girls have become increasingly overlooked by the penal system at both a policy and a practice level and their diminishing minority in custody has exacerbated the marginalisation of their needs. Analysis of the existing literature has underlined the damaging and disruptive nature of incarceration, identified a lack of policy focus on the female population in the youth secure estate and found a paucity of available data about the nature of recent custodial sentencing, remand and placements for girls.

The primary aim of this research project is to critically examine the use of penal custody for girls in England and Wales, in order to fill a gap in the existing research, policy and practice literature. This study aimed to address this gap by analysing recent custody data, to investigate how penal detention is being used for girls from a gendered perspective.

Indeterminate Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) is one of the most controversial sentences in the history of British sentencing, creating a ‘general and systemic legal failure’ (Laws LJ in Wells (2007)). Female IPP prisoners represent an often forgotten and overlooked minority, stuck in the creaking penal system. This research provides the first empirical exploration of female prisoners on IPP still in prison, despite the abolition of the sentence in 2012.

The purpose of this study was to examine women prisoners’ experiences of the Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) decision-making processes. The research is based on semi-structured interviews with women prisoners and MBU staff in three different women’s prisons as well as with ex-prisoners. The study is limited to England and Wales.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether prison is being used as a ‘place of safety’ for women who have complex mental health needs and deemed in need of ‘protection’ from themselves. The research is based on interviews with police, court and prison staff. The researcher was also able to examine a number of warrants received from the courts to establish the reason for disposal into custody with specific emphasis on those cases where ‘own protection’ was the primary factor.
The findings suggest that the current use of prison as a place of safety for women with complex heath needs is unworkable, flawed and potentially dangerous and not in the best interests of the women offenders and prison staff.

This study stems from the author’s work as a manager with the Probation Board for Northern Ireland (PBNI), with particular responsibility for the INSPIRE Women’s Project. The research explores the transition of women from prison into the community through the women’s own accounts — within the context of Northern Ireland — and tests the view that, if women can sustain periods in the community following release beyond twelve weeks, the likelihood of successful re-integration is improved. The research used a longitudinal qualitative methodology centered on in-depth, life history interviews with women pre- and post-custody.

This qualitative research explores women’s experiences of empowerment, desistance and compliance. The main objective was to capture women’s insights about their experiences of empowerment during their engagement with enforced community sentences. The questions asked were:
• What factors do women identify as important for desistance?
• What is empowerment?
• Is being empowered an important part of desistance?
• Does enforced contact with interventions empower women, or does a court order undermine empowerment?
• What contributes to women’s decisions about engagement and compliance?
The study engaged directly with seven women sentenced to woman-specific court orders delivered within London Probation. [NB. From November 2010, London Probation implemented two woman-specific Specified Activity Requirements, available within a Community Order or Suspended Sentence Order. The two activities are the Structured Supervision for Women (SSW) one-to-one programme and sessions with Women Ahead at the Jagonari Women's Education and Resource Centre (WERC).]

It is widely thought that women are disproportionate imprisoned in comparison to their male counterparts. It might be expected that this would have changed following
publication of the Corston Report (Home Office, 2007) but there has been little research about the sentencing of women since Corston. This research project is based on interviews with judges, magistrates and probation officers in order to explore the factors that influence decision-making when sentencing women; and what sentencers take into account when they sentence or remand women to custody. The research also explores the interviewees’ awareness of women-specific needs and gender-specific community resources - and the influence that this knowledge may have on the sentencing process. Interviewees were also invited to comment on how they use community options and prison remand for women.