In this episode we look back to 2023’s Motherhood in the Justice System Series when we explored the issues and challenges mothers in the justice system face, and what needs to change. Maternal health was a key feature in the series including a focus on experiences of pregnancy, birth and the post-natal period.

In this episode we bring together the voices of two guests in this series. Dr Laura Abbott is a registered midwife and Associate Professor in Research at The University of Hertfordshire, who has extensively researched women’s experiences of pregnancy in criminal justice settings. We also hear from Dr Miranda Davies who leads prisoner health research at the Nuffield Trust - this body of work is the first time routine hospital data at a national level has been used to describe how often prisoners use hospital services and for what reasons.

Please note this episode contains discussion of traumatic births and infant mortality that some listeners may find upsetting. 

Explore Dr Laura Abbott’s research: https://researchprofiles.herts.ac.uk/en/persons/laura-abbott/projects/ , and the Lost Mothers Project https://lostmothers.org/

Find Dr Laura Abbott on X (formerly Twitter) or Bluesky @midwifeteacher

Read the Nuffield Trust’s report ‘Inequality on the inside: Using hospital data to understand the key health care issues for women in prison’

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This podcast is created and produced by The London Podcast Company

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In this episode Lilly Lewis, Women’s Involvement Advisor at One Small Thing speaks to Stephanie Bechelet and Thea Arch from Brainkind.

Last month Brainkind released a report which found that 80% of women in the criminal justice system in Wales may be living with a brain injury. Alongside this they found the women in the study had complex health needs, frequently reporting histories of domestic abuse, substance misuse, and mental and physical health issues.

Lilly speaks to Stephanie and Thea about this important research, as well as their wider work on brain injury for women who have experienced domestic abuse.

Please note this episode contains description of abuse and violence and its impact on women’s lives.

To read the full report visit: https://brainkind.org/complex-lives/

Find out more about the work of Brainkind: https://brainkind.org/

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This podcast is created and produced by The London Podcast Company

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Despite the fact that 51% of the population will experience menopause, and the estimated 13 million people who are currently peri or menopausal in the UK, the topic of menopause has remained taboo. In 2022 I was delighted to speak to two advocates driving change in the national conversation around menopause on their experience of this transition, and what needs to change to ensure more women have access to the support they need – including those in the justice system.

I spoke with Davina McCall, renowned TV presenter and household name who has presented documentaries about the menopause and is author of Menopausing, The Positive Roadmap to Your Second Spring which seeks to debunk myths, and break the shameful silence over the menopause. I was also joined by Carolyn Harris, MP for Swansea East who established the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on menopause and has played a pivotal role in putting menopause on the national agenda.

More information:

Read the APPG on Menopause Inquiry to assess the impacts of menopause and the case for policy reform: https://menopause-appg.co.uk/inquiry/

Read Menopausing, The Positive Roadmap to Your Second Spring, by Davina McCall and Dr. Naomi Potter: https://www.waterstones.com/book/menopausing/davina-mccall/dr-naomi-potter/9780008517786

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In this episode Edwina looks back to 2021 and 2022 when she interviewed representatives from two women’s organisation who provide specific tailored substance use support to women.

She spoke with Hannah Shead, CEO of Trevi, the only UK residential rehabilitation centre exclusively for mothers and their children, and Jo-Anne Welsh, former CEO of The Oasis Project which provides women-specific services and a trauma-informed approach to substance misuse treatment.

Discussions include the barriers women face accessing appropriate treatment within prison and the community and why services like Trevi and The Oasis Project are so important.

To learn more about the work of Trevi visit:

https://www.trevi.org.uk

Learn more about The Oasis Project: https://www.oasisproject.org.uk/

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This podcast is created and produced by The London Podcast Company

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In this episode we explore diversion schemes for women, and what role they play in preventing women from being unnecessarily drawn further into the criminal justice system. Edwina speaks to Pamela Price South London Women's Hubs Manager, and Miranda Dobson Head of Communications from Women in Prison (WIP) to learn more about the diversion scheme they run in South London, linked to their women’s centres. The programme aims to provide early intervention and support for women who have been taken into police custody, addressing underlying issues such as housing, poverty, and substance use.

This episode highlights the challenges faced by women in the criminal justice system, including the stigma and shame associated with criminalisation, particularly for mothers, and explores the positive outcomes diversion schemes can have – such as improvements in mental health, relationships, and well-being. 

Learn more about the work of Women in Prison here: www.womeninprison.org.uk

Follow them on X @WIP_live, on Instagram @womeninprisonuk, and on LinkedIn @Women in Prison.

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This podcast is created and produced by The London Podcast Company

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In this episode our Women’s Involvement Advisor Lilly Lewis explores Problem Solving Courts for women with Dr Alexandria Bradley Senior Lecturer in Criminology, and Dr Sarah Waite Senior Lecturer in Law and Criminology from Leeds Beckett University. Alexandria and Sarah are currently evaluating Greater Manchester’s Problem Solving Court for Women, a community justice initiative Lilly also knows well from her work supporting women in the Manchester area.

The Problem Solving Court in Greater Manchester is a process in which the woman, the courts, probation services and women’s centres work together to support the woman to adhere to her court order and to achieve positive outcomes for herself. 

The episode looks at how the approach works and what the evaluation will explore, as well as broader discussions on what a trauma informed community justice system could look like and what support services are needed.

Learn more about Greater Manchester’s Problem Solving court in a blog by Fiona Deacon, Strategic Lead for Women for Greater Manchester Probation: https://www.russellwebster.com/the-greater-manchester-problem-solving-court/

Learn more about the work of Dr Alexandria Bradley here: https://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/staff/dr-alexandria-bradley/ and find them on X: @DrAlexandriaB

Learn more about the work of Dr Sarah Waite here: https://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/staff/sarah-waite/ and find them on X: @DrSWaite1

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This podcast is created and produced by The London Podcast Company

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In this episode we look at what’s needed to prevent young women getting caught up in the justice system and what community-based solutions are needed.

Lilly is joined by Indy Cross, CEO of Agenda Alliance, who shares learning from their Young Women’s Justice Project. In partnership with the Alliance for Youth Justice, the project engages with young women, front-line practitioners and other experts, with the aim to build a strong evidence base and influence practice and policy to better meet the needs of young women in contact with, or at risk of being in contact with the justice system.

We also speak with a young woman Caiyan from Daddyless Daughters, a key partner in the Young Women’s Justice Project, who shares her insights into what support should be provided. Daddyless Daughters supports girls and young women who have been affected by family breakdown, abuse and adversity across London between the age of 11 – 25 years old. Aliyah Ali, Founder of the organisation, also joins us to share more about their mission.

Learn more:

Agenda Alliance work to promote understanding of, and encourage systems and services to respond better to, the experiences of women and girls with multiple or complex unmet needs. Learn more about Agenda Alliance https://www.agendaalliance.org/ and on X: @Agenda_alliance ,Instagram: @agenda_alliance

Read the Young Women’s Justice project reports and find out more about the project: https://www.agendaalliance.org/our-work/projects-and-campaigns/young-womens-justice-project/

Learn more about Daddyless Daughters https://www.daddylessdaughters.co.uk/ X: @theddproject_ , Instagram: @daddyless_daughters

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This podcast is created and produced by The London Podcast Company

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This episode celebrates the one year anniversary of Hope Street opening, our residential community for women and their children in contact with the Justice System. Edwina and the team look back at our service design and intentions and reflects on the first-year and the challenges and opportunities so far.

This episode draws on previous interviews for the JUSTICE podcast such as with Lilly Lewis, One Small Thing’s Women’s Involvement Advisor exploring why a different kind of approach and space for women in the Justice system was needed. It also examines the design of the project with Mike Worthington, lead architect on Hope Street and Dr Madeline Petrillo, Associate professor of Criminology from Greenwich University who has been researching the co-production design process we used. We hear from Hope Street evaluation lead Dr Emma Plugge from the University of Southampton on the learning we hope to gather over coming years.

To mark one year we also spoke to the CEO of One Small Thing Claire Hubberstey and a number of the team at Hope Street on how the first year has gone and their challenges, successes and hopes for Hope Street.

Learn more about Hope Street www.onesmallthing.org.uk/hopestreet

Follow us on Instagram  @hopestreet_ost

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This podcast is created and produced by The London Podcast Company. 

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In this episode we explore suspended sentences and what a presumption against short prison sentences really means. With the election this year, it is not clear which policies will be upheld if there is a change in Government, however recently Lord Chancellor Alex Chalk announced intentions to introduce a presumption against sentences of less than 12 months in England and Wales, in favour of these short sentences being suspended in the community.

Experts Dr Shona Minson and Dr. Cyrus Tata discuss the effectiveness of this policy in Scotland since it was introduced over a decade ago, finding little impact on reducing custody rates. They explore the proposed legislation in England and Wales, challenging assumptions around it’s suggested impact, and highlighting that without both clarity of vision and proper investment in community support, prison will often be used as the default.

We explore how vital community support services, such as women’s centres, are for women involved in the justice system, 66% of whom receive sentences of less that 12 months and would therefore have their sentences suspended under the new presumption.

Learn more about Dr Cyrus Tata https://www.strath.ac.uk/staff/tatacyrusprof/ and find them on Twitter @CyrusTata1

Learn more about Dr Shona Minson https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/people/shona-minson and find them on Twitter @ShonaMinson

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This podcast is created and produced by The London Podcast Company. 

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Introducing our new series of JUSTICE where we will be exploring community justice solutions for women. What are community justice solutions? And why are they important for women? For the first time, this series will be co-hosted by Edwina Grosvenor with One Small Thing’s Women’s Involvement Advisor Lilly Lewis.

Along with expert guests we’ll delve into different sentencing options, and initiatives aimed at keeping women in the community, as well as prevention and diversion. Importantly, we’ll be highlighting why it’s vital we stop sending women to prison unnecessarily, and focus on providing support within communities. 

Our JUSTICE podcast series exploring community justice solutions will be out this Summer. To keep up to date with all the latest episode releases subscribe to JUSTICE, and follow us on X @OSTCharity.

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