Rebel Justice

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In today’s episode of our Someone's Daughter Podcast, we’ll be discussing WOMEN AND JUSTICE. Narince Erkan, president of Durham Rebel Justice Society, will be speaking with Hema Vyas, Life Leadership Mentor and omnipreneurial psychologist; Sue Wheatcroft, Mental Health Activist and woman with lived experience in the justice system; Amanda Hawick, Shetland Councillor and independent business owner; and Susan Pease Banitt, an award-winning author, psychotherapist and pioneer in the field of alternative therapies in psychological healing. You will hear very powerful shares and solution oriented ideas from their fields of expertise.

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In today’s episode of our Someone's Daughter Podcast, we’ll be discussing whether the law treats everyone equally and how we can think about it in terms of its application and consequences. Today’s panel includes, Sarah Kirkpatrick, the Chief Exec of Welsh Women’s Aid, Ryan Jackson, Acceleron learning's chief executive and life skills expert, Holly Bright from The View Magazine, and His Honour Judge Jinder Singh Boora, a circuit judge. They will speak about their views on whether the law treats everyone equally, and if not, what steps we can take to address that. 

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In today’s episode of our Someone's Daughter Podcast Series, we’ll hear from activist and campaigner Anna Smith Higgs, a blogger, public speaker, radio host, and also, a stroke survivor who is advocating for acceptance, body positivity and disability rights. She talks about her experience of being a disabled performer, and her involvement with our campaign Someone’s Daughter. Recently Anna has started performing her Burlesque routine at London's spectacular Proud Cabaret on the Embankment.

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Rebel Justice Podcasts : Episode 8: Capturing Personality in a Portrait 

Description:

Clare Barstowe speaks to some of the photographers and subjects in our  Someone’s Daughter campaign, sharing their experiences  on how they worked and supported each other during the photo shoot. 

Someone’s Daughter is a visual portal that gives the viewer access to the reality of the criminal justice system, which is more punitive and harmful towards women. 

Episode 8 focuses on women photographers Felicity Crawshawe, Emily Garthwaite, Kristina Varaksina and portrait subject Jennifer Joseph. The beginning of the podcast focuses on making a subject comfortable when they were all meeting for the first time. They spoke about duty of  care and letting  the subject lead the way in a photoshoot. That way, the subject feels comfortable and relaxed, so both the subject and photographer can both tell a story.

Portrait subject Jennifer Joseph, highlights the issues women  face in the criminal justice system. Jennifer tells her experience of being incarcerated and how women face many burdens once out of the system that formerly incarcerated men do not face. 

Felicity, Emily, Kristina  and Jennifer all share how essential it is to platform minority groups of women, especially photography. Photographer Emily explains  how women are afraid to speak up and prove their worth in this industry so that when she has the chance, she tries as hard as possible to make sure all women can be at a photoshoot or  an art gallery. The conversation concludes with encouragement , that all photographers  should go out and explore the world because people have amazing stories to tell.

Highlights and Minutes 

Felicity, Emily, and Kristina agree that it is significant to get the subject to share her stories and form a connection on and off camera (10:47). Emily states, "It will always be tricky if you can't relate, but you can always relate on a human level (12:20).” 

Model Jennifer then talked about her lived experience in the criminal justice system and stated, "I am somebody's daughter, and I have daughters (14:10)." Jennifer explains the difficulties of leaving her daughters as she was incarcerated and how vulnerable it made her feel (15:20). Jennifer mentions, "We are defined by the stories we tell others, and we tell ourselves," and she hopes one day women will not be defined this way (17:20). Kristina mentioned how a woman might not have a support system in their life, so, therefore, seeing an image and story of a woman going through a similar situation could be empowering and make them feel less alone (20:20). 

Jennifer mentions how any platform that steps up to reform the criminal justice system is essential (26:07). Jennifer discusses how women walk away with the more immense burden from prison. "If you ask 100 people about prison, 99 of them will tell you about a man, none of them could tell you about women, Yet if a woman is with a man and he gets her into legal trouble, she comes out the worst of it (27:25).” Jennifer talks about how there needs to be a better transition from leaving prison to going back to their communities (30:20).

Felicity, Emily, Kristina, and Jennifer then talk about the importance of mental health and how photography can help mental health (34:10). Kristina discusses how people need to hear these stories people have gone through and feel supported themselves (35:12). Felicity discusses how women photographers need to stand up more for themselves in a male-dominated field (37:47). The conversation then transitions to the overall view of minority groups being left out of the arts industry and how as photographers, they can help fix that narrati

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Rebel Justice Podcasts : Episode 7: Interview with Ivana Bacik and Farah Damji.

Welcome to The View Magazines Rebel Justice Podcast. In this weeks episode we speak to Ivana Bacik and the co-founder of The View, Farah Damji, about their involvement with Someone’s Daughter and the criminal justice system. 

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Rebel Justice Podcasts : Episode 6: Interview with Farah Nazeer, THE CEO of Women's Aid

Our sixth Rebel Justice podcast features Farah Nazeer the CEO of Women's Aid and our own Narince Erkan, a law student and president of our University Rebell Justice Societies. They take a deep dive into services for women trapped in the criminal justice system who have been victims of abuse and let down by the agencies meant to support them. Our women.

Having experience in working with human rights in Europe, and also international development in the Global South, Farah Nazeer talks to us about her vision for Women’s Aid, its perspective, goals, and the crucial services they provide.

54% of women have been victims of abuse prior to entering custody, important questions need to be asked, about how EVAWG  organisations or agencies are failing our women.

Working with specialist providers as well as community services, Women’s Aid works with and represents a number of organisations to address issues such as domestic abuse, minoritised women, disabled women and more. 

Women's Aid is well known for providing services such as chat forums, emails and direct services for survivors. Their No Women Turned Away Project provides a direct service to help women who have faced barriers accessing refuge. Women's Aid also provides policy and advocacy, campaigning, for funding policy and frameworks.

A more holistic approach is recommended when working with women in the justice system. 50% of women say they have been victims of domestic abuse as adults and as children according to the Ministry of Justice's own statistics.  This begs the question why women are finding themselves in CJS in the first place, and a service driven response needs to be implemented. 

Otherwise without early intervention, what do women end up turning to, and what circumstance do they find themselves in if they have no support?

After prison, to end the cycle of abuse, we need specialist services, a pathway to multifaceted and a holistic approach. Economic support, support for families and children must be in place to provide safe space, and to support and strengthen their mental health. Women with complex needs Need specialist services as not all services can meet needs for women with multiple or greater needs.

The No Women Turned Away project supports women with barriers to accessing refuge, due to criminal convictions, in particular, Women's Aid encourages women to be referred to refuge accommodation through this   project.

Future plans for Women’s Aid includes continuing campaigning for a Statutory Defence, where an offence is driven by abuse which was unfortunately neglected.

They will also protest against the 500 new prison places for women, this money can be better used to fund community services for women instead, or mental health or other preventative measures. 

Women’s Aid aims to change the context and cultural awareness around domestic abuse and what was broadly acceptable to make it completely intolerable.

Nothing will change unless we have a shared understanding, a shift in society's approach to domestic abuse, until every single survivor gets the service she needs.

Every single pinch point that a survivor might encounter, must be absolutely geared towards and able to identify abuse and respond to it.

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Rebel Justice Podcasts : Episode 5: Can Women with Lived Experience Be Part of the Solution? - Part 3

Madalena speaks to  model and mental health campaigner Naomi Harlow, activist and former prisoner Clare Barstow, prison law solicitor and expert Rob Welsh - from our sponsors, Instalaw, a leading prison and criminal defence law firm - and former prisoner and one of the founders of The View, Farah Damji.

Today we conclude to look at whether women with lived experience can be part of the solution when it comes to effective policy and stopping the cycle of crime and reducing reoffending. 

With thanks to all our panellists and the many people who made Someone’s Daughter possible. The campaign continues, globally, so watch our social media for dates and further announcements.

© The View Magazine 2021

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Rebel Justice Podcasts : Episode 4: Women with Lived Experience Part 2

Madalena speaks to  model and mental health campaigner Naomi Harlow, activist and former prisoner Clare Barstow, prison law solicitor and expert Rob Welsh - from our sponsors, Instalaw, a leading prison and criminal defence law firm - and former prisoner and one of the founders of The View, Farah Damji.

Today we continue to look at whether women with lived experience can be part of the solution when it comes to effective policy and stopping the cycle of crime and reducing reoffending. 

Can Women with Lived Experience Be Part of the Solution? - Part 2

We continue our series on participation of women with lived experience who can be part of the solution when it comes to effective policy and stopping the cycle of crime and reducing reoffending.

 Host of the Rebel Justice podcast, Madalena Alberta speaks to  model and mental health campaigner Naomi Harlow, activist and former prisoner Clare Barstow, prison law solicitor and expert Rob Walsh - from our sponsors, Instalaw, a leading prison and criminal defence law firm - and former prisoner and one of the founders of The View, Farah Damji.

In this episode we explore the lack of openness to new alternatives to imprisonment. Previously Rob questioned why prisoners didn't receive training etc in prison and what qualifications people can get while they are there. Prisons must provide education, learning and skills  for prisoners serving sentences. Clare also mentioned that there is currently a huge shortage of prison psychologists and prison psychiatrists and that it takes six months to even get a referral from a prison GP and then another 18 months to get any treatment.

Naomi said that because she has been working with children and young people, she saw an 8 year old child who refused to go to class. He was pained and angry that someone was ridiculing him for coming from a poor background. During the pandemic, the gap between the rich and the poor grew bigger. Although laptops are distributed in schools, they are limited in number and these gaps, between the children who have and those who don't, increased significantly. His reactions are a raw and direct response to fear and existential trauma. Support for hobbies is also an issue, as lack of money and lack of time prevent poorer children from interacting and having meaningful relationships with their peers. When we talk about choice and recovery, we have to meet people's basic needs, their mental health and emotional needs, for example, support in housing, work, self-advancement and education.

During Rob's experience representing women in prison, he found that there are many people in the prison system who need to re-establish positive family links which is an important thing, and they need to be aware of the charities and assistance available to them. But many will encounter difficulties with leaflets and information about services, loans etc.  Farah mentioned there are serious mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. These can be daunting for those who feel very vulnerable. But if someone is willing to come along with you and help your re-entry into society together, it can make a huge difference.

Everyone needs to be listened to, to feel safe, to be loved. That's why it's absolutely vital to understand how people in the system feel and for women with lived experience to be involved in the healing process of other women.

With thanks to all our panellists and the many people who made Someone’s Daughter possible. The campaign continues, globally, so watch our social media for dates and further announcements.

© The View Magazine 2021

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Rebel Justice Podcasts : Episode 3: Women with Lived Experience Part 1

Madalena speaks to  model and mental health campaigner Naomi Harlow, activist and former prisoner Clare Barstow, prison law solicitor and expert Rob Welsh - from our sponsors, Instalaw, a leading prison and criminal defence law firm - and former prisoner and one of the founders of The View, Farah Damji.

Today we look at whether women with lived experience can be part of the solution when it comes to effective policy and stopping the cycle of crime and reducing reoffending. 

With thanks to all our panellists and the many people who made Someone’s Daughter possible. The campaign continues, globally, so watch our social media for dates and further announcements.

© The View Magazine 2021

Narrated and Edited by Madalena Alberto 

Produced by The View Magazine 

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Rebel Justice Podcasts : Episode 2: The Relationship Between The Photographer And Subject.

The View's Eleanor speaks to activist Jen Reid, photographers Harry Borden,Jenny Baptiste, and  mental health campaigner Sue  Wheatcroft  about their experiences on both sides of the camera.

Our second episode is about the experience on both sides of the camera between art and activism. The Someone’s Daughter project takes photographs of women who have been involved in the criminal justice system. Survivors, lawyers and activist women who were interested in the process from charge and arrest to incarceration through to rehabilitation who are engaging in a dialogue around justice reform for women.  So, we dive into photography as a subject that moves away from the world of high fashion, shaping ordinary people and creating stunning images by telling powerful stories. True photography is about documenting real human interaction and deriving an intrinsic pleasure from the process of taking photographs, rather than using photographic techniques to give people a stamp of approval. No matter how confident a person may be, staring into a camera is a privileged experience. This sometimes can feel like it exposes our weakness, but the photographer will capture that soft side. 

Harry Boden says: "I think I've learned a lot from taking photographs because before I took them I didn't realise it was about getting inside people, not just the outside." Photographers realise that photographs need to capture the heart and mind, and not just the external image. As a photographer, making connections and producing personal images with people is vital, says Jenny Baptiste, "Because I can't afford film, I have to train my eye so it knows that I can't shoot rolls of film. I wanted to get another side of their personality in the images I selected and bring in who they were, which was very personal." 

Photographers approach the concept of image creation sympathetically, as they develop the image to gain a more personal image. 

Harry says, "Photography reflects my development as a person. Initially I would focus more on technique, but as I continued to change I focused more on creating an emotional impact with the photographs".

Personality is expressed through the eyes, like the black, militaristic mask in the photograph of Sue Wheatcroft, demonstrating strength and determination. 

During the Global Covid Pandemic photography was a huge challenge. Throughout this time Harry shifted the focus of his photography, which required a human connection, to personal work.

Intimate portraits of single fathers, and stories of love, loss and the healing power of family. This period of lockdown allowed for experimentation in finding alternative ways of communicating and very creative ways of thinking. Making people aware that there are many other things to do in life, such as caring more about family and parents.

More on Someone’s Daughter here.

With thanks to all our panellists and the many people who made Someone’s Daughter possible. The campaign continues, globally, so watch our social media for dates and further announcements.

© The View Magazine 2021

Narration and Questions by Eleanor, edited by Holly McVe. 

Produced by The View Magazine 

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