Women’s Justice

Women face unique challenges when they are charged and convicted of a crime. At least 60% have experienced domestic abuse and 70% have mental health issues.

Whether the abuse meant she was pressured into offending, blamed for her partner’s offending, or backed into a corner so that she had no choice but to offend, the court must know the full context of the abuse and its impacts if it is to deliver justice.

Women defendants’ mental health and learning disabilities are often insufficiently addressed in court. Sometimes the issues are missed by people involved in the trial, maybe because they are masked by other matters like language and cultural differences. Sometimes the experts instructed don’t have the appropriate expertise to deal with the complicated issues presented, like if they don’t understand the impact of coercive control on mental health.

Prison presents different issues for women. Women often have caring responsibilities for children or other family members, and their imprisonment disproportionately impacts others. Their children will often go into care. As there are fewer women’s prisons, they are more likely to be further away from their families and loved ones, making it harder to preserve their relationships. If women are pregnant when they are sentenced to prison, they are likely to experience poorer healthcare and outcomes than women outside prison.

Our specialist lawyers represent women to challenge their wrongful convictions and unfair sentences. We seek to empower women to become advocates for reform and use our knowledge and experience to campaign for a gender responsive criminal justice system.

If you are looking for legal help with a case, please click here.

POVERTY IS NOT A CRIME

From 2018-2023 APPEAL was working to end the criminalisation of debt, which disproportionately affects women. We had been campaigning to end the criminalisation of the non-payment of the BBC’s TV Licence fee. We were also working to end the practice of sending people to prison for not paying their council tax.

We achieved a number of successes which you can read about here (TV Licensing) and here (council tax).

If you or someone you know is being prosecuted for not paying a TV Licence fee our resources may be able to help – please click here.