Working Chance welcomes the government’s announcement of an additional £10m investment, bringing total funding to £31.6m towards women’s services, aimed at addressing the underlying causes of women’s offending and reducing reoffending.
The investment is intended for women’s centres and specialist women’s organisations – with an emphasis on addressing the causes of offending as opposed to defaulting to short prison sentences. The purpose of the Women’s Justice Board was to reduce the overall number of women in prison and this investment in community provision is a step in the right direction to achieve this.
Alongside the funding announcement, the Women’s Justice Board has released its report on measures to reduce the number of women in prison. It recommends a holistic approach, diverting women into support services and intervening early. This recognises that community alternatives to custody are significantly more effective at tackling offending in the first place, and at preventing reoffending later down the line.
The themes in the report are hugely welcome, particularly:
- Reducing the number of women in prison, particularly for non-violent offences. This is both necessary and long overdue.
- A holistic approach which considers women’s diverse experiences and support needs. Both the evidence and women supported by Working Chance tell us that specialist support services are best placed to tackle the root causes of women’s offending, for example poverty and domestic abuse.
- Recognition of racial and structural inequalities. The justice system must consider the reality that some communities are treated unfairly by the existing systems, and a real commitment to an anti-racist approach could address these disparities.
Working Chance is encouraged to see real change on its way for women who find themselves in the criminal justice system. It is only through addressing each woman’s individual needs that we can set her up to succeed. But we must closely monitor how this investment is delivered, because women need practical and systemic change, not more rhetoric.
We also welcome the recognition that employment is a crucial part of reducing reoffending and improving outcomes for women. We welcome the recommendation of a cross‑departmental review of disclosure requirements to understand the impact of low‑level criminal records on women’s job prospects, while urging that employment pathways for all women with all convictions are improved.
The need for funding and specialist intervention is urgent. We hope to see:
- Long-term funding including grants programmes for women’s services going forward
- Funding that is accessible to specialist organisations across the voluntary sector, including smaller local organisations as well as larger charities primed for MoJ contracts.
With sustained commitment and meaningful investment, women’s specialists and government can build a criminal justice system that actually works for women: supporting those who truly need it and addressing offending at its root.
