Double Disadvantage: One Year On Roundtable

On Wednesday, March 1st, Agenda Alliance, Criminal Justice Alliance, Hibiscus Initiatives, Muslim Women in Prison, Women in Prison and Zahid Mubarek Trust held our Tackling Double Disadvantage Action Plan ‘One Year On’ roundtable, an online discussion as part of our Tackling Double Disadvantage project.

Chaired by Sonya Ruparel, CEO of Women in Prison, the roundtable brought together senior leaders from criminal justice agencies including the police, the Crown Prosecution Service, the Magistrates’ Association, HM Prison and Probation Service, the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office to take stock of progress to date, and ensure we hold each other to account in our efforts to achieve change and prioritise work for the year ahead.

Launched a year ago, the Tackling Double Disadvantage Action Plan provides practical steps to address and reduce inequalities faced by Black, Asian, minoritised and migrant women in the criminal justice system, including the overrepresentation of women and girls from ethnic minority groups at all stages of the criminal justice process.

During the event, we heard directly from women with lived experience about how important the project was to them given the challenges and disparate treatment they had faced within the system, and their desire to ensure that no other woman be at a ‘double disadvantage’.

We also heard from senior officials across crime and policing, probation and the courts who shared the progress they have made since the last roundtable as well as some of the challenges they have been facing in driving changes through. While challenges such as staffing capacity and a lack of disaggregated data came into play, there has been some progress: mandatory training on issues such as unconscious bias, research on racial disproportionality, partnerships with community organisations and upcoming plans to update guidance and strategies. Throughout the discussion, the necessity of the work was regularly emphasised as well as a commitment to implement change and centre the voices of women with lived experience.

Following the event, we will continue to work with decision makers and women with lived experience to ensure the recommendations in the action plan are implemented.