Why Women’s Centres Work

As I continue working alongside Molly Zogłówek on our women’s engagement project with the NWJC, I wanted to first reflect on why the NWJC is needed, what it stands for, and why the coalition’s work is so important. The NWJC was founded to elevate the voice of specialist women’s organisations and women’s centres working with women affected by the criminal justice system. 2024 sees the NWJC now partnering with 22 different women’s organisations, each expertly working in a trauma informed way, even delivering support to women in prison. I am looking forward to using my own lived experience of the criminal justice system to support the work of the NWJC and to strengthen the message of women who have spent time in prison.

And with the launch of its new National Voice & Advisory Panel, the NWJC is now doing a fantastic job of bringing together voices and perspectives of women with different backgrounds and different experiences, into the right conversations and meetings, and around the table to ensure that we are being heard.

Why do women’s centres work and why are they important?
You walk through the door of a women’s centre not sure what to expect. Women of all ages sit together talking and laughing. Women’s centres are places for women supporting women. Through compassionate listening and non-judgemental approach, the women here empower each other. At a women’s centre you are surrounded by people who see your potential and want to help you achieve your goals.

Women’s centres train their staff and keyworkers to take a non-judgemental and respectful approach, rooted in a fundamental equality between themselves and the women accessing their services. In addition to the emotional support they provide, many women’s centres offer practical support and advice too. This can include help with housing, financial issues and legal advice.

Women on probation can attend their local women’s centres to meet with their probation worker and have the added support of the centre staff to hand. The women’s centre model also enables practitioners to refer women to other partner agencies and specialist services when these are needed – for example, to provide advocacy support to pregnant women, or culturally sensitive support to Black, Asian, minoritised and migrant women.

Women’s centres are vital to empowering women and supporting them to make positive progress.

Multiple disadvantage – what does this mean for women?
Women face multiple disadvantage due to their gender alone and this is difficult enough. However, for some women, additional challenges like poverty, health issues (mental or physical), trauma, lack of education or contact with the criminal justice system create even more barriers for them to overcome. These overlapping and intersecting disadvantages are sometimes described as “multiple disadvantage”.

For women facing multiple disadvantage due to gender and race, their challenges in life are often magnified. These factors intersect and build upon each other, creating barriers that are greater than the sum of their parts. BAME women who are affected by the criminal justice system are known to suffer double disadvantage. For woman facing multiple disadvantage, having a strong support system makes a world of difference. Again, this is where women’s centres become invaluable.

Women’s centres support partnership working
Partnership working is all about bringing different people and organisations together to achieve shared goals and outcomes. When different organisations share their expertise and knowledge it allows them to learn from each other and gain a broader, deeper understanding of best practice and approach. This is one of the reasons why the NWJC’s approach as a coalition of women’s organisations is so important. Different women’s organisations working with women affected by the criminal justice system can share and learn from a wealth of shared expertise including uplifting the voices of those women with lived experience. Working together, in collaboration, enables organisations to achieve better outcomes for women and their children.

Partnership working also helps to encourage trust, understanding and cooperation between groups and, in my experience, helps to avoid retraumatising any women by having them repeat their story.

For women to be supported in a trauma informed way, a more holistic response to their problems is needed and women’s centres offer this. By bringing together in harmony organisations, individuals and services with different expertise and multiple perspectives, partnership working in women’s centres supports better outcome for the women accessing support.