The Women’s Justice Board: An Opportunity To Pioneer A New Era Of Lived Experience Leadership?

Last month, Shabana Mahmood MP announced Labour’s plans to launch a new Women’s Justice Board with the clear goal of minimising the number of women sent to prison and ultimately reducing the number of women’s prisons. After collectively campaigning for the cause, including writing directly to newly appointed Minister of State for Justice, Lord James Timpson, partners of the NWJC welcomed this announcement.

The new Women’s Justice Board provides an ideal opportunity to explore the purpose and benefits of centring the voices of women with lived experience, and in turn, for organisations in women’s justice to reflect on the way they currently engage women with lived experience in their work.

Why do we need lived experience leadership?
Glady, we’ve seen more and more organisations who support women impacted by the justice system make a conscious effort to involve women with lived experience, like me, in their work over the past few years. They recognise that we hold the key to fundamental change in the sector. Radical change is needed to reduce the negative impact of the justice system of women and those changes are possible through our lived experience perspectives, when we are empowered to challenge the status quo. The sector must listen to our voices to fully reflect on stagnant models of thinking and harmful practice and learn from the cracks in the system that women are left to fall through.

Voices of women with lived experience also have the power to encourage people to step out of the echo chambers that shape public opinion, address dangerous narratives about women impacted by the justice system and challenge baseless prejudice and misguided stigmatisation.

How are women with lived experience involved now?
Organisations working with women with lived experience often have good intentions in wanting to centre their voices and share positive stories of rehabilitation, transformation and empowerment. However, to avoid belittling and retraumatising women, more trauma-informed consideration needs to be given to the emotional labour required to rehash our painful stories. Tokenism and ill-considered intent can cause women with lived experience to disengage with the positive work within the sector that we desperately need to re-engage with.

To that end, NWJC Partners are calling for the Women’s Justice Board to lead the way by enabling women with lived experience to contribute directly as Board members as well as participating in the Women in Justice Partnership Delivery Group that will advise the Board.

Where should you involve women with lived experience?
The example set by the Women’s Justice Board could encourage more organisations to consider how to involve women with lived experience in strategic thinking and influencing work and assume more leadership roles to fully utilise their unique skills and knowledge. To achieve this, organisations could prioritise applications from women with lived experience to join their senior leadership teams, trustee board and strategic advisory panels.

How should you involve women with lived experience?

1. Bring us in from the beginning
   To truly be solutions focused and involve women with lived experience, we need to be involved from the beginning. We can and want to lay the foundations for reducing the harm caused to women via the current justice system.
2. Treat us as equal partners and share power
   Treat us with the same respect and kindness as anyone else. Empower us by elevating our voices, valuing our views, recognising our expertise with equitable pay structures, supporting our progression and facilitating our involvement at the highest levels.
3. Make long term commitments to us
   Allow us to stay on the journey with you as valued team members working towards a common goal. Facilitate meaningful and lasting participation and joint rewards, recognition and success!
4. Keep listening and learning
   Be ok with admitting that we haven’t got everything perfect so far. There is room to grow and do better, to learn and make positive changes to the way we involve and support women with lived experience.

So, can the new Women’s Justice Board pioneer a new era of lived experience leadership? Yes, it absolutely can! Giving women with lived experience a seat at the table is important, but alone, it is not enough. Women with lived experience must be seen, heard and valued so we can continue to provide solution-focused, strategic thinking on the issues that plague women impacted by the inadequacies of the current UK justice system. By engaging us as equal partners from the beginning and committing to long term involvement, the new Women’s Justice Board has a real opportunity to set an example for the rest of the sector.