Resource Library
The NWJC champions and promotes best practice for working with women in contact with the criminal justice system.
This library catalogues a wide range of resources that consolidate and demonstrate the collective wisdom and expertise of women’s organisations and criminal justice specialists. It contains briefing papers, reports, policy documents, current research and other useful resources that provide insight, expertise and best practice examples for working with and supporting women and girls.
Resources can be filtered by keywords, themes, organisation and format and search results include links to further information and downloadable content.
Please contact us to recommend any additional resources that should be added to the Resource Library.
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Centre for Justice Innovation
“To be listened to… and actually heard” – Women’s perspectives on effective substance use treatment and support
This research explores what a better system of substance use treatment would look like from the perspective of women in treatment. To inform and shape this report, the Centre for Justice Innovation wo…
Centre for Crime and Justice Studies
Prison Service Journal (No 277) March 2025
This special edition of Prison Service Journal focusses on the issues of women, criminalisation and the need for differential approaches that recognise the part that gender plays in women’s path…
National Women's Justice Coalition (NWJC)
Breaking Out of the Justice Loop: Creating a criminal justice system that works for women
Breaking out of the Justice Loop argues that the criminal justice system, designed for men, has consistently failed women for years and that women’s centres and a public health approach must be …
Pro Bono Economics
Underfunded, under resourced and under the radar: the state of the women and girls’ social sector
In the summer of 2024, ROSA, the UK funder for women and girls, commissioned Pro Bono Economics (PBE) to conduct a comprehensive survey to help them better understand the depth and breadth of challeng…
Independent Sentencing Review Panel
Independent Sentencing Review: History and Trends in Sentencing
This paper is intended to provide an explanation for why the UK prison system has reached crisis point. The prison population has grown very rapidly over the last 30 years, with the principal cause of…
HM Inspectorate of Probation
A thematic inspection of the recruitment, training, and retention of frontline probation practitioners
The implementation of the standard determinate sentence 40 (SDS40) scheme in July 2024 and the subsequent announcement of the Government’s sentencing review placed at centre stage the ability of…
Imkaan
Why Should Our Rage Be Tidy?
Black and minoritised women across the UK are enduring a mental health crisis driven by violence, trauma, systemic failures, and structural injustice. This report explores intersection and life-alteri…
University of Birmingham
Exploring Needs Profiles in Criminal Justice-Involved Women
This report examines the WRNA (Women’s Risk and Needs Assessment) validation project, investigating the needs and strengths of women who attend women’s centres across the UK. The study exa…
University of Birmingham
Examining the relationship between severity and complexity of needs among women involved in the Criminal Justice System
The research looked at the needs, adverse life events, vulnerabilities and strengths for women as identified through the Women’s Risk Needs Assessment (WRNA) tool, and the relationships between …
Hibiscus
Unsafe, Insecure: barriers to safe housing for Black and minoritised migrant women
Over half of the women Hibiscus supported in the community in the last year reported housing insecurity, with those affected nearly twice as likely to suffer from mental health issues. This report and…
Level Up and Doughty Street Chambers
Representing pregnant women and new mothers in the criminal justice system: A legal toolkit
This legal toolkit is designed to equip lawyers with the core legal arguments, tools and resources to effectively represent pregnant women and mothers of infants at all stages of the criminal justice …
Greater Manchester Women's Support Alliance
Greater Manchester Women’s Support Alliance Annual Report: 2023-2024
Greater Manchester Women’s Support Alliance Annual Report: 2023 – 24 Keywords: best practice, charity sector, community support, criminal justice system, gender responsive, gender specific…