The research was focused on examining the experiences of Black women that have been through the criminal justice system (CJS) in the UK. Ethical approval was needed for the research and it was self-funded. 

The statistics around the disproportionality of Black people in the criminal justice system (CJS) is nothing new and is well documented.  Black women are 29% more likely to be remanded to custody than white women and 25% more likely to receive a custodial sentence than White women (Prison Reform Trust 2017; Cox and Sacks-Jones, 2017; MoJ, 2021). As a criminal justice professional (Probation Officer) for well over two decades, I witnessed this persistent disproportionality firsthand and have not seen any real progress on the trajectory of change. 

Black women of Black African/Black Caribbean (BABC) have been particularly over-represented at every stage of the CJS and attract more punitive punishment and treatment than any other minority group of women (Prison Reform Trust 2017; Cox and Sacks-Jones, 2017; MoJ, 2021). Women make up 5% of the prison population in the UK; of the 18.4% of minority women in prison in 2016, 8.9% were of BABC descent despite only making up 3% of the female population in England and Wales (Prison Reform Trust, 2017). Statistics from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) indicates that Black women make up 23% of imprisoned women in England and Wales (MoJ, 2021). 

This glaring disparity is not addressed in academic literature or government policies and thus, the issues pertaining to how they become ensnared in the CJS in the first place is routinely ignored. Intersectional factors such as race, gender, class and sexuality and the fact that the existence of these factors creates experiences unique to women of colour is again, routinely ignored. Due to my positionality both as a criminal justice professional and a Black woman and seeing the neglect of these women, I wanted to do research that would give these women a voice and allowed them to be heard rather than pathologised. The omission of their voices is conspicuous by its absence and being witness to the impact of this, called me to action. 

Black feminists argue that whilst Black men also suffer racism, discrimination and are also over-represented in the CJS, more attention is paid to them and thus, their issues receive more publicity (African American Policy Forum, 2015; Crenshaw, 2020; hooks, 1989). The publication of the Prison Service Inspection in 2022 that interviewed Black male prisoners and Black staff in prisons but not Black women is a case in point. Policies and academic literature generally talk about Black men when raising race issues and White women in regard to gender; leaving Black women to fall through the cracks.  

Critical Race Feminism, (CRF), the theoretical framework for my PhD research highlights this and therefore seeks to address this discrepancy. I have found this theoretical perspective resonated with the women I interviewed. CRF promotes a collaborative approach with racial matching, empowering Black women to be agents of knowledge and change deconstructing narratives about them rooted in white supremacy. Narrative interviewing was an enabling tool for this.  

One of the things that all the women I interviewed said was that I was the first person that was interested in what they have to say and believed what they said. This is a travesty but not a surprise. Even as a professional, I have felt at times that I was not heard, so how much more would this be for a Black female defendant/prisoner/victim? They also used descriptors such as feeling “broken” by their experiences and their treatment at the hands of state agencies as “horrific”. This narrative is neither unique nor new, which made listening to these women’s stories more painful. Familiarity does not lessen impact! 

I am hoping that through this research that the voices of these women who have been traumatised by their criminal justice experiences will be heard and their words acted upon. Maya Angelou wrote a book called “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” which is synonymous with overcoming racism, trauma and oppression and emerging as a survivor. I would say this phrase epitomises these women I was privileged to interview regardless of who chooses to hear them. 

Edited by the Anti-Racism Working Group. If you have any questions pertaining to the editing or editor of this piece, please contact us at antiracismworkinggroup@gmail.com.