BY KAREN BAXTER
Policy Officer, Community Justice Glasgow
Policy Officer, Community Justice Glasgow
The Glasgow Working Group on Women and Offenders (GWGWO) celebrated International Women’s Day 2022 by showcasing some of the community justice options for women in Glasgow. In this hybrid event we had a live panel and remote contributions from experienced and knowledgeable women, representing the wide range of options and support services in the city. Live questions came in from the audience and there was lots of participation from the audience online with positive messages for the panel and lots of questions and comments for the Q&A.
The services involved were:
- Tomorrow’s Women Glasgow, which is a unique and innovative Criminal Justice Centre, based on the recommendations from the Commission on Women’s Offending, bringing together expertise including nursing, social care, housing, psychology and the prison services. The service works with women who have very complex needs and who are involved in the Criminal Justice system, with the main aim of enabling women to reduce their offending and to address their needs and issues that prevent them from living positive healthy lives. The service is informed by Herman’s 3-stage trauma. One to one support is provided and there is also a timetable of group work activities with clear therapeutic benefits and goals. Women can attend these within the safety of the centre to provide structure, enhance wellbeing and develop skills. The animation in the box below provides the background on the development of this service CLICK ON THE VIDEO TO WATCH:
- The 218 service – This service provided by Turningpoint Scotland delivers an alternative to custody for women in the justice system to support them. Many of the women who use the service will have a range of complex needs such as problematic alcohol or other drug use, mental health, physical health, trauma, chronic low self-esteem and self-confidence as well as social isolation. It works in partnership to deliver an holistic service to help enable the women to achieve their aspirations, discovering the self-development and reflection practices that work for them whilst utilising the skills and learning achieved within the service to help sustain their recovery and offending behaviour. The explainer video in the box below provides more information on the 218 service CLICK THE PICTURE TO WATCH:
- SHINE women’s mentoring service – Shine is a national mentoring service for women offenders. The service is provided as a Public Social Partnership, which a strategic partnership between public and voluntary sector organisations. The service is available to women in Scotland who are currently serving a custodial sentence in Scotland of less than four years, on remand or, subject to a Community Payback Order. The service uses a mentoring approach to help women to achieve their goals. Each women is assigned a mentor who will provide support on a one-to-one basis with many of the issues they might face in the community. A Shine mentor will discuss any issues the woman may have before participation with the programme, either in prison prior to release or in the community if serving a Community Payback Order.
- Glasgow Girl’s Club – who were commissioned by Community Justice Glasgow to develop an App based directory of interventions across the spectrum of the Community Justice eco-system, provided an input on their work with women and girls in Glasgow. The Let’s Get Communities Connected App links to a wide range of more than 800 services and community based groups offering support and advice for those experiencing trauma, poverty, mental health problems, addiction, unemployment, homelessness, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) etc. It was initially developed for Community Justice professionals who signpost people to other organisations for support, but can also be accessed directly by the public. It was trialled and welcomed by professionals from social work, Police Scotland and the Scottish Prison Service. CLICK THE PICTURE OR SCAN THE QR CODE BELOW TO ACCESS THE WEB OR APP BASED VERSIONS:
- Media Education – are a Community Interest Company who work side by side with people with lived experience, providing opportunities for people to build skills, explore their identity and express themselves creatively, alongside making a difference with the films and podcasts they make. They have worked with Community Justice Glasgow to create ‘Shared Sentences’ a series of film with those involved in justice services. Shared Sentences included a film on women in the justice system and this film was previewed at this International Women’s Day event, introduced by one of the production team. CLICK THE PICTURE BELOW TO WATCH THE SHORT FILM:
The event concluded with a Q&A, with live questions from YouTube and Facebook audiences. With almost 300 people viewing the event and fantastic feedback from many, the evening was a great success and sparked many conversations about women and justice.
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Last modified: 4 October 2022
