WIP is a national charity supporting women in the criminal justice system.

THEIR VISION

Women in Prison’s core campaign is for a radical reduction in the women’s prison population. They  believe that women who pose no risk to the public should not be in prison; a custodial sentence should be a last resort. Women in Prison are also currently leading the 2020 Ambition to reduce the women’s prison population to 2,020 (or fewer) by 2020 – this is roughly half the current number of women in prison. You can find out more about their 2020 BY 2020 project here.

THEIR MISSION

The key to what WIP do is that their support for women is holistic; their Women Centres are one-stop-shops for women to access all the services they need under one roof. WIP’s staff are gender-specialist practitioners, providing support across all the difficulties and barriers commonly experienced by women affected by the criminal justice system – domestic and sexual violence, poor mental and physical health, addiction, homelessness, debt, and unemployment.

THEIR VALUES

• Women-centred
• Inclusive
• Non-judgmental
• They proactively recruit women who are, or have been, in contact with the criminal justice system as paid and voluntary workers.
• WIP ensure that women affected by the criminal justice system are informed on any changes that may impact on them and have the chance to share their experiences and opinions (WIP published a magazine ‘Ready, Steady, Go!’ that women can access in prisons)