We – the Women’s Justice Reimagined partnership* – are disappointed that the Sentencing Council has had to delay the introduction of the new guidelines on the imposition of community and custodial sentences, aimed at addressing the existing disparities in sentencing outcomes. This decision follows significant political pressure put on the Council, largely based on the erroneous assertion that the guidelines would lead to a two-tier justice system and ignoring the strong evidence on which they were based.
For years, a wealth of evidence, including our own research, has shown the pervasive systemic racism, stigmatisation and religious discrimination faced by Black, Asian, minoritised and migrant women and girls in, or at risk of, contact with the criminal justice system, as well as endemic misogyny experienced by women subjected to marginalisation. It has also shown that there are likely to be significant contextual factors relevant to their offending, such as being victim/survivors of violence against women and girls, human trafficking, or serious socio-economic disadvantage. This context is of crucial relevance for fair sentencing.
As specialist organisations working with these women, we see first-hand the devastating and far-reaching impact that systemic inequalities in sentencing have on their lives, as well as the lives of those around them. The need to address this systemic bias and reduce the persistent overrepresentation of these groups in the prison population is strongly supported by evidence, including the analysis in the Independent Sentencing Review’s first report. If the government wants to achieve its stated aim of reducing women in prison, fairer sentencing practices must play a role.
Pre-sentencing reports provide judges and magistrates crucial context to inform their decisions and play a critical role in ensuring proportionate and fair sentencing. The now-suspended guidelines, which had been due to come into effect yesterday, emphasised the necessity of pre-sentence reports for those who often face discrimination in sentencing. This includes people of ethnic or religious minorities, young adults, victim/survivors of VAWG, and pregnant woman. It marks a critical and much needed step in acknowledging and mitigating systemic inequalities.
The update followed a comprehensive and thorough consultation process, during which the Sentencing Council considered numerous responses from stakeholders, alongside research conducted by members of the judiciary, aimed at testing and informing the development of the guidelines. The guidance does not propose a system of ‘two-tiered justice’: it provides one mechanism by which the bias in the criminal justice system can begin to be addressed.
The suspension of the guidance not only halts this advancement but also risks the perpetuation of the overrepresentation and discrimination that Black, Asian, minoritised and migrant women face within the criminal justice system. It signals a reluctance from the government to confront the uncomfortable realities of a justice system that too often fails to deliver equity or fairness. It is a regressive move that undermines years of advocacy, research, and expert consensus aimed at creating a more proportionate and rehabilitative approach to sentencing.
Responding to the new guidelines suspension announcement, Hibiscus’ Head of Policy and Public Affairs, Elizabeth Jiménez-Yáñez said:
“Black, Asian, minoritised and migrant women experience systemic and intersectional discrimination throughout their journey in the criminal justice system, leading to disproportionate sentencing and according to the evidence we have collected working with migrant women in court are relatively unlikely to have a pre-sentence report**. For years, alongside our Women’s Justice Reimagined partners, we have called for a systemic and cultural transformation of the criminal justice system—change that the new guidelines could have helped achieve. We urge the government to support the Sentencing Council’s proposed guidance and to prioritise reforms that promote equity and justice for all women, regardless of their background.”
Media enquiries at elizabeth@hibiscus.org.uk
* The Women’s Justice Reimagined Partnership is an initiative that advocates for a cultural and systemic transformation of the criminal justice system and connected systems (including housing, violence against women and girls, health and social care sectors) into a set of systems which recognise and address intersectional discrimination against Black, Asian, minoritised and migrant women and girls in, or at risk of, contact with the criminal justice system. It is formed of six NGOs: Agenda Alliance, Criminal Justice Alliance, Hibiscus, Muslim Women in Prison, Women in Prison, and Zahid Mubarek Trust.
** In the last 18 months, Hibiscus supported over 150 migrant women appearing before Westminster Magistrate Courts. Amongst this group of women, only ten had a pre-sentencing report requested by the judge.