A West Cumbrian social enterprise is holding a raw, hard-hitting conference featuring speakers with experience of the criminal justice system.
Following on from Time To Change’s sell-out event in 2022 – Tackling The Taboo, it is back with an event to raise awareness of the treatment of women within the criminal justice system across the UK to mark International Women’s Day.
Four women from West Cumbria are opening up about their personal experiences with police forces and the courts, as well as sharing the effects on their lives that having a criminal record brings.
They will talk honestly about what led them to their criminal records, and how it has changed their lives and their futures in an emotional conference to be held at Whitehaven Golf Club on Friday March 8, which is also the official International Women’s Day.
The conference is ticketed with all money raised going towards Time to Change and their emergency homeless hostel at Calderwood House in Egremont, which supports those who have found themselves on the street and tackles poverty in our local area.
Rachel Holliday, founder and CEO of Time to Change, said: “For many years, I have heard and witnessed the harrowing stories of women who enter the criminal justice system, many who have been victims of domestic and sexual violence themselves.
“I believe it is time to change our response in West Cumbria to women who break the law and this conference will be a way to challenge our thinking and current views.”
The Decommissioning Alliance are sponsoring this year’s event, Danielle Cummings, TDA’s communication lead, said: “It is important for us to have these open discussions about what leads women down these paths and rather than blaming individuals for their actions, taking a look at the bigger picture to help us all understand.
“This is why we, at TDA, are so proud to be sponsoring Time To Change’s International Women’s Day event, in support of women who have been through these challenges and are now able to receive support in moving forward in their lives through this organisation’s fantastic work.”
Time To Change was recently named Charity of the Year at Britain’s Energy Coast Business Cluster, which is also supporting the event.
Chief executive Dianne Richardson said: “Britain’s Energy Coast Business Cluster is all about meaningful conversations and what could be more meaningful for International Women’s Day than the impact on women’s lives, and indeed on wider society, when they come into contact with the justice system.
“I’ve been shocked by some of the statistics Time To Change have shared with me in advance of the event and I know attendees will hear real-life experiences which will challenge their preconceptions of women who break the law.”
The Breaking the Law conference is set to challenge the views of the general public of women who have found themselves with criminal records.
Currently, perception can be very negative, but the speakers are hoping to show that there’s always a story behind their convictions.
This event is for everyone, not just for women. To attend the event at Whitehaven Golf Club on Friday, March 8, from 1pm to 3pm.
