Our Womens Work grew out of an employer-led initiative to recruit female offenders. The overwhelming success of this led to us expanding the programme to other employers. The main thing we learnt was that female offenders tend to have more complex needs and barriers than other people with convictions.

I am a lived experience case manager for A Fairer Chance and the lead for AFCs Women’s Work. I use my experience of the Criminal Justice System and all its challenges to help women navigate back into employment. On leaving prison there is a misconception that the main emotion will be that of elation and ready to face the rest of their life. In reality all the problems that were there before have to be addressed. Even though this is an obvious emotion to experience, there are many other contradicting negative emotions that women prison leavers face, such as fear, loss, hopelessness, confusion, and guilt. I use my first-hand knowledge of these mixed emotions to support my clients reach their full potential and gain the right employment.

Being a prison leaver, I was determined to gain employment after my release with A Fairer Chance. This helped me to get back into the swing of normal life quickly and to earn money and work towards financial independence .It meant so much for my general wellbeing. As a case manager, I realise how low down the agenda employment is indeed its barely mentioned in the strategy .Having met hundreds of women in prison I know finding good work is as important for them as it was for me. This is not a one size fits all approach but one that acknowledges the resilience of the women, along with the challenges they face, and help women gain the right job for them, from entry level to civil service roles.