Are women's rights forums truly inclusive? Jamie Lee Curtis on women's incarceration. Opportunities, news and more...
A newsletter from Women Beyond Walls - together we can build collective power and amplify voices to end the over-incarceration of women and girls worldwide.
Hello Friends,
Last month we launched our new campaign, Inclusive of All. On 17 July, we shared an Open Letter calling on high-level forums on women’s rights, such as Women Deliver, the Generation Equality Forum and the Commission on the Status of Women, to be inclusive of all women, in particular criminalised, incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women. The letter was signed by over 200 organisations and individuals and we are grateful to all of you who signed and shared the letter with your networks - this was truly a collective effort and an example of building collective power!
The letter was covered by worldwide media, from Canada to Kenya, including an excellent article in The Guardian which quotes several inspiring formerly incarcerated women, such as Susan Kigula from Uganda and Claudia Cardona from Colombia.
We’ll continue to share updates on the campaign and further ways to be involved. Please do feel free to continue to share the letter on social media or with relevant organisations and individuals as well as reach out to us with any ideas for the campaign.
News from around the world
Ghana: Great news, Ghana has abolished the death penalty! The decision means that the 176 people currently on death row, including six women, are likely to have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment.
Americas: The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has published a new report: Women Deprived of Their Freedom in the Americas. The publication analyses the predicament of incarcerated women in the region along with the factors that lead to their detention, the obstacles to accessing alternative measures, and the challenges they face when leaving prison, with a particular focus on the countries of Northern Central America.
United Kingdom: Labour MP Kate Osamor told a Westminster Hall debate that three in five women in prison are victims of domestic abuse, and these victims are overrepresented by Black, Asian and minority ethnic women and girls. Ghadah Alnasseri, policy chief at Hibiscus Initiatives, said: “Encountering gender inequality and racism is all too common for Black, Asian and minoritised women, as well as migrant women who have experienced violence against women and girls and are in contact with the criminal justice system. However, I firmly believe that these challenges can be overcome."
Global: The Human Rights Council adopted a resolution requesting the Office of the High Commissioner to submit to the Council, at its fifty-ninth session (July 2025), a report on the situation of human rights of women and girls in criminal justice detention, including information on practices and measures to prevent and address violence against women and girls in the context of criminal justice detention. It recognises that women and girls in criminal justice detention/prison are subject to “multiple, intersecting and systemic forms of discrimination and to violence throughout their life course” and reiterates the strong link between violence against women and girls and their increased risk of incarceration. Congratulations to Penal Reform International and other organisations who pushed for this important resolution. We’ll list further opportunities to be involved in this process in forthcoming newsletters - stay tuned!
Opportunities
Applications are open for the 2023 - 2024 Beyond the Bars Fellowship at the Columbia University Center for Justice. The Fellowship offers interdisciplinary leadership to deepen analysis & skills toward ending mass incarceration. Applications are due 18 August. Learn more and apply here.
The Columbia University Center for Justice has another opportunity to join their fall cohort of Justice Ambassadors Youth Council, a program for justice-involved 18-25 year olds to work with senior/executive level New York government officials and Columbia University students to create policy proposals. More information here.
Incarceration Nations Network has launched its 2024 Global Freedom Fellowship for formerly incarcerated leaders from around the world. Deadline 4 September 2023.
Tickets are still available for Sisters Inside’s conference - Abolition, Feminism, Now - from 8 - 10 November 2023 in Meanjin (Australia). A powerful and inspiring lineup of speakers have been announced, including Angela Davis!
Media and literature recommendations
This insightful article by Coletta Youngers, Three Ways to Reduce the Number of Women in Prison in the Americas, is essential reading.
Actress Jamie Lee Curtis opened up about her decade long opioid addiction and talked about how “lucky” she was that she was able to get help, unlike many women who have been incarcerated for their addictions: “There are women in prison whose lives have been shattered by drugs and alcohol, not because they were violent felons, not because they were horrible people, but because they were addicts”, she said.
We’re listening to the podcast episode, Mothering in Prison, part of the Kenyan project, Unmothering the Mother, a feminist storytelling movement aimed at dismantling stereotypes peddled by societies against women. The podcast shares the experiences of a mother who was imprisoned and the impact on her and her two daughters.
If you’ve not listened yet, check out the Women Beyond Walls podcast, featuring inspiring women from Sierra Leone to Malaysia.
Looking for a book for some summer or winter reading (depending where in the world you are)? Check out our book recommendations.
Thank you for being here with us month after month and engaging in this dialogue!
If you have any events/resources/reports you want us to consider highlighting in future newsletters, please don’t hesitate to contact us on hello@womenbeyondwalls.org.
With gratitude to the community,
The Women Beyond Walls Team