Network of Formerly Incarcerated Women meet in Bogotá, Colombia and more news from around the world.
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.
Dear Friends,
This month, women’s incarceration and intersecting issues have had important visibility on the global stage. There have been new reports released on the death penalty, an historic event bringing together formerly incarcerated women, and discussions at the UN level about gender and prisons. Women’s incarceration is not merely a ‘women’s issue’, it has wider implications for communities and societies as a whole. So the increased discourse and grassroots organising at an international level is an exciting start to changing the narrative! Read on to learn more:
“This network makes us feel less alone. It gives us strength together to push for change”: Attending the first International Convening of Formerly Incarcerated Women
In early May, more than 60 formerly incarcerated women from around the world met for the first time in Bogotá, Colombia to officially launch the International Network of Formerly Incarcerated Women. The Network seeks to build global solidarity with currently and formerly incarcerated women and girls, their family members, and a wider movement. It aims to raise awareness about the global increase in the incarceration of women, the effect on their children and communities, and the need to reallocate funding from prisons to investing in the health and wellbeing of women and children through an abolitionist lens. Learn more about their mission by watching the video below.
Women Beyond Walls Curator Sabrina Mahtani was honoured to be in Bogotá for the first convening of the network. Here are her reflections:
It was a privilege to be at this milestone event where women from 21 countries convened to share their pain but also their power. Despite the different contexts, the devastating impact of incarceration on women, girls, their families and society was apparent.
“I was placed in solitary confinement when I was 15 and raped by the guards. When I left prison, my records stopped me getting housing or education,” said a woman from New Zealand.
“Queer and trans women encounter more violence, especially women of colour. I was arrested for stealing when I was 13 years old. They did not allow me to call my mother. I was locked in a cell with men and sexually abused,” a woman from Colombia bravely shared.
“This International Network of Formerly Incarcerated Women makes us feel less alone. It gives us strength together to push for change.” said one participant.
“The more I hear your stories, the more I heal inside,” said another.
“We are meeting from every single latitude in the world. We are dreaming of forming a world block that can change the suffering women face from imprisonment,” said one participant from Colombia.
“These will not be whispers, but screams for equality,” echoed another.
“We face a second sentence. When we are released we are still marked as bad people. We need to change [the narrative] so we are looked at with dignity.”
Women with lived experience of the justice system are often overlooked and ignored. This network is a powerful step forward, combating negative stereotypes and changing the narrative about women’s incarceration as well as sharing solutions to end the incarceration of women and girls. For example, Mujeres Libres Colombia shared their work advocating for a law on alternatives to incarceration for women, and Sisters Inside Australia shared information on their peer networks that offer legal advice and support to women inside and outside prison.
“These will not be whispers, but screams for equality!”
At the Public Event held to close the convening, Angela Davis exhorted: “We need a world that prioritises healthcare and education for all. A world where racism and carceral solutions to problems will become obsolete …. We need international strategies to deal with the global incarceration of women and girls. This network is in the vanguard of building new strategies to remake our world.”
I left the convening with a heart full of love and fire - inspired by women who have overcome multiple injustices and who are showing us that another world is possible if we are courageous enough: a world based on community and care, rather than cages.
Read more about the public event on our Twitter page - where we were live tweeting - as well as Mujeres Libres Colombia, Free Hearts and the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls.
“I left the convening with a heart full of love and fire - inspired by women who have overcome multiple injustices and who are showing us that another world is possible if we are courageous enough: a world based on community and care, rather than cages.” - Sabrina Mahtani
Stay tuned for more coverage and content from the convening, as the International Network will be taking over the Women Beyond Walls social media accounts in June!
News from around the world
Global: Amnesty International’s Death Penalty 2022 report was released this month with updated data on the death penalty worldwide. In many countries governments do not publish information on their use of the death penalty, so there is limited information available on the number of women who are on death row. The report found that:
13 women were executed: 12 in Iran & 1 in Saudi Arabia
48 women are on death row in the USA
47 women are on death row in Egypt
14 women are on death row in Thailand
The existing data is concerning and the situation of women on death row needs to be urgently addressed. For more information, read our article in Gal Dem Magazine - The battle to save women on Death Row is part of the fight against gendered violence
Global: Several events were held at the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, including a discussion on the Bangkok Rules and gender responsive justice, hosted by UNODC and the Thailand Institute for Justice. Penal Reform International highlighted the need to put women affected by imprisonment centre-stage and to address the funding shortfall for organisations working with and for women impacted by justice systems, referencing our report - Forgotten by Funders.
Mexico: Following a tumultuous week of wrongful ruling and protests, Mexican prosecutors are withdrawing a case against a woman who was sentenced to six years in prison for killing a man as he raped and attacked her. This could set a precedent for other gender-based violence cases in Mexico to be more thoroughly investigated and treated with deeper sensitivity.
Africa: The African Commission on Human and People’s Rights organised a workshop on human rights in prisons in Africa, led by the Special Rapporteur on Prisons, Conditions of Detention and Policing in Africa, Hon. Maria Teresa Manuela. We were honoured to speak about human rights concerns relating to women in prison and presented recommendations on decarceration.
UK: Women in Prison contributed an article on Glamour magazine recently highlighting the unsafe conditions for women who are incarcerated, particularly those with intersecting identities.
Opportunities
Penal Reform International is looking for women with lived experience of justice systems to join their Advisory Council. For more information, contact: info@penalreform.org
Media and literature recommendations
One Small Thing has launched a podcast series JUSTICE, about motherhood in the justice system in the UK.
We are also listening to Clean Start Africa’s podcast. Clean Start work with women, girls and children impacted by the criminal justice system, to restore dignity and hope for women who have left prison. It is led by Terea Njorge, a formerly incarcerated woman. The podcast “The Heart of the Circle” highlights experiences of women who have been impacted by the criminal justice system in Kenya. In 2022, Clean Start took over the Women Beyond Walls Instagram Account - you can still watch some of the videos here.
Thank you for being a part of Women Beyond Walls and for engaging with the important work to end the over-incarceration of women and girls worldwide.
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