February 12, 2015
Our ‘Turning Around’ conference gives women the chance to share their stories.
Liverpool Hope University recently played host to a PSS conference with a difference. ‘Turning Around: Women and the Criminal Justice System’ put the people who use PSS services at the centre of the day, and gave them space to speak about exactly what PSS Strengthening Families services mean to them.
During the morning sessions we heard from Turnaround staff Heather and Kim about their innovative work creating The Ruby Project, a domestic abuse intervention service at The Royal Liverpool Hospital. After their introduction we heard from Denise*, a lady who had used Ruby and had gone on to leave her abusive and controlling relationship. It was the first of many moving stories throughout the day.
Next up we heard from the Women using the Women’s Turnaround Service at the ISIS centre. The service helps women who have offended, or who are at risk of offending. The audience agreed it was amazing to hear the women speaking to confidently and eloquently about there lives and experiences, and some even used poetry to tell the audience about their journey. One lady, Jean*, focused her story on her key worker, Lisa, and the amazing work work she does… she also made a point of telling the audience that Lisa deserves a big promotion! And listening to how positive Jean is after working with Lisa, it’s easy to see why she’s so enthusiastic. Jean’s been through a lot in her life, and says that without the Turnaround service she might not be here today: ‘I’d be six feet under, definitely. I didn’t see any worth in myself or any reason in continuing before I went to the centre’
There was also an opportunity for The Manchester College, who specialise in offender education and also sponsored the conference to showcase the work they’re doing with Turnaround. All the women who took part in the presentation were at completely different stages in the learning process, but the their attitude and desire to learn was visible across the board. Their enthusiasm doesn’t seem to stop when he class ends, and one of the women, Emily*, said that since starting classes she now regularly challenges her partner to long division competitions… ‘and yeah, I always win!”
Lawyer Bernard Byrne leads on Violence Against Women and Girls for Mersey-Cheshire Crown Prosecution Service and joined us to introduce the day.
He said later: “The CPS gets involved with the Turnaround Project mainly around Domestic Abuse cases. If a woman is a defendant in a case and is found guilty, the CPS can apply for a conditional caution that takes account of the fact that she might be offending because she is in an abusive relationship.
“These cautions can include a requirement to engage with the Turnaround team, to get the help they need to support themselves and their families and to end their criminal behaviour.
“The CPS also links up with Turnaround when women come into the Criminal Justice System as witnesses or victims, again particularly in Domestic Abuse cases. We know that many of these women mistrust the system and worry that their own previous offences might be used as a tool to discredit them in Court.
“Our role here is to reassure them that they won’t be subjected to inappropriate or irrelevant cross examination and then to protect that position in the courtroom. The Turnaround project has been key in giving women the confidence to participate in the process, to reassure them about what will happen in court and to make sure the system works to protect them and their families from further abuse.”
“Women’s Turnaround service is a unique service for women with complex support need’ says Service Manager Sharon Cooper ‘through creative ways of working with them we are instrumental in helping them take positive steps in changing their lives around!”
All of us at PSS were incredibly proud of all the articulate and confident women who stood up to tell their story. Thank you to all of you for helping us to show how amazing the outcomes of Ruby and Women’s Turnaround can be.