A new briefing paper by Agenda, which supports women and girls, and the Alliance for Youth Justice, finds that young women’s experiences of violence, abuse and exploitation can drive them into the criminal justice system, but “their experiences are too often overlooked by the agencies they may turn to for support”.
It looks at the experiences of young women aged 17 to 25 who are involved in the criminal justice system and warns that many are being “punished for survival strategies and their response to trauma”.
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“They have limited access to specialist support despite extreme levels of need and, rather than being met with care and support, they are met with punishment and stigma in a system which re-traumatises them, when it should be protecting them,” the report states.
It adds that care-experienced young women are less likely to be able to access support while black young women and those from ethnic minority backgrounds face harsher punishments and are more likely to be arrested than white girls.
Researchers found that care-experienced young women are at increased risk of both criminal and sexual exploitation.
They also warn that there are “forms of violence and abuse which may disproportionately impact black and minoritised young women”.
However, the report calls for women who have been victims of so-called “honour” violence and forced marriage to be able to access equal support to other women as “their root cause is the same as other forms of violence and abuse – that is, gender inequality.”
Latest figures show that 22 per cent of of 18-to 24-year-old women in the prison population are from black or ethnic minority backgrounds.
Nearly two thirds of girls and young women aged 16 to 21 in custody are estimated to have been in statutory care, the report adds.
The new Police, Crime Sentencing and Courts Bill risks worsening the lack of support for women and “sweeping greater numbers of young women into the criminal justice system by placing blame on some of the most vulnerable young women for challenges they face,” the report states.
This includes measures which increase sentences for those convicted of assaulting emergency workers.
“Often these assaults occur because workers are not always equipped to identify and respond to challenges facing young women, many of whom show signs of distress when being arrested,” according to researchers.
The report calls for a joined-up approach addressing the issues which lead young women to offend, including their experiences of violence, abuse and exploitation.
Recommendations put forward by researchers include greater support for women who are victims of violence and abuse and measures to address racial inequality in the criminal justice system.
A spokesperson for Agenda said: “Where specialist, dedicated services for young women are available, young women in contact with the criminal justice system describe this as having a significant, positive impact on their lives.
“Too often, however, young women experience this kind of intervention as coming too late – when risk has escalated, extensive harm has been done, and young women are at heightened risk of repeated criminal justice involvement.”
