Birth Companions

Our wonderful Director Naomi Delap will be speaking at #rcmconf25! https://lnkd.in/eW-mRctY

Naomi Delap, Director of Birth Companions, today joins the Women's Justice Partnership Delivery Group (PDG), supporting the Women's Justice Board with specialist insight on pregnant women and mothers with young children in the criminal justice system. Read more about the role of the Women's Justice PDG here: https://lnkd.in/eHAzec8a

The response of the Chair of Sentencing Council for England and Wales to the letter from the Lord Chancellor objecting to the new Imposition guideline. https://lnkd.in/e87wDj58

This new report, co-authored by our Director Naomi Delap, charts a course for meaningful, ambitious change for women across the criminal justice system. https://lnkd.in/eqgxRfaK

The UK Government was elected on a manifesto promise of prioritising women’s health and yet only 5% of women think the government is treating women’s health as a priority, with nearly half (46%) finding it difficult or very difficult to access the health services they need when they need them. On the eve of International Women’s Day, we are joining the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists | RCOG and 48 other organisations to call for concrete commitment to ensure women receive the quality healthcare they need throughout their lives, in an open letter to the UK government. We understand that this government is operating in a challenging fiscal context and that difficult decisions must be made. However, investment in women is investment in society as a whole - and we urge the UK government to take women’s health into account when considering the upcoming Spending Review, and the 10-Year Health Plan to follow. Read and share the letter: https://brnw.ch/21wR8Ds #PrioritiseWomensHealth #IWD2025

As members of the National Women's Justice Coalition we share this position, and hope that the Justice Secretary will acknowledge the importance of fair, informed, and individualised sentencing.

Success! This morning the Sentencing Council published its new guideline on the Imposition of Community and Custodial Sentences. In response to our extensive consultation submission, and the evidence we provided to the Justice Committee, this overarching guideline now includes specific recognition of the risks posed to pregnant women, mothers and their babies by time in prison. It identifies the need for comprehensive pre-sentence reports to inform decision-making; prioritises the use of community sentences; and directs courts to address the issues relating to pregnancy and early motherhood when giving reasons for the sentence. This is a huge step forward in delivering a radically different approach to the 1001 days - from conception to a child's second birthday - across the criminal justice system. Guidance alone won't be enough to drive this radical change, but it's a move in the right direction. Find out more about our 1001 Days in the CJS campaign: https://lnkd.in/ecvpA7u4

This is so important. We need to revolutionise the way our criminal justice system identifies and responds to the needs of girls.

Today (28 February 2025), Birth Companions launches our latest campaign, calling for an ambitious new approach to pregnancy, birth and early motherhood across the whole criminal justice system. Evidence shows that what happens in the first 1001 days from conception to a child’s second birthday lays the foundations for their long-term physical and mental health and wellbeing. Yet the criminal justice system – policing, courts, prison and probation – is ill-equipped to deal with this critical period in the lives of mothers and their babies. This is creating huge risks to women, and the life chances of their children. Find out more on our website: https://lnkd.in/ecvpA7u4

Campaign update! Thank you to all those who signed up to support our Taking a Strand campaign, in which we called on the Family Division and the Family Justice Board to undertake an urgent review of hair strand drug testing in the family courts. Our letter had over 100 signatures, from more than 20 different organisations, including barristers and King's Counsels from a number of chambers, solicitors, academics and voluntary sector specialists. In response, Sir Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Division, has now established a Family Justice Council working group to explore the issues raised. Led by Dr Sheena Webb, a consultant clinical psychologist and the London Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC) team manager, this working group will be exploring the issues raised, and gathering information, evidence and good practice relating to the ways tests are instructed and interpreted. We are particularly pleased to hear that the working group has recognised the need for a specific focus on pregnancy and the postnatal period. The establishment of this working group is a significant development. It represents a huge step towards addressing the overreliance on hair strand drug tests in the family courts, and reducing the potential for children to be wrongly removed from their families: a most devastating form of injustice. Thank you all for your continued support on the Taking a Strand campaign. https://lnkd.in/eejF8f6R