Realising Rights - increasing ethnic minority women's access to justice

Ethnic minority women facing ‘double discrimination’ in the Criminal Justice System, finds new Fawcett report

A new report (2) published today by the Fawcett Society reveals how the needs of ethnic minority women are frequently rendered invisible in the Criminal Justice System as offenders, victims and workers in the justice sector, as they face double discrimination on the grounds of sex and race.

Ethnic minority women, particularly foreign national women, are over-represented within the female offender population with nearly one third of women in prison in England from an ethnic minority background.
Ethnic minority women are under-represented as workers within the criminal justice system particularly at senior levels. There is only one ethnic minority woman in the senior judiciary and only 0.2 percent of police officers at Chief Inspector grade and above are ethnic minority women.
The needs of ethnic minority women who experience violence are frequently overlooked – nine out of ten local authorities have no specialist services for ethnic minority women who have experienced violence.
Evidence on ethnic minority women’s experiences continues to be patchy and inconsistent. There is a lack of reliable statistics giving the full picture of the intersection of race and gender, let alone the experiences of women from different ethnic minority backgrounds.
On many issues, such as ethnic minority women’s experience of sexual violence or the health needs of women offenders, there is a complete dearth of evidence, pointing to low prioritising of these women’s needs and experiences.

Commenting on the report, Sharon Smee, Justice Policy Officer at the Fawcett Society, said:

“More than ten years on from the Stephen Lawrence enquiry (3) and over five years since the appointment of the first ethnic minority female high court judge (4), the criminal justice system is still failing to respond to the realities of ethnic minority women’s lives. This is compounded by the limited number of ethnic minority women in senior positions in the justice sector.

“We need a justice system which is representative and responsive to the needs and experiences of all people in the UK and which draws on the talents of all women. It is time to listen to ethnic minority women and learn from their experiences and the best practice initiatives already in operation.”

Ceri Goddard, Chief Executive of the Fawcett Society, said:

“The Criminal Justice System continues to fail to consider the specific needs and skills of ethnic minority women. Whereas previous policies have targeted ‘women’ and ‘race,’ there has been little focus on the multiple discrimination faced by ethnic minority women, who have tended to fall between the gaps.

“Progress for ethnic minority victims of violence has also been frustratingly slow: nine out of ten local authorities still have no specialised ethnic minority service for women who have experienced domestic and sexual violence.

“This report demonstrates how important it is more broadly for equality law not to ‘box’ individuals into categories but to recognise the multiple discrimination which is often at play. The dual discrimination provision in the Equality Bill currently before parliament is crucial in this regard.

“Fawcett’s election campaign will be asking the parties how they will be addressing multiple discrimination in the justice system and within equality policy more generally.”

Notes to editors
(1) The Fawcett Society is the UK’s leading campaign for equality between women and men. Founded in 1866, our vision is of a society in which women and men can enjoy equality at work, at home and in public life. www.fawcettsociety.org.uk
(2) Realising Rights – increasing ethnic minority women’s access to justice, Fawcett Society, January 2010, will be available for download at www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/seeing double (Friday am)
(3) The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry: Report of an Inquiry by Sir William Macpherson of Cluny- http://www.archive.official-documents.co.uk/document/cm42/4262/sli-00.htm
(4) Mrs Justice Dobbs became Britain’s first ethnic minority High Court Judge in 2004.