Transformative Justice for Women: Consolidating Expertise towards a Women’s Building model

With Rachel Seoighe

HMP Holloway, London, the largest women’s prison in Western Europe, closed in 2016. As a result, much of the advocacy, support and therapeutic services provided to women were lost or significantly reduced. Many women relied on the prison to access services, and limited provision exists in prisons outside London. Women in Prison (2017) found that the lack of support, care and safety provided for women in the community leads many women to choose to offend in order to access services. Since its closure, campaigners have called for a Women’s Building to be established as a legacy of the prison: an iconic and flagship support institution for women, founded in decarceral, trauma-informed, caring and collaborative approaches.