Rebel Justice
What is justice? Who does it serve? Why should you care?When we think about justice, we think about it as an abstract, something that happens to someone else, somewhere else. But justice and the law regulate every aspect of our interactions with each other, with organisations, and with the government. We never think about it until it impacts our lives, or that of someone close.Our guests are women with lived experience of the justice system whether as victims or women who have committed crimes; or people at the forefront of civic action who put their lives on the l...
Pregnancy Behind Bars - A talk with Dr Laura Abbott
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We talk with Professor Laura Abbott, from the university of Hertfordshire, about what pregnancy and new motherhood can look like inside UK prisons, and why shame, uncertainty, and separation can shape every part of maternity care. We also dig into what real change requires, from properly funded lived experience co-production to closing the “release gap” so no pregnant woman leaves custody into danger.
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118. Trauma And Justice: A talk with Criminologist, Hannah Simpson
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Prison is often treated as the answer to women’s harm, but the numbers tell a different story. We sit down with criminologist Hannah Jane Simpson to unpack why women’s incarceration, mental health, trauma, and self-harm are so tightly linked and why “control first” institutions can make recovery harder rather than safer.
We talk plainly about what trauma looks like in real life: dysregulation, fear, inconsistency, returning to harmful situations, and struggling to communicate clearly. Hannah explains how these survival responses are too often misread by police, courts, and custody staff as...
117. The importance of prison reformation - A talk with Pia Sinha (Prison Reform Trust)
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We’re joined by Pia Sinha, CEO of the Prison Reform Trust, whose career spans prison psychology, youth justice, and governing prisons across the UK. Her starting point is simple and hard to ignore: for many women, custody follows a life of trauma, poverty, domestic abuse, and being failed by the very services that were meant to help.
We unpack what prison reform looks like across the whole criminal justice system: pre custody prevention, decent and humane custody, and real resettlement post release. Without the investment into rehabilitation for offenders, “diversion” become...
116. A talk with Andy West - philosophy behind bars
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Prison is one of the most hidden institutions in the UK, which means our opinions are often built from cinema scenes rather than social reality. We sit down with Andy West to talk about what happens when you bring big questions about freedom, identity, shame, and responsibility into a place designed for control.
We explore Andy’s journey from HMP Belmarsh and other London prisons to therapeutic settings like HMP Grendon, and why he keeps returning to the classroom even when the wider system is chaotic and disorganised. He explains why he...
115. Same laws, different realities - a talk with Dr Bisi Akintoye on the treatment of women of colour within the CJS
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This episode we sit down with criminology lecturer and solicitor, Dr Bisi Akintoye, to talk about Black and Brown women within the UK criminal justice system and the importance of recognising intersectionality.Â
We unpack how Black women and girls become invisible when policy and research default to frameworks built around either race or gender alone. That invisibility has consequences: victims of exploitation can be treated as suspects, safeguarding can be replaced by surveillance, and adultification bias can turn distress into “defiance”. We look at stop and search, strip searches, the lack of di...
114. An interview with Jane Ryan
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Jane Ryan, a dedicated human rights lawyer, discusses the failures and biases embedded in our prisons—especially for pregnant women and women of colour. This episode reveals the grim realities hidden behind closed doors—and the urgent need for systemic change.
Jane discusses the importance of listening to women’s voices, sharing powerful stories on how systemic neglect and outdated protocols put lives at risk, often ignoring the specific needs of women and marginalized communities. Exploring how negligence perpetuates harm, and although, initiatives are starting to making a difference— much more needs to...
113. An interview with Suzie Miller
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The law wants clean lines and final answers, but people live in grey areas. We sit down with Susie Miller, the playwright behind Inter Alia and the writer of Prima Facie, to unpack what “binary justice” does to real human stories and why courts can struggle when truth, trauma, and context refuse to fit a neat box. Drawing on her background in criminal defence and human rights law, Susie explains how the common law system can chase certainty like science, even when human behaviour is anything but predictable.Â
From there, we move...
112. Wing Tsun Masters - A women's self defence group
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We went to a free women’s self-defence class run by Wing Tsun London in memory of Sarah Everard, and what stayed with us wasn’t bravado, it was clarity. Wing Tsun training makes “safety” feel less like a vague hope and more like a practical skill you can build, step by step, with your own body.
We get into the roots of Wing Tsun Masters as a martial art and self-defence system with a history stretching back more than 300 years, including the tradition that it was shaped by a woman and name...
111. The View 17 Teaser - an overview of the important content leading up to the publication
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Secret classrooms. A decades-long fight for a pardon. A church trying to reckon with slavery. We move through stories that show how justice is pursued when systems stall, deny, or look away and what resilience looks like when it has to be practical, not performative.Â
We start by sharing reporting from The View magazine: Pro Su Hakim’s grassroots education initiative after the Taliban banned girls from school, and how secret schools and online classes keep learning alive for girls and women across Afghanistan. From there, we revisit the Ruth Ellis cas...
110. Lady Edwina Grosvenor Scholarship & Parasto Hakim Interview - Education That Breaks Cycles
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Education can be a turning point or a locked door, and too often we design universities to keep the “wrong” people out. We sit down with Anne-Marie Day from Manchester Met to ask what higher education should do for people with lived experience of the justice system, and why scholarships are not a nice extra but a concrete part of decarceration, prevention, and reducing reoffending.
We get specific about the obstacles justice-involved students face: disrupted schooling, missing qualifications, housing pressure, lack of ID, and the simple exhaustion of trying to rebuild a li...
109. FJC fundraising Campaign & Cancer in Womens Prisons
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What happens when the law’s most vulnerable clients meet the system at its most rigid? We trace the rise of a student‑led pro bono centre determined to give women real access to justice—from survivors of domestic abuse and single mothers to refugees and women in custody—while exposing the hidden mechanics that keep help out of reach. Our guests share how early encounters with prison abuse and death‑penalty training cracked open a lifelong mission, and why specialist women’s services deliver not only dignity but concrete savings and better outcomes.
108. Justice Starts Before The Courtroom
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Justice doesn’t begin with a verdict; it starts in classrooms, homes, and everyday choices that shape who gets pulled into the system long before an arrest. We sit down with lawyer and educator Courtney Teasley to explore how prevention beats punishment when communities are armed with the right knowledge, resources, and strategy.
Courtney traces a path from growing up in a disproportionately affected community to coaching mock trial teams and practising criminal defence for over a decade. Along the way, she exposes stark inequities between well-resourced private schools and students ju...
107. Issue 16: Justice, Resistance & Human Cost — Voices from The View Magazine
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Issue 16 is not an interview. It is a response.
In this episode, writers, editors, and contributors from The View Magazine reflect on the themes, questions, and tensions explored in Issue 16 — justice, resistance, wrongful imprisonment, mental health, Gaza, and institutional failure.
These are personal reflections, professional insight, and honest reactions to stories that demand attention.
What you’re hearing is only part of the conversation. The full writing, research, and visuals live in the pages of Issue 16.
Issue 16 is available now. Subscribe to access the full writ...
106. Healthcare Is a Human Right — So Why Are Women in Prison Being Failed?
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What happens when women in prison need healthcare—and no one listens?
In this episode, we examine the systemic failures in women’s prison healthcare through a powerful conversation with human rights solicitor Rebecca Alonso. We explore how outsourced services, understaffing, and gender-blind medical systems leave women in pain, ignored, and without accountability.
Drawing on lived experiences documented in The View magazine, we look at why the state’s duty of care cannot be outsourced, how international law can strengthen legal challenges, and what real reform could look like—from pro...
105. Life After Remand: Rhia Canady on Motherhood, Short Sentences & Building Flygirl Foundation
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What happens when the justice system asks for a victim impact statement, then offers no support?
In this episode of Rebel Justice, we speak with Rhia Canady, founder of Flygirl Foundation, about life on remand, the shock of release, and the stigma faced by mothers serving short sentences.
Rhia shares how she survived Eastwood Park, why post-release systems fail women, and how Flygirl Foundation is building trauma-informed, lived-experience-led pathways rooted in dignity and prevention.
 Flygirl Foundation website: https://www.flygirlfoundation.co.u...
104. Her Circle: How A Mother Turned Trauma Into A Movement For Dignity with Amy Van Zyl
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In this episode, we speak with Amy Van Zyl about trauma, motherhood, and dignity within child-protection systems. Amy shares her experience of losing her children for eight and a half months following a mental health crisis, and how that period informed the creation of Her Circle, a charity led by women with lived experience.
The conversation delves into the complexities of motherhood, the limitations of risk-focused assessments, and why practical support is often lacking when families need it most. We also discuss trust, advocacy, and what meaningful recovery looks like when...
103. No, Your Therapist Isn’t A Shaman: What Legal Psychedelic Care Actually Looks Like with Madalyn McElwain & Trevor Ekstrom
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What if the safest path to psychedelic healing starts with strong laws, trained facilitators, and honest conversations about risk? We sit down with legal advocates and a licensed psychotherapist to map a responsible route from stigma to structure—one that replaces the shadows of the underground with clarity, ethics, and care.
We unpack how regulation reduces harm and expands access: vetted substances, licensed facilitators, and supportive settings that protect people during intense emotional work. A personal story of loss shows how grief became fuel for drug policy reform, while the Psychedelic Ba...
102. Quaker Social Action: What If Courage, Curiosity, And Compassion Led Social Change
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What if the most practical path to justice starts with listening harder than we speak? We sit down with Judith Moran, director of Quaker Social Action, to trace a journey from Victorian philanthropy to community-led solutions that protect dignity in the face of poverty, grief, and homelessness. Grounded in a clear definition of poverty as a lack of resources to meet minimum needs—including social participation—Judith shows how co-creation leads to services that work in the real world.
We unpack how QSA uses unrestricted funding to test ideas and build what...
101. Behind the Wigs: Life at the Criminal Bar. Kate Kelleher Part 2.
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The courtroom looks orderly from the gallery, but behind the wigs and gowns is a profession running on grit, late nights, and vending machines. We sit down with criminal defense barrister Kate Kelleher and the Criminal Bar Association’s James Rosseter to reveal how the Criminal Bar keeps fairness alive while the system strains at every seam.
Kate maps the quiet collapse of camaraderie since the pandemic: fewer juniors, downsized chambers, and loose networks that used to provide feedback, mentorship, and the small kindness of a post‑trial debrief. James connects thes...
100. Mental Health in the UK Justice System: In Conversation with Barrister Kate Kelleher and James Rossiter from the Criminal Bar Association (Part 1)
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Justice feels distant until it isn’t. We open the doors to a courtroom few ever truly see, where trauma arrives with every case and formality—the wig, the gown, the ritual—exists to contain it. With barrister Kate Kelleher and Criminal Bar Association communications lead James Rossiter, we explore how lawyers hold the line between empathy and evidence while facing impossible timelines and rising complexity.
Across candid stories and sharp analysis, we examine why language matters—why “victim” becomes “complainant” until a verdict—and what that means for fairness. We look at fitness-to...
99. Modern Slavery in the UK: What You Need to Know with Lauren Saunders from Unseen UK
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Modern slavery isn’t far away or long ago. It’s here, woven into daily life, and too often dismissed as something else. We sit down with Lauren Saunders, Deputy Director of Frontline Services at Unseen, to uncover how exploitation hides in UK homes, care settings, nail bars, construction sites and supply chains—and what it takes to bring people to safety and hold perpetrators to account.
Lauren explains what modern slavery looks like today, from forced labour and domestic servitude to sexual and criminal exploitation, and clarifies the difference between traffi...
98. Why Defending Juries Matters When Protest Is Criminalised with Sir Jonathon Porritt & Dr Juliette Brown
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We sit down with Dr Juliette Brown, an NHS consultant psychiatrist and climate activist facing a retrial after a hung jury, and Sir Jonathan Porritt, a leading environmental thinker who has returned to civil disobedience, to explore how conscience, health, and the law collide in today’s UK.
Together, we unpack Defend Our Juries, the grassroots campaign centred on a simple principle: jurors have the right to acquit according to conscience. We look at how tightened protest laws, expansive uses of counterterror powers, and stricter bail and remand conditions have chilled sp...
97. Inside Medomsley Detention Centre: Abuse, Predators, Government Ignorance & Operation Deerness with PPO Adrian Usher
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A detention centre meant to correct young men became a blueprint for how institutions can enable predators. We dig into Medomsley’s regime of fear, the violence that greeted boys at the gate, and the sexual abuse that flourished where power went unchecked. Guided by survivors’ testimonies and an in-depth conversation with the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman behind Operation Dearness, we explore how culture, leadership, and weak oversight combined to normalise harm and silence complaints.
Across the episode, we follow the path from scalding baths and forced humiliation to predation in the...
96. Exclusive Preview Inside The View Magazine Issue 15
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Our latest Rebel Justice Podcast offers a powerful preview of The View Magazine Issue 15, weaving first‑hand testimony, hard data and practical solutions across prisons, youth custody, social care and community action.
If these stories move you, pre‑order Issue 15 at https://theviewmag.org.uk/product/the-view-magazine-issue-15/, subscribe to support this work, and share the episode with someone who cares about women’s justice. Follow and leave a review to help more people find these voices.
Credits
Guest: Elena Righi, Maile...
95. The Hidden Sentence for Mothers – with Not Beyond Redemption’s Founder Camilla Baldwin & Solicitor Eben Vaughan-Philipps
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Imagine serving three months for a non‑violent offence and imagine being released with no priority for housing, and a wall between you and your child. That’s the hidden sentence thousands of mothers face, and it’s where Not Beyond Redemption steps in with free legal advice and representation to keep families together.
We sit with founder and solicitor Camilla Baldwin and solicitor Eben Vaughan-Philipps to unpack how the charity grew from a single clinic to a nationwide network in all 12 women’s prisons. They explain why contact often collapses after sh...
94. Dr. Sarah Benn and the Climate Health Emergency
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In this week's episode, we talk to Dr Sarah Benn, a GP who moved from decades of practice to non‑violent climate action. How did Dr Sarah go from sitting outside an oil terminal with a small placard, to ending up behind bars?Â
Dr Sarah explains why civil resistance, done non‑violently, can be a legitimate public health intervention when petitions and policy promises fail. We talk candidly about prison: the loss of agency, the small humiliations that reveal how power works, and how a month inside sharpened her sense of justi...
93. The Fight to End FGM Part 2: First Global Report on FGM with The Vavengers CEO Sema Gornall, Sir Max Hill KC and Activist Mam Lisa Camara
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In part two of our series with The Vavengers, Rebel Justice is joined by Sir Max Hill KC, former Director of Public Prosecutions for England and Wales, alongside The Vavengers’ CEO, Sema Gornall and activist Mam Lisa Camara
Together, they unpack the legal, political, and global dimensions of the fight to end female genital mutilation (FGM); and the creation of the world’s first comprehensive global dataset on FGM, unveiled at the 80th UN General Assembly.
Max Hill shares insights from his time leading the Crown Prosecution Service, the land...
92. The Fight to End FGM Part 1: The Vavengers CEO Sema Gornall and FGM Survivor and Activist Mam Lisa Camara
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In this powerful first episode of a two-part series, Rebel Justice speaks with Sema Gornall, CEO of The Vavengers, and Mam Lisa Camara, a Gambian women’s rights activist and survivor of female genital mutilation (FGM).
The Vavengers are a survivor-led organisation using advocacy, art, and community mobilisation to end FGM and gender-based violence. Sema shares the organisation’s origins, the challenges survivors face in the UK, and how grassroots activism is shaping policy and awareness across communities.
Lisa brings insight from her decades of advocacy in The Gambia, work...
91. Tanya’s Story: Coercive Control, Corrupted Care, and the Search for Justice
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A delivery driver calls 999 after witnessing an assault, yet the woman with bruises becomes the suspect. That reversal sets the tone for a story that forces us to confront how easily credibility flips when a vulnerable person meets a tired system. We walk through Tanya’s account of years of coercive control, forced isolation, surveillance, alleged interference with medical records, and symptoms that vanished the moment she was jailed, and ask why those red flags didn’t trigger safeguards. Along the way, we unpack data from watchdogs and NGOs on custody failures, the scar...
90. Saeed Taji Farouky: Palestine, Protest, and Resistance Through Filmmaking
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What does it mean to create art in a time of genocide? How can filmmaking become an act of resistance?Â
Saeed Taji Farouky joins Rebel Justice to explore these urgent questions from his perspective as an award-winning documentary filmmaker, educator, and activist. Over two decades, his camera has taken viewers from Myanmar's oil fields to Afghan frontlines, consistently centering voices that mainstream media erases.
Throughout our discussion, Saeed offers profound insights into sustaining hope through creative resistance, the continuity of Palestinian culture through art, and the responsibility of institutions d...
89. Surviving Violence, Shaping Justice - Janine Ewen’s Story
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Justice and law touch every aspect of our lives, yet we rarely think about them until they directly impact us or those we love. When they fail, the consequences can be devastating, especially for the most vulnerable among us.
Janine Ewen's story begins in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, where political conflict formed the backdrop to a more intimate violence. As a child witnessing her father's abuse of her mother, Janine learned early what it means when systems fail to protect those they should. Her vivid descriptions of putting beds against...
88. The Trial of Justice: What Farah Damji’s Case Reveals About Britain’s Courts
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What happens when a woman who gives voice to the voiceless becomes the target of the very system she criticises? Farah Damji's story challenges everything we believe about justice, compassion, and human dignity in modern Britain.
Farah—a mother, editor, writer, and fierce advocate for women in prison—founded The View magazine in 2020 to amplify the stories of women caught in the criminal justice system. Now she finds herself fighting not only stage three breast cancer but also appealing a six-year sentence handed down in what her legal team describes as a pr...
87. Justice for Carol Lloyd - A Fight Against Extradition, Neglect and Silence
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What happens when you fall through the cracks between two nations? For Carol Lloyd, it's meant a decade-long nightmare of prison cells, medical neglect, and abandonment by the very governments meant to protect her.
Carol sits in a Canadian prison today – triple-bunked, seriously ill, and without legal representation. Her British passport was seized during extradition, while her application to revoke Canadian citizenship has sat untouched for over two years. When eventually released, she faces homelessness in a country where she has no support system, with no clear path back to her fa...
86. Part 2 - WPA Designing for Dignity: Housing, Policy, and the Future of Justice
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Welcome back to Rebel Justice and part two of our illuminating conversation with Meg Egan, CEO of the Women's Prison Association—America's first organization dedicated to women impacted by incarceration.
Where our first episode explored personal stories driving WPA's mission, this segment zooms out to examine systemic solutions. Meg shares critical insights from her time working at Rikers Island, where she witnessed firsthand the profound failures of mass incarceration, particularly for vulnerable populations. Her experiences supervising solitary confinement units holding teenagers and later overseeing jail conditions during the pandemic have cemented he...
85. Part 1 - Inside the Women's Prison Associations Mission and Legacy
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Meg Egan, CEO of the Women’s Prison Association, takes us inside the oldest U.S. organization dedicated to supporting women impacted by incarceration. Since 1845, WPA has quietly revolutionized justice for women and families, addressing root causes like poverty, trauma, and the criminalization of survival.
Meg shares how WPA has evolved over 180 years while staying true to its belief that incarceration should never mean a lifetime of poverty or disconnection. We explore their vision for a community-based “infrastructure of service” that supports women at every stage of justice involvement—from pre-trial to post...
84. Part 2 - The Filton 24 & The Dangerous Precedent of Banning Palestine Action
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When does protest become terrorism? In one of the most alarming developments in a generation, the UK government has prescribed Palestine Action under counter-terrorism legislation, placing a direct action group alongside neo-Nazi organisations and making it a criminal offence to express support for them.
This groundbreaking episode delves into the dangerous precedent being set as authorities weaponize anti-terror laws against those challenging state complicity in violence abroad. Through a powerful interview with Professor Ben Saul, the UN Special Rapporteur on Counterterrorism and Human Rights, we uncover how the UK's definition of...
E.81: Part 2 - Filton 23 & The Dangerous Precedent of Banning Palestine Action
The line between protest and terrorism has become dangerously blurred in the United Kingdom. The government's unprecedented decision to prescribe Palestine Action as a terrorist organization marks a watershed moment for civil liberties and the right to dissent.
Palestine Action emerged in 2020 with a clear mission: to physically disrupt the operations of Elbit Systems, Israel's largest arms manufacturer with multiple facilities across the UK. Their tactics – factory occupations, property damage, and symbolic red paint representing Palestinian blood – have always been controversial, but deliberately non-violent toward people.Â
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper's decision to prescribe the group along...
83. Part 1 - Mothers of the Filton 24 and the Misuse of Anti-Terrorism Legislation
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What happens when two young university students decide they can no longer stand by while weapons made in Britain fuel a genocide? For Fatema Zainab and Zoe, both just barely in their twenties, the answer led them to a prison cell where they've remained for nine months – with no trial in sight until November.
The "Filton 18" case represents an unprecedented application of counter-terrorism powers against political activists in the UK. After Palestine Action protesters entered Elbit Systems' facility near Bristol to dismantle military equipment bound for Israel, they found themselves held in...
Teaser: The View Magazine Issue 14
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Today, we’re bringing you a powerful mini episode to celebrate the release of Issue 14 of The View Magazine, dropping July 31st.
The View is the only platform in the UK created by and for women in the justice system; women who are survivors of trauma, of state-endorsed violence, and who face the harshest effects of the climate crisis, incarceration, and systemic injustice.
In this episode, we sit down with the fearless editors and writers behind The View to talk about this issue’s themes, the stories that matter, and...
82. Impact of Trauma in the Courtroom & Constance Marten
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In this powerful episode of Rebel Justice, we explore what happens when the courtroom becomes another site of violence- where trauma is not just ignored, but used against those already suffering.
We focus on the case of Constance Marten, whose high-profile trial for gross negligence manslaughter has captured national headlines. But beneath the surface lies a story of grief, abuse, coercion, and systemic failure. We hear Constance’s own words from prison, describing how the court process re-triggered deep trauma and stripped her of dignity.
We’re joined by rese...
