109. FJC fundraising Campaign & Cancer in Womens Prisons

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.

We break down the centre’s plan: trauma‑informed family law support, public and housing law advocacy, and expert supervision across human rights, criminal law, and safeguarding. The funding needs are immediate and practical—secure case systems, insured advice, protected communications, and kit that lets volunteers act fast—so we can move women from crisis to counsel without delay. Along the way, we map the limits of domestic protections and show how international law, from CEDAW to regional courts and UN guidance, can pressure institutions and back strategic cases when local remedies fail.

Then we pull the fire alarm on cancer care inside women’s prisons in England. Fragmented commissioning, failing providers, broken data sharing, and security‑led decisions mean missed appointments, inappropriate surgeries, blocked helplines, and routine chaining during hospital visits. Dietetic needs are ignored, senior posts go unfilled, and hospitals discharge without care plans, closing the window for chemo and radiotherapy. These are preventable harms. We outline concrete fixes—joined‑up protocols, lawful restraint policies, access to records and support lines, and real oversight of contracts—that align with community standards and basic human rights.

If this conversation moves you, help us build the foundation that cases and lives can stand on. Subscribe, share the episode with someone who cares about justice reform, and leave a review to boost the signal. If you can, donate to help us reach £10,000 and open the doors of the Feminist Justice Coalition pro bono law centre.

Sound edited by Jamie Warren-Green (Umbrella Audio)

Transcript

Why A Feminist Law Centre

SPEAKER_00 0:03

This GoFundMe is fundraising for the Feminist Justice Coalition, a new pro-bono law centre for women. Women navigating the justice system, especially those in prison, survivors of domestic abuse, refugees, and those facing housing insecurity are amongst the most disenfranchised and furthest away from accessing justice. The Feminist Justice Coalition, an initiative led by law students and supported by inspiring international lawyers and barristers, is determined to change that.

SPEAKER_05 0:31

So my name is Aysatanyagadu. I'm a third-year LB student at the University of Law.

SPEAKER_01 0:37

What motivated you to apply for this volunteer role with the FCG?

Student Volunteers Share Their Path

SPEAKER_05 0:42

Well, I've recently gotten into abuse in the prison system. Yes. I went to um it's a charity called Amicus. They do uh training on the death penalty in the US to educate people about it. And at that meeting I learned about all the abuse that goes on in US prisons, and that's how I got interested into looking into abuse in British prisons. And when I saw the opportunity for the FJC, I was even more interested because I know that women are disproportionately affected by abuse in the course of system.

SPEAKER_01 1:15

Okay, can you please introduce yourself?

SPEAKER_02 1:18

Sure, my name is Anishka Joher. Um so I'm a second year student at Cambridge. I'm studying uh human, social, and political sciences, but my track is politics and social anthropology. Um I've always had an interest in criminal justice, so I've done a bit of stuff that has revolved around that with experience. Um I started out in first year doing the IBJ Criminal Defense Wiki. So that's where we did um research on an assigned country. I was assigned Samoa, and it could be done with other people as well. Um, basically just researching constitutions, criminal law documents, trying to compile as much information as possible that could be accessible for people who didn't have the money to access legal resources otherwise.

SPEAKER_00 2:00

Operating as a social enterprise, this pro bono service provides comprehensive legal support and advocacy to women who cannot afford representation and have no access to legal aid funding. Our mission is to elevate the voices and experiences of women marginalized by systemic inequality and discrimination and to hold institutions of government to account.

SPEAKER_01 2:21

In your view, what's the most urgent problem facing women in the UK and in Europe?

SPEAKER_05 2:26

I think the most urgent problem is poverty. Uh, when I worked at my charity, the majority of clients were women, and more specifically, single parents. I think the most urgent problem is poverty, and then there's many problems under that umbrella that make women more likely to be poor than men. Um, because again, most clients were women, and most of them were single mothers, most of them were victims of domestic abuse.

SPEAKER_01 2:57

Anushka, what are the most uh urgent problems and issues facing women in the UK and in Europe?

SPEAKER_02 3:03

I think one of the things that most disadvantaging women um across all courts, but especially in the US and Europe, is a lot of that mysticism. There's a lot of rules, there's a lot of procedures, there's a lot of pomp and circumstance that happens. And given that a lot of women are coming in with very personal, very intimate stories that they're having to expose in this very kind of professional setting, and which while obviously it has to be to some extent, we have to have respect for the law, we have to make these proceedings very formal, it is also a very vulnerable experience for women to go through. And I think there is a lot of kind of invisible labor that goes into giving those testimonies that kind of makes it more difficult for women to get their voices out or get their story out in a way that is very true to what exactly they've experienced. Um, and I think it's very difficult for them to be able to get support to navigate that kind of landscape.

Funding Needs And Operations

Legal Support Focus Areas

SPEAKER_00 3:53

Why women? Specialist women's services in the criminal justice system are both humane and economically smart, saving up to£9 for every£1 spent. Why do we need your help now? To safely build the center and continue supporting women, we urgently need to raise£10,000. These funds will cover a secure casework management system, insurance to protect clients and volunteers, and essential operational costs such as web hosting and secure email service, laptops and phones for volunteers and travel expenses. Also, seed funding to set up physical location for the centre. Our focus areas include supporting women in prison through legal advice and representation, ensuring access to healthcare, mental health support, and protection from abuse. This will be expert-led, collaborative, and pro bono. The centre benefits from the supervision of leading solicitors and barristers with expertise in human rights, criminal law, public law, and family law. This ensures women receive high-quality legal support. Ultimately, the centre will be sustained through legal aid contracts, charitable donations, grants, and support from high net worth individuals. However, right now we need your help to take the first steps. Domestic violence survivors, trauma-informed counsel to secure non-molestation orders and navigate family law. Also, family and public law, representation in custody and public service rights cases, housing rights, advocacy against eviction, discrimination, and unsafe living conditions.

SPEAKER_01 5:21

Do you have any idea about the laws that protect women?

Using International Law When Domestic Fails

SPEAKER_03 5:25

Um, I think well, recently mostly in um family law, we've been doing about marriage and how they're working towards greater equality in terms of um the financial remedies that are available to women and how, you know, primarily caregivers when children are involved, that is the woman, and how that sort of is a contribution that's equal to viewed as equal now, which I think is a great step in moving forwards and the sort of the um support that's given through that because you know a lot of the times this is the sort of marginalization that comes in everyday life, so not only just the m the most disadvantaged groups but sort of women in general. Um, I know that the police say that they're trying to approach um like rape convictions with more sensitivity. I mean, one of my friends who did two years in the police and he he's very passionate about that and he's pride prided himself on how he was trying to work towards that. But obviously, whilst there are the individuals that are making, I suppose, moves towards it before that unless there's this systemic change with how it's addressed. I think that that's one of the issues that the law is trying to encompass, but also for fear of you know, they don't want to overstep in any way, which I think is a bit silly, but you know, it's uh people are working towards I think this this working towards it is on a much more individual level and this change needs to be far more systemic.

SPEAKER_01 6:45

Uh yes, mean how can how can international laws uh international law can be used uh when domestic law failed to protect the woman?

Donate To Build Immediate Access

SPEAKER_04 6:54

So I think international law is a really useful mechanism to hold states and private actors as well, so companies accountable for human rights violations or sex-based discrimination, especially where domestic law fails, which is often, you know, happens quite a lot, unfortunately. You know, there are international treaties, monitoring bodies, and even regional court systems. One I noted down was the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, so that's legally binding in the UK and creates obligations for states to ensure equality, non-discrimination and protection. But there's also non-legally binding things, but the um mechanisms that help that provide guidance and encourage policymaking, such as the um United Nations Commission on Status of Women, the UN Declaration on Elimination for Violence Against Women. Also, I noted down the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. So there's a Sustainable Development Goal 5, which is to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, and that has targets to end all forms of discrimination and end violence against women. And while that's not legally binding, I think that really helps to encourage policy making and people and victims can use that to support their case. Um, and then also international courts such as the European Court of Human Rights and also advocacy organizations like Feminist Justice Coalition, they really help to um support people internationally when maybe domestic law fails.

Cancer Care Failures In Women’s Prisons

Data Sharing And Consent Roadblocks

Broken Contracts And Missing Information

Harmful Decisions And Staff Shortages

SPEAKER_00 8:36

By donating, you are helping us provide immediate access to justice for women who have none, challenge systemic biases in the legal system, and to build a safe professional foundation for long-term advocacy. Every pound brings us closer to breaking down barriers and empowering women to reclaim their rights and their lives. Please donate today. Together, we can ensure that women in prison, survivors of abuse, refugees, and those facing housing insecurity are no longer left behind. Donate now and help us reach our urgent£10,000 goal to build the Feminist Justice Coalition pro bono law centre. This initial investment will allow us to operate effectively in prisons, licensed community settings, asylum and refugee centres, homeless shelters, and domestic abuse refuges. There are systemic issues when it comes to dealing with cancer in English women's prisons. It should be noted that Wales has no women's prisons and Scotland has its own justice system, so this report will only cover what's happening in the English women's prison estate. The issue is that there are far too many organizations involved in the treatment and care of cancer patients in prisons generally. Prison healthcare was taken out of the Ministry of Justice, and there is a new organization called the Health Justice Board, which commissions prison healthcare. Healthcare providers are now private providers such as Practice Plus Group or Virgin Health, both of which have appalling CQC ratings or NHS Foundation trusts, many of whom are also failing. We believe that the fragmentation of healthcare and also the reliance on prison security and operations departments is leading to avoidable deaths of women with treatable cancer because they're not getting to their appointments or getting the treatment to which they are entitled as cancer patients. This is treatment that is abundantly available in the community. Healthcare in prison is fragmented. There are too many operators. Prison healthcare systems are not aligned with their NHS system. Women may have been diagnosed with cancer and started a course of treatment when they come into prison, but that is seldom carried through. They may be diagnosed in prison and then the care pathway is appalling. System one is supposed to have been operational in the prison setting for the last 10 years, but it is still not available. We need to investigate why it's not been integrated into the prison health care providers system. Welsh women's health records are simply unavailable at Eastwood Park, where over 50% of women are Welsh, as there are no Welsh women's prisons, and plans to build one have recently been shelved. Women have to sign a medical consent form for prison healthcare to access GP records in the community. This is facts to local GP in the women's community. Many women won't sign it because of the way the form is designed, which also asks them to consent for their private healthcare information to be released to authorities, probation, social services, and other services to access their health records. This deters many women from sharing or giving consent for their health records to be provided to the prison healthcare provider. Prison health contracts are contracted by the Health Justice Board. We need to investigate what the commissioning process is and get details of all the contracts and the values. Initially, they will say that this is sensitive commercial information, but it is not. This has been confirmed by many National Audit Office and Public Accounts Committee reports. We need to identify the contract values for each woman's prison and benchmarking and monitoring processes of these contracts if they exist. How does the value of these contracts compare with healthcare contracts for GP services in the community? Prisoners' own medical records are not shared with them. They are not given hospital appointment details for security reasons in case they try and escape, but they're not even given the most basic information about what type of cancers they have or treatment options available. Women have been forced to have massectomies with only stage one or stage two breast cancer when massectomies were just not appropriate at that stage and they could have been treated. The quality of staff is very problematic. Healthcare leads are not properly qualified in prisons. There are no consistent GPs. They are all on a rotor or local GPs because GPs don't want to work in a prison environment. Two examples of poor healthcare leads are Kelly Smith at Eastwood Park and Harriet Tizard at Bronsfield, both of whom have lied to and gas slip women who they were assisting, and neither of whom are clinically trained. Harriet is just a nurse prescriber, and Kelly Smith has no clinical qualifications whatsoever. There is a serious lack of information sharing by prison healthcare with local hospitals and also with the prison, which affects women's outcomes, such as not sharing information about special protein-rich diets or for women with types of breast cancer to avoid soya. Women with breast cancer need a special diet and special nutrients. This is confirmed in Macmillan's research. However, nothing is available for women in prison with cancer. Women have confirmed to us that they don't want to attend hospital appointments in chains because they're humiliated. The escort policy needs to be reviewed. Women should not be changed or restrained if they're going to hospital and they have a cancer diagnosis unless they are convicted of a very serious violent offence or unless they've been absconded from custody before. In fact, this is pretty much what the policy says, but security departments just routinely chain women when they go to hospital. Care plans for women with cancer are not created. Escalation care plans are also not created. There is a lack of proper referrals to dietitians and complementary alternative treatments, which are available to women outside. Most prisons have a dietitian, but healthcare is failing to refer cancer patients to the dietitian. There is no single point of contact for cancer patients in prison. They do not have access to the Macmillan phone line or the breast cancer now phone line. They do not have any access to a breast cancer nurse, a distinct hospital, or 24-hour chemo numbers, because routinely the prison and healthcare will not approve these numbers to go on the list of numbers that prisoners are allowed to call. This is a perverse and cruel. Often they don't tell the prison operations department about upcoming appointments, or they tell them too late so that appointments are missed. They often try to coerce women into changing their treatment so that they can be treated at the local hospital rather than continuing their treatment at their existing hospital. There is a great deal of incompetence with poorly trained healthcare staff of people who cannot get jobs in the NHS in the community. There is a huge number of vacancies. There are currently at least 350 active job adverts for prison healthcare roles in England and Wales. There are also vacancies for very senior posts, such as forensic psychologists and lead GPs, which are not filled at several of the women's prisons. Although the contractor is being paid for these roles, they're simply not filled. Why is the public paying for services that are not being delivered? Issues with prisons. Prison security is meant to arrange the operational side of a hospital appointment. So they provide the hospital escort in a prison car, often with two prison officers and a prison driver. They're often impossible because there is a massive shortage of prison officers. As of December 2023, there were just under 790 FTE vacancies across public sector prisons in England and Wales for banned three to five prison officers. Senior staff have left in droves due to abuse by senior governors and the Ministry of Justice, constantly changing policies and protocols. However, there's a consistent misuse and misapplication of the prison escort policy, such as chaining women on the way to hospital, in the hospital, and even during MRI scans. We are aware of a woman who recently had an MRI scan with her hands and feet tied with cable ties. Prison officer escorts mean that many wings in prison will be shut down. Prisoners are being chained once they've had surgery in hospital for days at a time. The prison services is too risk averse. It doesn't care about the rights of prisoners with cancer. Issues with healthcare. Issues with healthcare include no joined-up dialogue or operation with prison healthcare and other prison departments. Special diets are requested by healthcare for women, but they are ignored by the prison kitchen. There's no access to complementary medicine, which is a huge issue. Harriet Hizzard lied to a patient last year and said that a Surrey hospital would provide complementary treatment at their fountain center, even though she was being treated at UCLH. NHS cancer treatment is not funded in this way. The lack of exercise and nutrition available to women in prison with cancer is leading to slow recovery and wound healing. We believe it is also leading to premature deaths. When a woman is taken to hospital for a surgical appointment, they will not allow her to take clothes or phone numbers of people that she wants to contact who she would be able to contact in prison. They refuse to send clothes in if she has to stay for any length of time, including massectomy bras. They refuse to allow prisoners to have access to their own money, even when they're remand prisoners. Prisoners should have access to£60 a week that they can spend on the prison canteen, but they're refusing to let prisoners have access to this and will give them 60p a day to supplement the poor nutrition available in the hospital setting. There is no proper managerial oversight of prison officers on escort. So they are constantly on their phones and using prisoners' hospital rooms as their personal canteens. We are aware of prison officers who undo and redo their braids, eat their dinner, and sneeze all over prisoners who are extremely vulnerable and prone to infection. Hospital failures. There is no proper protocol in place to support prisoners who are cancer patients. They do not engage the prisoner or support network in the care plan or the release plan. There is no access to fresh air because the prison can't be bothered to do a risk assessment of the hospital to ensure that a prisoner has access to their legal requirement of an hour a day outside. Often, prisoners who are patients are just kept inside until they are brought back to prison. Hospitals are releasing prisoners without care plans in place and not actively following up the prison healthcare for chemotherapy and radiotherapy appointments so that prisoners miss the window of opportunity for chemo and radiotherapy. They're not engaging in the care plan creation so that women can safely access chemo radiotherapy because they won't do it without having a care plan in place. Prisons are notorious for not answering calls and not allowing ambulance emergency access. In fact, Surrey Ambulance Trust has raised serious self safeguarding concerns about three Surrey prisons recently where they had access to women for emergency call outs and couldn't get into the prison.