Women in Prison's national magazine - Spring 2017

T H E M AG A Z I N E F O R W O M E N T R A N S F O R M I N G T H E I R L I V E S

— SPRING 2017

Celebrate International Women’s Day!

READ ALL ABOUT IT...

GLOBALLY FAMOUS WRITER

MARTINA COLE TALKS TO RSG!

TURNING THE PAGE

how reading and writing can liberate the soul!

JENNIFER JOSEPH

on how she went from prison to Shakespeare and acting on stage

THE POLICE WOMAN

who turned to crime (in fiction)

PLUS! all the regulars and your poetry, art and writing...

Funding available NOW!!

Distance learning courses & college fees.

Additional materials i.e books / dictionaries / equipment.

Make an appointment to see a WIP Advisor or write to us now NO stamp required Tell me and I forget.

Teach me and I may remember.

Involve me and I learn!!

Women in Prison FREEPOST RSLB-UABE-TYRT Unit 10 The Ivories 6 Northampton Street London N1 2HY

CONTENTS

INSIDE

Spring 2017 • Issue 9 M a i n F e at u r e s :

20

International Women’s Day

#Be Bold For Change!

Open a book – find a future! Reading special and dyslexia focus 58 Why I write Authors share their secrets 64 Joelle Taylor The poet speaks out on writing 76 Jean Corston Women’s champion – and granny – talks to RSG! 88 Jennifer Joseph Interview with the actress

30

regulars:

Letter From Kate 10 Str8 Up! The news that matters to you 74 Jokes Skinny's collection 82 Stir It Up! A truly “Delightful’ trifle!

86 A Day In The Life 6

92 The

Agony Aunts

Useful Contacts 102 All Yours: Your writing and poetry 112 Wordsearch 114 What WIP believes 100

Ready Steady Go! 3

About Women in Prison Women in Prison supports and campaigns for women affected by the criminal justice system.

We help with housing, education, mental health, legal rights, work, benefits, debt, domestic violence, finding a solicitor, immigration, and more.

Prison does not work. We believe more women affected by the criminal justice system should be offered community sentences and, if needed, support to address any challenges they face.

Women in Prison is a charity working in England. We were set up in 1983 by a former prisoner.

We have offices in London, Woking and Manchester.

Our service is by, and for, women. We offer the following advice and support to women affected by the criminal justice system:

• Education: finding courses and colleges at the right level for you; funding towards course fees for distance learning or at college; money for course materials, including books and stationery.

• Counselling for women in London affected by the criminal justice system.

• A freephone advice line on 0800 953 0125. We also give advice by mail.

• Housing: finding and keeping a home; applications to councils for housing; advice on housing benefit; referrals to hostels.

• Specialist support for black and ethnic minority women.

• Visiting all 12 women’s prisons in England, offering one-to-one support at advice and information sessions.

• Specialist support for women with a diagnosed mental health condition who are leaving prison.

• Specialist support for women under 25.

• Support for mums, including advice on your rights as a mum.

• Support for women being released from prison.

• Work: help applying for jobs, including CV writing; advice on disclosing a criminal record to employers; finding voluntary work.

• A free quarterly magazine – the one you are reading now.

Women in Prison’s services are open to all women affected by the criminal justice system in England.

Women can choose to attend, leave, or return to our services.

None are compulsory.

CONFIDENTIAL Our service is confidential. Any information given by a service user to Women in Prison will not be shared with anyone else without the woman’s permission, unless required by law.

COMPLAINTS If you are not happy with the service we have provided and wish to make a complaint, you are welcome to do so.

Just ask for a copy of our complaints procedure.

Illustration by PPaint

Got something to say?

If you need help, please contact us.

We can visit you in prison, or write to you, or meet up if you are released.

WRITE OR CALL FREE Women in Prison FREEPOST RSLB-UABE-TYRT Unit 10, The Ivories 6 Northampton Street London N1 2HY National freephone advice line 0800 953 0125 info@womeninprison.org.uk

WELCOME

H

ello, this year we mark the 10th anniversary of the report by our wonderful patron – Baroness Jean Corston. The 2007 report recommended radical change in the treatment of women who commit a crime and are in prison and those at risk of committing a crime. Baroness Corston stated that the majority of women in prison would be better supported in the community, as they needed holistic support to address the challenges in their lives, build on their strengths and enable them to stop re-offending. She continues to campaign on this issue, driving real change in the system. Today, the Corston Report is as powerful as ever in putting the real-life experiences of women at its heart to demand radical reform.

Women in Prison's 2020 Campaign aims to reduce the number of women in prison from 3,800 to 2,020 by 2020. During International Women’s Week, on 7 March, Baroness Corston will be hosting a reception with us in the House of Lords for Members of Parliament and police and crime commissioners to focus on what needs to be done to ensure that the recommendations of the Corston Report are implemented.

By creating performances by its graduates, including women serving prison sentences, the theatre company Clean Break demonstrates the impact of women’s voices – your voices – on the wider public. Here at Women in Prison, we see every day that it is the power of your stories of possibility, potential and of turning your lives around that will inspire decision-makers to create lasting systems change. I hope you enjoy this issue and look forward to hearing your views.

Kate Chief Executive of Women in Prison

How to find Ready Steady Go! magazine Freepost RSLB-UABE-TYRT, Unit 10, The Ivories Northampton St, London N1 2HY The magazine you are reading is free for all women affected by the criminal justice system in England.

We send copies each quarter to all women’s prisons and you should be able to find the magazine easily.

If you can’t, write to tell us. If you are a woman affected by the criminal justice system and would like to be added to our mailing list for free, please contact us. Everyone else may subscribe, get in touch for prices.

Advertising To advertise in our magazine, call the office on: 020 7359 6674

Ready Steady Go! Unit 10, The Ivories, Northampton St, London N1 2HY

Editor Yvonne Roberts Art direction & production Henry Obasi & Russell Moorcroft @PPaint Chief sub-editor Martine Lignon Production editor Helen Gooding Deputy Production editor Claire Cain

Funding

Registered charity number 1118727 The publishers, authors and printers cannot accept liability for errors or omissions. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of Women in Prison. Applications should be made directly to Women in Prison.

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W H E R E TO F I N D O U R O F F I C E S Women Prison Offices Manchester London Woking – Surrey HMPS Offices

HMP Low Newton – near Durham HMP Askham Grange – near York HMP New Hall – near Wakefield HMP Foston Hall – near Derby HMP Styal – near Manchester HMP Drake Hall – Eccleshall, Staffordshire HMP Peterborough HMP Eastwood Park – near Bristol HMP Downview HMP Send – Woking HMP Bronzefield – Ashford HMP East Sutton Park – Maidstone HMP Cornton Vale – Scotland

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THE SUMMER SOLSTICE, THE LONGEST DAY OF THE YEAR, 21 JUNE 2017 8 ReadY steadY Go!

On that day, we would like everyone reading this magazine to make a diary entry. It can be in verse, in pictures, in bullet points, in prose. Any way you like.

It can be extremely detailed, from the minute you open your eyes in the morning, or a broad brush. It might be the most wonderful day of your life, or the worst, or just a run-of-the-mill, nothingmuch-happens 24 hours. It doesn’t matter. We want to hear from you all.

You can record your feelings, your hopes, your aspirations, your fears, your anxieties, your moments of joy. You can write a day in the life jointly with a friend, if that’s easier, or in a reading group if you belong to one. A member of your family might also want to take part, or a friend who visits you in prison, perhaps, or your son or daughter, too.

We hope that what will emerge is a wonderful tapestry, a window opening up onto your world. If you can send your diary entry with a full name and address, or just a first name, to the FREEPOST address in this magazine, or give your contribution to a WIP worker, if you are in contact with one, we would be delighted to receive it.

We will publish a selection of diary entries in the autumn issue of Ready!

Steady! Go! Remember the date! My Diary, 21 June 2017!

Ready Steady Go! 9

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NEWS AND VIEWS THIS ISSUE n R E D U C I N G T H E P R I S O N P O P U L AT I O N n CLEAN BREAK WINS LONGFORD PRIZE n FA I R N E S S F O R B L A C K A N D E T H N I C MINORITY WOMEN

Ex-drug dealer to Solicitor advising on Aussie sentencing

CAROLINE MCCREDIE/GETTY IMAGES

D

ebbie Kilroy, the only convicted drug trafficker in Australia to be admitted as a lawyer, was recently appointed to the Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council, which advises the court of appeal and the attorney general on sentencing matters – another first.

Kilroy, chosen because she “brings a unique set of experiences” to her position, is a passionate prison reformer and, as director of Sisters Inside, the organisation she set up in the 1990s to fight for the rights of women inside, she argues that the proof that prisons have failed as a model of punishment and rehabilitation is that in Australia, as in the UK, over half of women reconvict. “The struggle is…how we…get people out of prison and keep them out of prison,” she said.

Kilroy says that the Council will hear “robust conversations” about sentencing and its effect on “the most marginalised and disadvantaged” and about the need to break down “racism, misogyny and sexism within legal frameworks”.

A child victim of domestic violence, Kilroy was often in trouble as a teenager, in and out of care and detention. In the 1980s, she married Joe Kilroy, an indigenous (Aboriginal) Australian and famous rugby player to whom she is still married. The two were convicted of selling cannabis. In 1989, the mother of two small children, she was sentenced to six years.

During her time inside, Kilroy studied for a degree in social work. She campaigned to improve conditions for incarcerated women and, after her release in 2007, she gained court approval to become a solicitor. She was the first convicted criminal to be accepted by the Queensland Supreme Court.

“We must think outside the bars,” Kilroy said. “It is time for all governments to address poverty, homelessness, education, violence against women, mental health and drug addictions. Criminalisation and imprisonment cannot continue to be the default response for these social issues.”

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JOE KILROY, DEBBIE'S HUSBAND

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DEBBIE KILROY AND HER SON, JOSHUA, MAY 15 2016 IN SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

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Labour MP investigates fairness for black and ethnic minority women affected by the justice system

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What do you think? Let us know your opinion of this review.

LINDA NYLIND/ PATRICIA PHILLIPS ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

A

landmark review is underway to investigate the treatment of people of black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds (BAME) affected by the criminal justice system.

The review aims to estabpoint of arrest onwards, lish the facts regarding fairthrough the courts, ness and equality of outprisons and rehabilitacomes for BAME people tion programmes and throughout the system.

Please make it clear in your letter – for the first time in It will make recommendaif you are happy for it to be the UK – research has tions aimed to introduce published anonymously in applied data analysis change and prevent any the next edition of the techniques used by the US discrimination, prejudice and magazine. Thank you.

Department of Justice. unfair treatment.

Women in Prison wanted to The review is being led by Damake sure that the specific experivid Lammy MP (Labour MP for Totences of women were considered within this tenham) and has been strongly review and WIP was commissioned by Lambacked by Theresa May, who inmy’s team to hold focus groups cluded a reference to the review in her with women affected by first speech as Prime Minister. She the criminal justice said: “If you’re black, you’re system. Our report treated more harshly by the has been fed into criminal justice system the consultation. than if you’re white.”

This magaEvidence has been zine will keep you considered from the

DAVID LAMMY, MP, ON TOTTENHAM HIGH ROAD

CLOSURE OF HMP HOLLOWAY TRIGGERS BATTLE OVER FAIR USE OF THE SITE

n

up to date with the findings, the progress of the review and changes made to the system as a result.

So far, the review has found that 51% of the UK-born BAME population agree that “the criminal justice system discriminates against particular groups”, compared to 35% of the UK-born white population, and that black and minority ethnic defendants are more likely to go to prison for certain types of crime.

Lammy said: “These emerging findings raise difficult questions about whether ethnic minority communities are getting a fair deal in our justice system...

These are complex issues and I will dig deeper in the coming months to establish whether bias is a factor.”

By Claire Cain, WIP’s Policy and Campaigns Manager JEREMY CORBYN, LABOUR PARTY LEADER

Women in Prison is working to ensure that the closure of HMP Holloway and sale of the site leads to positive change for women affected by the criminal justice system and their families.

A coalition of charities, campaign groups, local residents and women who were once held in Holloway have formed the Reclaim Holloway Network. As a member, WIP is working to ensure that the land on which HMP Holloway is sited is used to reduce women’s imprisonment.

Among the ideas proposed is the provision of affordable good-quality housing. We know that the housing crisis and homelessness is a direct cause of many women going to prison. Using this eight-acre site for council homes, community-owned and/or supported housing would set a fantastic example for the future direction of UK housing and would also help reduce the numbers of women in prison.

Another proposal is the creation of a base for women’s support services or organisations.

Recently, in New York, a prison was replaced with a “women’s building”, which hosts events celebrating, empowering and supporting women in the community.

It could be a model for the Holloway site.

The Network wants the money from the site sale to fund community-support services and women’s centres, particularly in London. The Network is lobbying MPs, London Assembly members and local councillors to promote its ideas. Demonstrations and public meetings are also part of the campaign, supported by Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

If you would like to be involved, have suggestions for the use of the land and/or have memories of time spent in Holloway or have been affected by moving from Holloway, please use the FREEPOST address to contact Claire Cain, Policy and Campaigns manager, Women in Prison, FREEPOST RSLB-UABE-TYRT, Unit 10, The Ivories, 6 Northampton St, London N1 2HY.

By Claire Cain Ready Steady Go! 13

The drive to reduce the prison population gains influential support

A

trio of prominent British politicians and the most senior judge in Britain have joined the growing consensus that the prison population – the highest in Europe – should be radically reduced and real reform of jails introduced.

The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, recently told MPs at the House of Commons Justice Select Committee that the prison population in England and Wales is “very, very high” and there are concerns that it could rise higher still. Lord Thomas said there is, “an awful lot we can do to avoid sending certain people to prison”. He advocated: “Tough community penalties.”

In December, Lord Thomas’s views were echoed in a letter to the Times from Kenneth Clarke (former Conservative Home Secretary), Jacqui Smith (former Labour Home Secretary) and Nick Clegg (LibDem former Deputy Prime Minister). They proposed that the prison population should be halved to return to the 1980s figure of around 45,000.

Speaking in a radio interview, Clegg said the size of the prison population was not simply indicative of the crime rate. What also has had an impact is the rise in the number of people given indeterminate sentences, extra days being added to sentences for crimes committed in jail and the use of recall for prisoners who breach their conditions when released on licence.

Clegg said: “Locking up, warehousing, increasingly large numbers of people…only to see them go out and commit crime again is not the way to keep society safe.”

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NICK CLEGG, JAQUI SMITH, LORD LORD THOMAS OF CWMGIEDD AND KEN CLARKE

Ready Steady Go! 15

JADE ANOUKA (MARK ANTONY) AND COMPANY IN JULIUS CAESAR

The 2016 Longford Prize Awarded to Clean Break

HELEN MAYBANKS

C

lean Break, an organisation that uses theatre to transform the lives of women affected by the criminal justice system, and the only female theatre company of its kind in the world, has shared The 2016 Longford Prize with a London theatre, the Donmar Warehouse, and York St John University’s Prison Partnership Project. The prize is for work carried out over the last four years in women’s prisons and includes the Donmar’s all-female Shakespeare Trilogy (read more about this in the interview with actress and former prisoner Jennifer Joseph on page 88).

The Longford Prize, part of the Longford Trust, set up in the memory of prison reformer Lord Longford, recognises the contribution of an indi-

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vidual, group or organisation working in the area of penal or social reform that show outstanding qualities in the following areas: humanity, courage, persistence and originality.

The Longford Prize is organised in association with The Prison Reform Trust.

Clean Break worked alongside professional actors to produce its all-women, prison-set Shakespeare trilogy. All three productions have starred Clean Break patron Dame Harriet Walter, alongside performances from graduates of the organisation’s education programme. The trilogy will take to the stage in New York in 2017.

Clean Break collaborated with the Donmar on a project that involved a group of Clean Break students working with both companies to explore the SHEILA ATIM (FERDINAND) IN THE TEMPEST

WORLD BOOK NIGHT PLANS TO INSPIRE MORE TO READ

n

CLARE DUNNE (PRINCE HAL) AND HARRIET WALTER (HENRY IV) IN HENRY IV

links between the lives of Shakespeare’s characters and the lives we live today. The project created a brand new piece of theatre by blending Shakespeare’s text with the women’s own words.

The Longford Prize panel, chaired by Professor John Podmore, a former prison governor, said of the Shakespeare Trilogy – Julius Caesar, Henry IV and The Tempest: “Each stars ex-prisoners and is set behind bars. The whole project is a lightning conductor for the place and value of arts in prisons. Its insight allows audiences into the lives of those in the otherwise closed world of a jail. The trilogy powerfully and memorably highlights our shared humanity and potential.”

World Book Night this year will fall on 23 April.

Free books will be distributed to prisons, care homes, youth centres, libraries, mental health groups and other charities in order to match books with new readers.

Among the authors whose books will be given away are Dreda Say Mitchell (One False Move), Ann Cleeves (Raven Black) and John Steinbeck (Of Mice and Men). All books will be donated by publishers.

World Book Night is now in its seventh year and grew out of World Book Day for children.

The purpose of both is simple – to encourage more children and grownups to read and promote the pleasure of reading.

In 2012 and 2013, World Book Night was also celebrated in the US. In the UK and Ireland, almost 50,000 people gave 1 million books away. In 2013, the event became part of the charity The Reading Agency. In the lead-up to World Book Night, events throughout the country will celebrate the difference that reading makes to peoples’ lives.

Ready Steady Go! 17

HAVE YOU RECEIVED

AN UNFAIR

SENTENCE? T

he Centre for Criminal Appeals is a charity law firm. One of our missions is to challenge disproportionate sentences arising out of the courts of England and Wales. We do not charge our clients for legal representation.

Our projects provide legal representation for women who wish to appeal against their sentence, ie to ask the court to look again at their sentence. This can be done on a number of grounds eg failure to raise or take into proper account child-care responsibilities, a mental health condition or learning disability, to name but a few.

we invite you to write to us at the address below to see whether your case could be included in our Women’s Sentencing Project.

We are not going to be able to help everyone who writes to us – but we will look carefully at each letter we receive to see whether we can make a difference to the case, for you and for the sentencing scheme at large.

When writing to us, you can mark the front of the envelope with "Rule 39" to ensure that prison staff do not open the letter.

Please note that, if a solicitor is already representing you in relation to an appeal, we will not be able to assist.

If you are a woman who feels that your sentence was unjust and you are: n in prison for a non-violent offence; n you feel you were given inadequate advice about your right to appeal against the sentence, or no explanation as to why an appeal against your sentence would be unsuccessful,

WOMEN’S SENTENCING PROJECT Centre For Criminal Appeals 2-10 Princeton Street Holborn, London WC1R 4BH

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1in 3

W O M E N ' S F I G U R E S T H AT M AT T E R !

ONLY

WOMEN MAKE UP

6%

OF THE ENGINEERING WORKFORCE IN THE UK

WOMEN ACROSS THE WORLD EXPERIENCE VIOLENCE IN THEIR LIFETIME

IS FEMALE (Women's Engineering Society)

(London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)

85,000

OF THE MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT AT WESTMINSTER

WOMEN AGED 16-59 ARE RAPED EACH YEAR IN ENGLAND AND WALES

(Fawcett Society)

(Home Office)

THE HIGHEST NUMBERS OF WOMEN ARE EMPLOYED IN THE LOWESTPAID SECTORS, INCLUDING CARE AND RETAIL

0%

(Fawcett Society)

of the highest three ranks in the army, RAF and navy (Fawcett Society)

90% WOMEN INVEST

OF THEIR EARNINGS IN FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES COMPARED WITH

30-40%

INVESTED BY MEN (World Bank)

OF THE POPULATION BUT ONLY

30%

WOMEN HOLD

GLOBALLY,

51%

THE GAP BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN'S EARNINGS WAS 17.4% IN 1997 – IN 2014 IT WAS

IN A TYPICAL MONTH,

78%

OF NEWSPAPER ARTICLES ARE WRITTEN

BY MEN

»

THERE ARE

9.4% (BBC)

130 million CHILDREN IN THE WORLD WITH NO ACCESS TO EDUCATION – 70% OF THEM ARE GIRLS (International Rescue Committee)

(Fawcett Society)

Ready Steady Go! 19

#BE BOLD FOR CHANGE!

Hannah Morowa of WomenMATTA in Manchester explains what International Women’s Day, held annually on 8 March, means to her

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I N T E R N AT I O N A L W O M E N ' S DAY

NE OF MY FAVOURITE

O days of the year falls on 8

March: International Women’s Day – that’s definitely a reason for celebration! International Women’s Day (IWD) is a chance for everyone around the world to celebrate the social, political, economical and cultural achievements of all women, but also the everyday of achievements of the women we know and love.

The day is also a chance to remind everyone that gender inequality still exists, and to encourage people to challenge this in whatever ways they can. For example, there is still a gender pay gap. The World Economic Forum predicts the gender gap won’t close entirely until 2186 – that’s not good enough, so this year’s IWD is asking us all, #Be Bold For Change!

Women are still not equally represented in business or politics; women are far more likely to experience domestic and/or sexual abuse; and, globally, they have less access to healthcare and education.

“Women are still not equally represented in business or politics.”

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International Women’s Day is not a flash in the pan! It has a long history and was first celebrated in the early 1900s. This was a time of great change and the “women’s movement” was taking off in various countries. In 1908, over 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding the right to vote, better pay and shorter

CLARA ZETKIN SUFFRAGETTES, PRECEDED BY POLICEMEN, LEAVING CITY HALL, NEW YORK, 1908

working hours. Taking inspiration from this, a woman called Clara Zetkin in Germany suggested that every country should take one day a year to celebrate women and push their demands forward.

In 1910, a conference of over 100 women from 17 different countries agreed, and International Women’s Day was born! It was originally celebrated on 19 March each

»

I N T E R N AT I O N A L W O M E N ' S DAY

year, but was moved to 8 March in 1913 and has been held on that date ever since.

Each year, the United Nations choose a theme for International Women’s Day. This year, it is: “Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50:50 by 2030”. This theme highlights ongoing inequalities for women in work, challenges the world to reduce the gender pay gap, to recognise women’s unpaid care and domestic work, and to address gender gaps in leadership, all by 2030.

In Manchester, a local theme is always set as well, and this year it is “Our Manchester Women” because, as the Council says: “The women of Manchester are the backbone of the city. They juggle a number of roles as leaders in our neighbourhoods inspiring friendship, creating a sense of community, instilling pride, contributing to the economic success of the city in their roles across professions, as well as being the building blocks of family life.”

It’s only fitting that WomenMATTA and other women’s centres in Manchester get involved to celebrate the strength and diversity of women. Women who attend WomenMATTA and other centres will be encouraged to identify their own personal or professional female icon and, through a number of creative workshops, will represent this person through any creative media of their choice – art, photography, poetry, sewing, knitting, voice or video recording.

“Women are It could be anyone: a Manchester’s public figure, a teacher, a backbone and the memorable family member, or even local lollipop lady! building blocks of theAmong Manchester women, you may wish to family life.” celebrate suffragette

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Emmeline Pankhurst; Victorian novelist Elizabeth Gaskell; anti-racism campaigner Louise Da-Cocodia; Manchester’s first female councillor, Margaret Ashton; Elizabeth Raffald, 18th-century entrepreneur; and Ellen Wilkinson, Labour cabinet minister and leader of the Jarrow March.

All the art pieces produced will be displayed at a month-long exhibition at the Nexus Art Café on Dale Street in Manchester City Centre from 7 March until 4 April, with a special launch event held on 7 March and there will be examples of the work produced in the next issue of this magazine.

Enjoy the day!

ELIZABETH GASKELL

EMMELINE PANKHURST

LOUISE DA-COCODIA

Ready Steady Go! 25

I N T E R N AT I O N A L W O M E N ’ S DAY

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY 2016 ...as celebrated in one women’s prison, recalled by Robyn

Today, when I opened the door to my cell, I was informed that it was International Women’s Day. “I’ve never heard about this before” I mumbled, “so why not go and see what it’s all about?”

Walking through the prison was such an eyeopener. There were posters and information about so many courageous and inspirational women, such as Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Tina Turner, Michelle Obama, Princess Kate, Erin Brockovich, Cupcake Brown, Margaret Thatcher (love her or hate her, she was still the first female prime minister this country has ever had) and the suffragettes – women who gave their lives and liberty to give us the vote – something we wrongly take for granted.

Learning about the struggles and achievements of these women has made me feel so proud. Even though I am in prison, I feel far from imprisoned; I believe the world is my oyster. I can achieve anything. I am capable, intelligent, a woman of substance,

courageous with opportunity and free choices.

I am EQUAL. We also had the privilege today of a singer coming into the jail and performing for us. She was amazing and sang songs from every genre. We were all up and dancing to her music. We had an amazing time without drink or drugs. It felt like no one could stop us! We felt free – liberated. And, in that moment, we were women together, making one another smile and feel great. All problems, issues and arguments forgotten. We are capable of so much when we work together, rather than against one another.

I feel inspired to view my mum as a woman and not just as in, “Mum, can I have this?” or “Mum, can I have that?” I feel inspired to view my fellow wing-mates as women who probably have the same thoughts, fears, feelings and complexities as I have. I feel inspired to take more time getting to know and understand other women, as we are all amazing in our own right and capable of so much.

We are women. We are singers, firefighters, soldiers, lawyers, friends, actresses, campaigners, prime ministers, peace-makers, personalities, movement makers, teachers, doctors, mothers, scientists, sisters, survivors, historians, cleaners, groundbreakers, daughters, wives and we are together.

We are individual; we are women; we are powerful.

“Learning about the struggles and achievements of women made me feel so proud.”

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G E N D E R E Q UA L I T Y: W H E R E A R E W E TO DAY ?

G E N D E R E Q UA L I T Y: W H E R E A R E W E TO DAY ?

G E N D E R E Q UA L I T Y: W H E R E A R E W E TO DAY ?

LITE DEFINITION OF LITERACY IN ENGLISH: N O U N

» 1 [mass noun] THE ABILITY

TO READ AND WRITE:‘TESTS OF LITERACY AND NUMERACY’ [ as modifier ] ‘ADULT LITERACY PROGRAMMES’ E X A M P L E

S E N T E N C E S

S Y N O N Y M S :

» 1.1 COMPETENCE OR KNOWLEDGE IN A SPECIFIED AREA: ‘COMPUTER LITERACY IS ESSENTIAL’ O R I G I N

» LATE 19TH CENTURY: [english]

FROM LITERATE, ON THE PATTERN OF ILLITERACY.

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RACY TURNING the PAGE CAN'T READ, CAN READ the tools

you will need to help start reading...

WHAT'S MAKING IT DIFFICULT? understanding the causes of reading disabilities... BOOKCLUB how to set

up your club... LOVE WRITING three writers explain how it changed their lives... WHY I WRITE women tell us how and why they caught the bug...

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T U R N I N G T H E PAG E : I N T R O D U C T I O N

PASSPORT TO A BETTER WORLD - THE PLEASURE AND VALUE OF LEARNING TO READ AND WRITE Yvonne Roberts explains why the main theme of this issue of the magazine is the pleasure of the written word One in six people has difficulty reading.

The reasons why – as others on these pages explain – are numerous. They may include too little attention from an adult in those first early years; a problem with eyesight that isn’t detected; a childhood hearing condition, such as “glue ear”; and a difficulty with words that the ancient Greeks called dyslexia and that too many times is misunderstood as signalling that a boy or girl is “dim” or stupid.

Albert Einstein, Whoopi Goldberg, Tom Cruise and Jamie Oliver are among a number of famous people diagnosed as dyslexic. Stupid they are not.

Short-sightedness, blurred hearing, the lack of support to tackle the alphabet when you were a toddler – all of these are challenges that can be overcome in different ways, no matter what your age.

If you can’t read and someone else is reading this aloud to you now, it doesn’t mean you won’t read in future. You can start by looking for the support that suits you, and opening a book. Literacy, the ability to 34

read and write, is often seen as a measure of whether a person is “thick”. That’s wrong.

Often, to get by in life pretending to be able to read requires creativity, intelligence, skill and determination. Tap into that determination, and you are already on your way.

You might say: “I’ve done all right so far.

Why try to learn now? What if I fail? What if everybody discovers that I’m a grown-up who can’t do what a seven-year-old can do?

How embarrassing and humiliating is that?”

The reply is that it’s worth taking the risk. Everybody knows somebody who has difficulty with books and magazines and comics and the internet. The lack of literacy is widespread, so you are not alone. Set against the risk, the rewards are enormous.

Reading matters for practical reasons. It means a woman is self-reliant. She can read letters, fill in forms, help with her children’s homework, navigate the internet, stand as an equal with those who would otherwise choose to exploit or bully her because they know what is on the page and she doesn’t.

It matters because the ability to read means access to information – which is why libraries are so important. Information increases knowledge and helps us to make better choices.

Reading and writing also matters for magical reasons. The Reading Agency is a charity that inspires people to read and share their enjoyment of reading, “because everything changes when we read”.

Four years ago, Neil Gaiman, the playwright, writer, master of science fiction and graphic novelist, gave a lecture for the Reading Agency. It was called, “Why our future depends on libraries, reading and daydreaming”. He said: “Fiction can show you a different world...Once you’ve visited other worlds…you can never be entirely content with the world that you grew up in. And discontent is a good thing: people can... improve their worlds, leave them better, leave them different.”

Reading, in other words, provides enjoyment; it reveals fresh horizons; it can motivate and bring hope.

It can offer temporary escape from a grim situation and provide insight, empathy and knowledge denied if you don’t open that book or pick up a magazine. Reading casts a spell; it unlocks our imagination; it encourages us to believe things can be different; it inspires us to make a difference.

Reading is a good thing – so why deny yourself something good, and free?

In this issue, women inside and outside prison explain why they love reading and what taking up all kinds of writing means to them. We look at the hurdles presented by reading, what can be done and where to go for help. We give you the favourite books of the famous and the not so famous; we recommend tales that can chill the spine, soothe moods, broaden your knowledge of the way the world works and we interview women who make a living from story telling in print and on the stage.

When you’ve finished reading this issue, we hope you will start writing. Send us your ideas, thoughts, poems, short stories on anything and everything, including the (occasional) pain of learning how to read and the joy of embracing both fiction and non-fiction so, no matter what your circumstances, the world becomes a much, much bigger place (Freepost address on the inside back cover).

Albert Einstein, physicist and genius, was asked once how we could make our children intelligent. He said: “Read them fairytales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairytales.”

So, in that spirit, once upon a time, a woman who had always stumbled over written words, picked up this magazine and, at her own pace, began to learn to read.

Eventually, she was able read this issue cover to cover – a very happy ending.

“Reading brings enjoyment, hope, escape and it’s free – so why deny yourself?”

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T U R N I N G T H E PAG E : C A N ' T R E A D / C A N R E A D

FLYING OUT OF THE WINDOW LIKE PETER PAN David Kendall of the charity The Reading Agency explains its scheme

» READING AHEAD

George Clinton said: “Free your mind and your ass will follow.” A recent report found readers often experience a strong sense of “this is me” when they find books that reflect their lives. The same report found that readers rated reading as the best tonic for a low mood or anxiety. All good to hear, but does it really work?

Let’s hear from the people who know: “Losing myself in books helps me through difficult times. It’s a perfect way to escape for a while.” Alexia, HMP & YOI New Hall

» TAKE ME TO YOUR LIBRARY.

Every prison in England and Wales has a library. The Prison Rules (1999) states that, “a library shall be provided in every prison and, subject to any directions of the Secretary of State, every prisoner shall be allowed to have library books and to exchange them”.

The library has always been a place of quiet (not silence), of exploration, of learning and normalcy. Prison libraries are very much like their counterparts on the outside and they are the engines that drive a scheme called Reading Ahead, run by the charity for which I work.

Reading Ahead is now in 120 UK prisons. In 2016, over 15,000 prisoners took part (800 of whom were women). Reading Ahead also

“A benefit of reading is a sense of empathy with others whose lives are different.”

“The pure enjoyment of reading, the happiness, the sadness and the exciting.” Adele, HMP & YOI New Hall

“Reading liberates people.

It is vital, not a luxury.” Susan Howard, Governor, HMP Askam Grange & HMP & YOI New Hall 36

Reading can provide comfort. It allows us to disappear, fly out of the window like Peter Pan, but it can also take us to a truth, give us something to think and talk about for a few minutes, a few months or the rest of our lives.

Reading can help reduce stress, give focus, increase word power, and support writing and thinking skills.

One of the key benefits is a sense of empathy – not only do we see our world reflected but also that of others’ who live lives very different from ours.

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Illustration by Kee Ready Steady Go! 37

runs in workplaces, colleges, and public libraries.

The internationally famous novelist Martina Cole is an ambassador for Reading Ahead. She has donated a signed copy of her latest novel to each of the women’s prisons running the scheme.

She says: “When you read a book, you have to picture it all in your own mind. No one tells you what you’re seeing or what you should be feeling. That’s the secret of reading – it’s such a personal thing.”

The scheme requires you to choose six items to read – the key is to push yourself a little.

You might choose an article, a book, and a poem – you then write your thoughts about it in a special reading diary. When you have completed this, you receive a certificate and a mini dictionary.

Lisa from HMP Low Newton has taken part and says: “I’ve never read books before, just magazines, so I decided to start with the Quick Reads from the library and most of them were really good. I’m going to keep reading books!”

Tanya, from HMP Ashkam Grange, says: “The Six Book Challenge and Reading Ahead have inspired me to learn to read and now I can. Kimberley Chambers writes the best books going. I have thoroughly enjoyed every one I have read. Now I have started reading, I am going to take my five kids to the library more often when I get home. Thank you for the opportunity to get involved with something I never thought I would ever do.”

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TOP BOOKS

Every prison library has slightly different books on their shelves. Some have the wildly popular “urban books”, such as The Cartel series

by Ashley and JaQuavis; some don’t have true crime. What’s borrowed really does vary between HMP Send and New Hall but some authors remain popular in all locations: Martina Cole, Mandasue Heller, Cathy Glass, Dreda Say Mitchell, Kimberley Chambers, Stephen King, Charles Bronson, Jessie Keane. Selfhelp is also really popular, as is crochet!

What you read matters less than the effect it has on you.

That’s why recording your thoughts in the Reading Ahead diary is so powerful.

Reading can be a catalyst for change. According to one survey, almost one in 10 people have been empowered by reading to change their jobs; one fifth of regular readers have made changes to their health routines and hobbies; and more than a third have been encouraged to travel.

So, take the challenge and start reading!

T U R N I N G T H E PAG E : C A N ' T R E A D / C A N R E A D

PLOTTING A WAY TO COPE

Lyn Barlow describes how reading and writing have steered her through tough times Although I had a pretty turbulent and unhappy early childhood, which probably set me on the self-destructive path I took in later life, my parents gave me what was to become an important lifeline – the love of books.

I can fondly remember my mother reading to me every night.

While my father, a mainly uneducated steel worker, loved mystical, fantasy books, I devoured Enid Blyton’s Secret Seven and Famous Five, the Peanuts series, plus a weekly staple of Mandy and Bunty comics. Later, when I ended up in an approved school, my father gave me Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea Trilogy, books about wizards, but really about so much more, which introduced me to the realm of fantasy and, ultimately, to books like Lord of the Rings that often saved me in really bad times.

Reading became my escape from unhappiness, and led to my love of writing, too. Later, in care, a member of staff encouraged me to write. To this day, I still keep journals, photographs, notes of events,

etc...I found poetry allowed me to put down in words things I couldn’t say out loud. It allowed me to express anger, rage, sadness, pain – all emotions that, when I couldn’t write, I expressed through self-harm.

My love of poetry evolved. When I first started, I thought everything had to rhyme! I spent so much time working out the pattern at the expense of what I really wanted to say.

Then someone introduced me to free verse, where nothing has to rhyme and anything goes and, from then on, it was my favourite form of writing poetry.

I was able to put down exactly what I wanted to say and, with practice, it became almost intuitive how to set the flow of a poem, the balance of words and how long each line should be. If this sounds complicated, it isn’t. I always start with the feelings I want to convey, then I look for the words that express them and, somehow, it just falls into place.

I also discovered that poetry could be about sharing. Sharing my writing with friends or others going through similar experiences can not only strengthen bonds between people but also give you other people’s perspective.

I’ve also, in later life, taken part in poetry jams, where you get up and read out a poem. Some poems are like, or are, songs.

This takes confidence, though. I don’t think I could have done it when I was in the throes of hard times.

“Reading was my escape from unhappiness and led to my love of writing, too.”

» 39

MY FAVOURITE

BOOK

When I first went to prison, some friends told me to take the allowed quota of books. For those early short sentences, I mainly picked short novels, poetry books.

I soon realised that escaping into a story took me out of prison, out of my cell, gave me respite from everything around me.

Later, when I got longer sentences, I began to pick more difficult and challenging books.

Books that I’d probably not attempt to read in everyday life.

I remember taking in Midnight’s Children by Salmon Rushdie, which was hard going but worth it because the life it described was so alien to me it made me forget, briefly, where I was.

I took The Bone People by Kerri Hulme, a book full of emotion, which is probably still my favourite book of all times, and, on one occasion, The History of the Suffragettes.

I think I chose this for two reasons: before being sentenced, I’d just started a college course that covered the suffragettes’ movement; and, also, reading about rebellious women seemed appropriate and gave me strength!

Years later, I found myself on remand, in a strip cell, on C1 in Holloway. My mental health problems had led me there. I had no books but was allowed paper and pen. I wrote angry, unhappy poems. I typed them out during

My favourite book is: SHIFTING COLOURS

by Fiona Sussman It’s about: A young girl growing up in 1960s apartheid South Africa who is sent to England.

I love it because: There are many issues covered in this book.

By Donna Symonds, Social Work Student My favourite book is: HUMAN TRACES,

by Sebastian Faulks It’s about: What “mental health” is, and how our understanding of this has changed over time.

I love it because: I fell in love with all the characters.

By Hannah Morowa, WomenMATTA Project Manager Manchester My favourite book is: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

by Harper Lee It’s about: A black v white court case set in Alabama in the Depression.

I love it because: I love the way it’s written from a young girl’s perspective.

By Claire Warrender, Social Work Student My favourite book is: THE GRUFFALO by Julia Donaldson It’s about: A mouse who creates a fictional monster to scare off predators who then comes to life.

I love it because: I read it to my baby girl every night.

By Jessica Pyrah, WomenMATTA Project Worker My favourite book is: THE MALORY TOWERS and ST CLARE’S books,

by Enid Blyton It’s about: Life at fictitious boarding schools I love it because: The stories made school seem really exciting and got me interested in reading .

By WomenMATTA service user

education sessions. Although they helped me express how I felt, there can be a down side to writing poems, as they can, at times, amplify your emotions.

Only you can gauge when is a good or bad time to write and this comes with practice.

I don’t think I’d have come through that period without being able to write. I’ve come to realise, and understand, that I tend to write poetry when I’m going through difficult times and, when my life is going well, I use writing differently.

Now, I tend to write for pleasure. I’m trying short-story writing and I still keep journals.

I don’t write every day; only when I’m in the right mood.

Increasingly, I find it important and helpful to share my writing.

Overall, writing and reading are tools that can help us cope with our surroundings and what we are experiencing at any given time. Used wisely, reading and writing can get us through hard times and, later, revisiting what we have written, we often gain insights that can inform how we live our lives and cope better with future experiences. I can now look back and say, with confidence, my writing literally “saved” me. I don’t think I’d have come through without it.

I hope it can do that for you, too.

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T U R N I N G T H E PAG E : H OW TO S E T U P YO U R OW N B O O K G R O U P

OPEN A BOOK AND MEET NEW PEOPLE

David Kendall on the pleasures of joining a book group – or starting one yourself We like to talk about the films we’ve seen and it’s the same with books we’ve enjoyed.

There are about 50,000 reading groups in England and nearly every women’s prison has at least one.

» WHAT HAPPENS IN A GROUP? Usually a group of people decide to meet, for an hour a month, to discuss a book they have all read.

People tend to choose books they have always wanted to read but never got around to, or ones that are popular/talked about at that moment.

STARTING »A GROUP:

“Books that ‘fail valiantly’ often lead to the best active and passionate discussions.”

Ask the library if there is already a group. Most prison libraries run one but others also support groups of friends who want to have their own. Because libraries have multiple copies of books for reading groups outside prisons, they will be able to offer you a choice of books for 44

yours. They can also help with suggestions from book reviews, and what is popular/in the news. Many groups produce a shortlist and then vote on what will be their next read.

Decide where to meet and how often.

Try to make sure the space is just for the group, so you are not interrupted.

When you do meet, start by asking each person for her favourite part or chapter – this ensures everybody gets heard and jumps right into the discussion.

Listen – don’t just wait for your turn but listen! Taking on others’ views is as important as speaking.

Bring the discussion to a close, rather than let it tail off.

One group asks everybody to sum up the book in three words to end the session.

Another looks at a short poem that has similar themes to the book.

Sometimes we want a book that gives us something to talk about, not just the thrill of the race to the end. In that way, the books that “fail valiantly” often lead to the best discussions – these can be very active and passionate. The group is not in awe or blind admiration of the writer; they can see the good and the bad; and they see what would have worked better if the writer had done things differently.

The longest running group is at HMP Send. Started in the early 2000s, the group

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has had a long-standing facilitator. But not all groups will aspire to last as long; some will come and go, as people do. Many are overseen by either a librarian or a volunteer for Prison Reading Groups (a charity set up to help and promote reading groups in prisons), and some find a different path.

At HMP Styal, the group meets weekly and, instead of a particular book, they bring reading on a particular theme (colour was one). The group is peer-facilitated and is very popular. When asked why they wanted to join the group, most said to “meet new people”, and get more confident in their reading. The group constantly attracts new members and a woman who was released recently wrote to the group to thank them for giving her, “peace, a voice, and contentment”.

However you want to set up a group, or get on with your reading, you can start NOW! David Kendall has worked on Reading Ahead and many other arts/literature projects in prisons.

20 BOOKS POPULAR WITH READING GROUPS:

A Street Cat Named Bob – James Bowen Tideline – Penny Hancock A Man Called Ove – Fredrik Backman Someone Else’s Skin – Sarah Hilary The Devil in the Marshalsea – Antonia Hodgson The Kind Worth Killing – Peter Swanson Chickenfeed – Minette Walters Redeemable: A Memoir of Darkness and Hope – Erwin James My Sister’s Keeper – Jodi Picoult The Girl on the Train – Paula Hawkins War Horse – Michael Morpurgo The Outrun – Amy Liptrot Memoirs of a Dipper – Nell Leyshon The Missing – Tim Gautreaux Room – Emma Donoghue The Rosie Project – Graeme Simsion To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee Testimony – Anita Shreve Wonder – RJ Palacio The Color Purple – Alice Walker

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T U R N I N G T H E PAG E : W H AT M I G H T B E M A K I N G I T D I F F I C U LT Y TO R E A D ?

NO BARS TO READING – AND OPENING DOORS TO A BETTER LIFE

Angela Cairns of the charity Shannon Trust explains the power of women teaching women to read Gina is serving her first prison sentence. After being on remand for a number of months, she received a sentence of several years. Entering prison for the first time was traumatic but, even so, Gina became aware that some of the women she met struggled to read.

“I was put on the detox wing, and I remember helping a woman with her reading. I got friendly with her and she opened up about her struggles with reading. Common sense told me that there was a bigger problem than this one woman. But I was on the detox wing and wasn’t in a good place. “ Eventually, Gina joined a scheme called the Reading Plan run by Shannon Trust, a national charity. The trust supports people

in prison who can read so, as Mentors, they can teach their peers who can’t. A Mentor receives two-and-a-half hours of initial training in how to use the Turning Pages Reading Plan and how to develop the skills and understanding to support a person, called a Learner, to learn to read. A Learner is recommended to undertake 20 minutes a day on the plan, five days a week.

Set up in 1997, the charity now supports over 4,000 people every year – including in 12 women’s prisons. Every prison has a member of staff appointed as Reading Plan Lead. Mentors wear blue T-shirts with the Shannon Trust logo and are encouraged to make themselves known to anyone who is interested in undertaking the plan.

Gina says: “As much as I’m helping people, the Reading Plan has helped me.

It’s a two-way thing.”

She believes that there is a huge advantage to its “by prisoners, for prisoners” approach.

“I have an insight into why Learners, and all of us, can struggle. A lot of my work as a Mentor is being empathic and building a rapport with my Learners. Understanding that they’re going through a lot, that it’s a hard time and a totally new experience for some of them coming into prison. I understand that.

I have genuine empathy with them. When I first work with a woman, the sessions are just about Turning Pages but, as I get to know them, they open up and talk to me.”

“As a Mentor, I build a rapport with my Learners – they open up and talk to me.”

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Illustration by Kee 49

Shannon Trust Reading Plan offers a simple, safe way to learn to read. It’s oneto-one process; it allows a woman to learn at her own pace and it is private. Learners often tell us about how being able to read is helping them to transform their lives.

One woman says: “Now, I can help my kids with their reading while before, I wouldn’t have known how to. And, obviously, to get jobs, it’s helped me a lot.”

Faced with being unable to read letters from home, the meal menu or make an application to access training, support, employment or healthcare can make people feel embarrassed, vulnerable and isolated. The reasons why a woman has reached adulthood without learning to read are numerous 50

and varied – many have specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia (see page 56) or disrupted school experience; too often, it is simply that they didn’t have someone in their life with time and patience to teach them.

For Gina, prison has been difficult but she sees the positive side of it, particularly as a Mentor. She has had time to deal with her problems and not fall back on old habits.

This is helping her relationships with her family. Mentoring has also given her the chance to develop her skills.

“I now look forward to helping someone; being useful can make you feel so much better about yourself.

“I’ve always known that we’re all individuals with strengths and weaknesses

MY FAVOURITE

BOOK

but now I’m not judgemental about women. When I hear about what people have done, I know there are reasons. I focus on the person’s strengths.

“It’s got to be the Reading Plan and the steady, committed and understanding approach from others that have done this. Even my learners are supportive of me – they know when I’m having a bad day, and they understand me, too. The Reading Plan is opening up opportunities through building my confidence. I’ve surprised myself.”

It takes a huge amount of courage for someone to try to learn to read as an adult.

Women may be apprehensive about signing up. With a Mentor, their learning is private and at their own pace.

Gina says: “I’ve worked with three or four women who couldn’t read at all when they came. Those Learners had pride. They managed to turn something negative into something so positive.”

If you think you could support your peers and become a Shannon Trust Mentor, or know someone that needs some encouragement to learn to read, please contact your Reading Plan Lead or a Shannon Trust Mentor in your prison. www.shannontrust.org.uk

My favourite book is: ANGELA’S ASHES

by Frank McCourt It’s about: It is serious and funny – it reminded me of my dad because his family was poor like the family in the book.

I love it because: It got me through a bad time in prison.

By WomenMATTA service user My favourite book is: THE COMPLETE ROALD DAHL COLLECTION, especially JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH It’s about: Various things!

I love it because: The characters are amazing, I can never put the books down!

By WomenMATTA service user My favourite book is: ALL THAT GLITTERS

by Pearl Lowe and CARELESS WHISPER

by George Michael It’s about: Their lives – I love autobiographies.

I love it because: I love reading about other people’s lives.

By WomenMATTA service user My favourite book is: CHRONIC AND CHARAS

by Dominic McCaffrey It’s about: Drug culture.

I love it because: Though a fictional story, it describes the drug culture in Manchester and India.

By: WomenMATTA service user My favourite books is: A STREET CAT CALLED BOB

by James Bowen It’s about: A homeless man who is befriended by a big ginger cat called Bob. I love it because: it shows how people and pets can develop great friendships and help each other out through difficult times.

By Trish James, WomenMATTA Project Worker

LEONIE A SHANNON »TRUST MENTOR AND CO-ORDINATOR

“I had been an induction peer mentor in Holloway and, as the prison was closing down, there wasn’t as much to do. My boss for the induction process was also in charge of the Shannon Trust programme and asked if I would like to do it. I liked working with people and feeling like I was helping others and making a difference. Being a Mentor does this.

In prison, it’s not easy to find a job that benefits other people, as well as yourself. As a Mentor, I am able to help people become more independent in life. That is a nice feeling.

I am also the co-ordinator, so I am in the position to complete Level 4 in Advice & Guidance through the St Giles Trust organisation, which could lead on to a degree with the Open University.

I would advise both Learners and Mentors to do this programme. Learners will become more independent, confident and happier in their prison environment. Mentors gain experience and skills by working with people, and patience and understanding which can help with life and employment outside.”

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T U R N I N G T H E PAG E : W H AT M I G H T B E M A K I N G I T D I F F I C U LT Y TO R E A D ?

By Melanie Jameson, chair of the Dyslexia Adult Network This edition of Ready, Steady Go! focuses on reading, something that brings joy to many but which is an activity that some try to avoid. Maybe you struggle with all aspects of reading, or maybe you find that you have no problem with single words or short sentences – it is just longer pieces of text that cause problems. Why might this be?

Well, one possibility is visual stress [see box] – a condition linked to dyslexia, dyspraxia and migraines and, more rarely, epilepsy, but which also can exist alone.

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MY FAVOURITE

BOOK

The difficulties caused by visual stress are a barrier to fluent reading but, fortunately, one that can be overcome with professional help.

What are the signs of visual stress? They include finding reading excessively tiring (even to the point of putting you to sleep); print becoming blurred, fading or “floating off the page”; headaches or eye strain associated with reading and a “glare” from white paper. Some people tell me that the words appear to join up, leaving no spaces in-between. In addition, flicker from fluorescent lighting or computer screens may cause discomfort.

By far the most common experience, however, is simply losing the place within the line or as you move to the next line – this is made far worse if the text forms a straight line down the right-hand side. The irregular spaces in the line seem to form streams of white, cascading down the page, which distract would-be readers from the words they are trying to focus on.

How can dyslexia affect reading? (See page 56 for more information on dyslexia.) If you have dyslexia, you may have underlying language difficulties, such as a weak link between letter sounds and how they are written. This means the process of reading does not become 54

My favourite book is: THE ROAD

by Cormack McCarthy It’s about: The will to continue living in a postapocalyptic world.

I love it because: It has stayed in my memory years after reading it.

By WomenMATTA service user

My favourite book is: THE FAMILY

by Martina Cole It’s about: Christine fails in love with Philip, a gangster, and becomes immersed and stuck in his world.

I love it because: it is an HONEST account of how women feel. I was unable to put it down!

By WomenMATTA service user My favourite book is: SHANTARAM

by Gregory David Roberts It’s about: An ex arms dealer who escapes from prison and his various adventures afterwards.

I love it because: It’s a true story written as fiction – the author had his first two drafts ripped up by prison guardsI didn’t want the journey to end.

By Sue Cayton, WomenMATTA Volunteer My favourite book is: PEPPA PIG It’s about: A pig and her family I love it because: My grandchildren love Peppa Pig and like the books.

By Gaynor, WomenMATTA drop in attendee My favourite book is: THE CINDER PATH

by Catherine Cookson It’s about: a farmer’s son who falls in love, then goes to fight in World War 1.

I love it because: It was true to life. The story really gripped me.

By Mary, WomenMATTA drop-in attendee

automatic and spelling remains poor. An unreliable short-term memory makes it hard to retain information. If visual stress is also present, reading becomes a truly tough process.

Other factors can also derail reading. If young children have “glue ear” that dulls hearing, they can miss out on early vital stages, which lay the foundation for spoken and written language.

Others may have missed schooling, either through family circumstances or exclusion.

At a certain stage, children move on from “learning to read” to “reading to learn”. If the skill of reading is not secure by this time, school becomes increasingly difficult. Educational failure can lead to “self-exclusion” by truanting, which protects self-esteem but closes down employment opportunities requiring qualifications.

Later on in life, you might decide to catch up on the knowledge and qualifications that you have missed but now encounter another obstacle – an unexpected problem with a skill others seem to acquire effortlessly: fluent reading. And this becomes an insurmountable barrier to achievement.

How can I get over this barrier? Well, it is worthwhile exploring if visual stress is a factor. Go through my visual

T U R N I N G T H E PAG E : W H AT M I G H T B E M A K I N G I T D I F F I C U LT Y TO R E A D ?

stress checklist, reproduced here; the 12 items highlight areas of difficulty, which require professional help. The first two relate to an issue that can be overlooked: perhaps all you need is reading glasses.

Reading whole sections of text, in which your eyes need to move smoothly along the lines, then transfer accurately to the next line, requires different visual skills to simply reading single words and phrases.

The questions numbered 3 -12 on the checklist are linked to visual stress. Once out of prison, finding an optician who specialises in this area is the best source of help. They are listed, county-by-county, on the websites www.ceriumoptical.com and www.s4clp.org. A thorough eye examination from one of these specialists may lead to eye exercises to help your eyes work together, or to corrective spectacles. Make sure to flag up the particular difficulties you encounter during reading and mention if you are dyslexic, dyspraxic or have migraines. For

further information, visit www.dyslexiamalvern.co.uk/visualstress.

You may have heard about tinted spectacles or coloured overlays. Some people find that getting away from black text on white background lessens visual stress when reading.

Getting the foreground (text) and background colours adjusted on a computer screen also helps. If this affects you, and you get the opportunity, try coloured overlays (non-reflective sheets of plastic placed over text) to see if any of the tints make reading easier.

A small range of overlays should be available if you are on the Shannon Trust Reading Plan (see page 42) or attending education. Glasses with a tint that is exactly right for you would be even more useful.

Unfortunately, neither the eye examination nor precision tinted glasses are available on the NHS, so funding will be needed.

Good luck on your journey to open up the world of reading and writing!

CHECKLIST FOR VISUAL STRESS 1. Have you been prescribed glasses? [If YES, why?]

2. Do you read close to the page?

3. Do you often lose your place when reading?

4. Do you use a marker/your finger to keep the place?

5. Do you ever read numbers/words back to front?

6. Do you get headaches when you try to read?

7. Do your eyes become sore or water?

8. Do you screw your eyes up when reading?

9. Do you rub or close one eye when reading?

10. Does white paper [or a whiteboard] seem to glare?

11. Is it easier to read from coloured/tinted paper?

12. Does print become distorted as you read?

FREE ADVICE ON ADULT DYSLEXIA & DYSPRAXIA British Dyslexia Association www.bdadyslexia.org.uk Dyspraxia Foundation www.dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk Dyslexia Foundation www.dyslexiafoundation.co.uk Dyslexia Scotland www.dyslexiascotland.org.uk Dyslexia Consultancy Malvern www.dyslexia-malvern.co.uk NOTE Visual stress was formerly referred to as scotopic sensitivity syndrome or Meares-Irlen syndrome.

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T U R N I N G T H E PAG E : W H AT ' S M A K I N G I T D I F F I C U LT ? DY S L E X I A

TWELVE 4 FACTS 5 ABOUT DYSLEXIA

A DIFFICULTY WITH WORDS

1

The first description of dyslexia appeared in 1896, given by Dr W Pringle Morgan in Sussex. He wrote “Percy F…aged 14, has always been a bright and intelligent boy, quick at games, and in no way inferior to others of his age. His great difficulty has been – and is now – his inability to learn to read.”

2

People with dyslexia learn differently from others and can be extremely gifted.

They tend to be more creative, curious and intuitive than average. They often think of unexpected ways to solve a problem or tackle a challenge. Yet many are unfairly labelled as “thick” or “slow”.

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Dyslexia affects one in 10 in the population – more than 6.3 million people in the UK.

50% of the UK prison population is said to be on the dyslexic spectrum, from mild to severe.

Dyslexics have difficulty breaking down unfamiliar words, even short ones, into letter-sound segments and following their sequence. For example, for most people, B…a…t reads as “bat” but some dyslexics are thought to read backwards because of the “recency effect”. They pronounce the word using the most recent sound first and thus would say “tab” for “bat”. The recency effect is the principle that the most recently presented items or experiences will most likely be remembered best.

6 7 8 9

Dyslexics score far higher on tests when they are given additional time and the questions and answers are spoken.

It can help to listen to a tape or CD of a book while also reading the words in the story.

One doesn’t grow out of dyslexia. It is therefore very important for a child or an adult to be assessed if they have any difficulty with words.

People assessed as dyslexic can get a statement of their condition (including the type and level of dyslexia) that will enable them to get additional time at exams and tests.

10

Some screen-reading software, for example JAWS, will read aloud text appearing on a computer screen, thus enabling people with dyslexia to

operate very effectively in an office/desk environment. Most employers are aware of this “assistive technology” and, for the unemployed, Job Centre Plus covers the cost of the software to encourage employers to recruit employees with dyslexia.

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Some effects of certain forms of dyslexia on: a) Organisational skills n Unreliable short-term memory. It is frequent for dyslexics to forget recent conversations, messages or lists of instructions.

This can lead to missing appointments (an important point after release). n Difficulty with sequencing, ie knowing which appointment or task comes before or after another. n Organising a portfolio of work for education/college courses. n Prioritising, ie deciding with task should be completed first, which second, etc… b) Social interaction n Difficulty with remembering people’s names. n Confusing words and phrases.

This can lead to embarrassment and a fear of saying the wrong thing. The impact of dyslexia can dramatically limit an individual’s horizons. Fortunately, most individuals with dyslexia develop excellent coping strategies…

Don’t think you should do this on your own, though. There is help at hand.

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Several organisations exist to help with dyslexia – you don’t have to live with the frustration, embarrassment and limitations that keeping secret a difficulty with words can bring.

ORGANISATIONS THAT OFFER HELP

Dyslexia Action Dyslexia Action House, 10 High St., Egham, Surrey TW20 9EA www.dyslexiaacton.or.uk British Dyslexia Association Unit 6a Bracknell Beeches, Old Bracknell Lane, Bracknell RG12 7BW www.bdadyselxia.org.uk The Dyslexia Foundation 24 Edward Pavilion, Albert Dock, Liverpool L3 4AF www.dyslexiafoundation.co.uk The Dyslexia Association Sherwood House, 7 Gregory Boulevard, Nottingham NG7 6LB HELPLINE 9.30am–4.30pm Monday to Friday, closed for an hour at lunch 0115 9246888 www.dyslexia.uk.net

FAMOUS DYSLEXICS

Benjamin Zephaniah, poet Whoopi Goldberg, actress Cher, actress and singer John Lennon, one of the Beatles Albert Einstein, genius Ludwig van Beethoven, composer Richard Branson, entrepreneur Carol Greider, microbiologist and Nobel Prize winner (2009) Agatha Christie, crime writer

CAROL GREIDER, NOBEL PRIZE WINNER

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T U R N I N G T H E PAG E : L OV E W R I T I N G

“WRITE WHAT YOU WANT TO READ. BE TRUE TO YOURSELF” advises internationally famous crime writer Martina Cole

Crime writer Martina Cole was expelled from school aged 15. She married at 16, divorced a year later and became a mother at 18. She worked as a waitress, a cleaner, a nurse and a supermarket shelf stacker before her first book, Dangerous Lady, was bought for £150,000 when she was in her early 30s.

Since then, Martina has published over 20 books, including The Take, The Runaway and The Jump, all turned into successful television series.

Some of Martina’s books have also been adapted for the stage, including Dangerous Lady and Two Women. She has sold more than 14 millions books in the UK alone and is internationally recognised.

Twice divorced, Martina is a patron of Women’s Aid and Gingerbread, the charity supporting lone-parent families. Her most recent book is ‘Betrayal’ (2016).

Here she sends a message to readers of 60

this magazine on the joy of words and their transformative power: if you love reading, try writing!

“All my life I wanted to be a writer but I didn’t think anyone from my background could become one. I thought you had to go to university and get a degree. I come from a background similar to the people I meet in prison. I hated school. My mother made 26 court appearances for my truancy.

“I wish I’d known then what I know now.

With my children I’ve said, you have to get an education. I’m self-educated. I educated myself through books. I’ve always been a big advocate of education in prisons, particularly in women’s prisons where a lot of the girls will have gone through the care system.

That’s why I’m so passionate about getting people to read, and then, hopefully, some of them will go on to further education.

“The secret of my books is that I write from the criminal’s point of view and the women caught up in that world. My books are about how you cope with things: disasters, catastrophes – all this happens to people. You can have all the money in the world but it doesn’t stop you getting cancer, or dying, or losing a child. Everyone has something they have to try and get over. In my books, I face people with dilemmas and see how they deal with them.

“I wrote my first books to entertain myself. I didn’t have anyone else in mind and that would be my advice if you want to write. Write what you want to read. Be true to yourself. When I wrote Dangerous Lady, a lot of bad things were happening in my life. It was fantastic to sit there and let something go wrong in someone else’s life.

Writing like that is cathartic.”

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T U R N I N G T H E PAG E : W H Y I W R I T E . . .

WHY I WRITE…

usic m y m t o g ’ ve At least I h dis g u o r h t e ing m It ’s gett I’d do t a h w o n n Du unes... t y m e v a th If I didn ’ lie

LYRICS

ata

Basic by N

By Natalie

I’ve loved music and lyrics for as long as I can remember and I just love the thought of putting words together in a particular order.

When it’s right, it can be very powerful.

I only started writing since I’ve been in prison, but, as I write from life and personal experiences, I feel it gives me a release and can be very therapeutic at times – a kind of therapy, if you like, to be able to put your thoughts and feelings on paper into bars. It’s like writing a diary or poem but arranging the words in a certain way so they sound good over a beat.

I grew up in the late 1980s and 1990s and music was a big part of my childhood.

In the mid-1990s, when I was 13, I finally got a pair of decks for Christmas.

They were SoundLAB Belt Drive with headphones and a mixer. I was so fantastically gassed but didn’t have a clue how to mix, so I had to get a couple of my older friends to show me the basics… and I never looked back.

As I started to progress,

so did the music. It went from House to Garage to Drum and Bass to Grime. I used to get a few of my mates round that could MC and we’d make tapes of our bedroom sets. That’s when I started to realise that, when lyrics are spit over certain tunes, it lifts up the whole tune. My love of lyrics had begun.

When I was younger, it was Jungle and Drum and Bass MCs that really inspired me, like Skibba Shabba and Stevie Hyper D. As I’ve got older, I like women rappers like Stefflon Don, Nicki Minaj and Lady Leshurr. I like rags-to-riches stories to know that people can come from the streets to make it big in music, as 50 Cent has done.

I love UK Grime MCs like Skepta, Stormzy, Wretch 32, Mist, Kano and many more but I also like American rappers such as Drake, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Future, and Dej Loaf, to name a few, and singer/rappers like Bryson Tiller and The Weekend. All of these artists inspire me, tell stories and take me to a different place.

NICKI MINAJ

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WHY I WRITE…

JOKES

By Skinny

My name is Skinny and I arrived at Her Majesty’s Pleasure in April 2015. I began writing jokes that year in June. These jokes would then be stuck to the wall just by the phones. I thought this was a good place for the jokes to be, as the phone queue is where most disputes arise and I thought some laughter might help.

After permission from the senior officer, my display of “Tumbleweed Joke of the Day” arrived and, to a point, I believe it actually worked. Silly jokes like: “How do you get milk from a cat? Take its saucer away”.

Or: “What do you call sweetcorn behind bars? A Cornvict”.

I like making people smile. It’s a sense of achievement and you definitely need some sort of humour, even if the humour is a bit bleak, in a place like prison.

I’ve told jokes from an early age. I love comedy. I’m into Peter Kay, Lee Evans and Michael McIntyre.

How they talk about real life, down to the smallest detail, is very imaginative. But the

comic who really inspires me when it comes to pure silliness is Tommy Cooper.

For example: “Karate…I always say that if you practice breaking boards in half with your bare hands, you’ll be able to look after yourself when a board attacks you!” Or: “I’ve got a photo of me at home of when I used to be a professional boxer…if you turn it sideways, it looks like I’m standing up.” Ridiculous…daft…fantastic!

Lately, I’ve been drawing pictures of what I imagine is going through officer’s minds and then presenting them with the finished illustration, either to cheer them up or simply to give them a laugh, and with that I feel pleased. The most wasted days are those without laughter.

TOMMY COOPER

Award-winning poet and spoken-word artist Joelle Taylor explains how she releases her creative spirit

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HAYLEY MADDEN

EVERY G O O D P O E M HAS A HEART BEAT

JOELLE TAYLOR AT THE 100 CLUB

Ready Steady Go! 65

HE BLANK PIECE OF PAPER IS A GAP IN

T the prison wall. It is a tunnel. Every book hides an

escape route. Every poem written is freedom. There is a reason poetry is called “free verse”. I’m a spoken-word poet who has been performing nationally and internationally for over 20 years. I’ve published books and written a thousand more on air. Most of my life is spent on stages.

For the last decade, I’ve been visiting prisons around the UK, including Pentonville prison where I perform at, and judge, their annual slam championships. For those who don’t know, “slam” is the competitive art of poetry and spoken word where pieces are performed to a loud and dynamic audience and a panel of judges. Each poet gets three minutes on stage to perform their piece, and the highest scoring wins. That’s the dry description of what slam is. What it is, in reality, is an explosion; it is energy and truth ricocheting around a grey, walled room until all of the walls quietly collapse. I’ve been organising slams since 2001, and founded the national youth slam championships, SLAMbassadors.

I

’M CONSISTENTLY STUNNED BY the standard of poetry produced in prison.

Sometimes the intensity of confinement can release the creative spirit, and sometimes that spirit remains past release day and on into the rest of the inmate’s life. I’ve known several former inmates who have gone on to establish a life in the arts, and I have even mentored a couple of them. The lines on a piece of paper are not prison bars.

The most moving and transformational

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experience for me took place a little while ago in Holloway Prison, London. I worked with StorySLAM Live there before the prison closed, leading a series of creative-writing workshops exploring flash fiction – a form of writing that challenges the artist to write coherent, emotional and powerful stories in 500 words. The workshops were held over a number of weeks and, over that time, the stories became less fictional and more based on the reality of the women’s lives. We wrote a dangerous book together, one that spoke of sexual assaults and manipulations, of racism within the prison system and of lives filled with a constant sense of betrayal. They were life stories. The book brought us all together.

No longer inmates, but writers.

To launch the book, we held a slam in the prison chapel. Around 200 women crammed into the hall on one of the hottest days of that summer and waited with increasing agitation for the event to begin. I opened the gig and, almost immediately, women started shouting back at me, words of agreement and recognition. Some women stood and banged their chairs. There was cheering and hand slapping and women sharing looks of acknowledgement across the hall.

When I finished, the place erupted. That is

JOELLE PERFORMING AT SLAMBASSADORS UK

J O E L L E TAY L O R

performed the same way twice. We alter how we are saying a piece according to the nuanced expressions of individual audience members: we read the twitches at the side of mouths, the electrocardiogram of eyebrows responding to each image or idea.

I have poems with blank spaces in them, so that I can add lines ERFORMING ALLOWS according to the event I’m playing you to own your work, to be at. I’m always aware of the blank space in absolute control of every in the poem and its approach and this aspect of it. I can write a poem raises my energy levels, the sweat in the morning and be on the top of my lip, and keeps reading it on stage that the whole piece fresh. This is same evening. There the most important thing to is no long process to remember: poetry is not only work through, freedom, it is life. Every good whereby the writing poem has a heartbeat. Every is passed between good poem is alive. agents and publishers I write so that I can tell the and editors then sent story of my life without back to me for more interruption. No one will refinement. Not only speak over me. No one will that, but I believe a argue with me. It’s just me, my poem is not finished poem and a microphone. When until it is performed, that the you write, know that your audience completes the piece. In a poem will live longer sense, the audience is the editor. than you. It will go to In this way, a poem is never places you have never heard of, be Joelle Taylor is an award-winning whispered by poet and writer who has performed her work people you have internationally. Her books Ska Tissue (Mother never met. It is a Foucault) and The Woman Who Was Not There bird, and birds (Burning Eye) were published to critical acclaim, and her new collection, Songs My Enemy Taught Me, will cannot see borders. be released in July through Outspoken Press. She It will escape your founded the national youth-slam championships mouth and migrate SLAMbassadors for the Poetry Society in 2001 and from these walls. remains its Artistic Director. www.joelletaylor.co.uk Set the bird free.

what live performance is all about – that conversation between poet and audience. The audience’s role is not to sit passively listening.

The audience is an integral part of the poem and of the event. Poetry is loud and uncompromising. You get your hands dirty when you write a good poem.

P

BIOGRAPHY

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T U R N I N G T H E PAG E : L OV E W R I T I N G

FROM THE THIN BLUE LINE TO BEST SELLERS

rules and how things work, as well as giving me inspiration.

You were in the Police Force for 12 years.

What were the best and worst parts of the work for you?

There were lots of things I loved and hated. The worst part of the job was being a custody sergeant and the good parts were Sarah and Sumner from HMP helping people and making a difference.

Downview interview former Have you ever seen anyone you previously arrested or had dealings with in the past? policewoman and writer of Yes I have! As I worked and lived in the psychological thrillers same area, I have been in the pub and seen Clare Mackintosh people I had previously arrested. Most were fine – they did not take it personally.

Your first novel was called I Let You Go What are your thoughts on female prisoners? (published in 2015) and was based on a realWomen are put into prison too easily. It life tragic incident, where a nine-year-old has such a detrimental effect. Women don’t child was killed in a hit-and-run accident commit crimes for the same reasons as men in Oxford, and the culprit was never found. do. There needs to be an overhaul of the What made you write about this? whole criminal justice system.

I took the experience and made it into In previous interviews you have spoken a book with twists that is set in Bristol. about losing your son to a tragic illness.

It took nine months to complete the first Did this spur you on to write? draft before facing a further 18 I always wanted to write when months of editing. The book I was a child. I found the Police sold 20,000 copies in six months Force emotional and got too and, by Christmas, had sold over involved. I grew out of love with a million copies and had been translated into 30 languages. the job and wanted to spend more l I try and commit to 1,000 words per day.

What can you tell us about the time with my children. Losing my l Use Post-it notes – book you are working on now? son to meningitis prompted me to stick them on the wall I prefer writing psychological leave. Writing was a career where in order of the story thrillers. I’m not interested in I could work from home; it was and plot out your novel. who commits a crime, but why. flexible and I earn whilst spending l You have to be able This future book is based on time with my family. to write anywhere. I a woman who goes to prison. I love writing on trains. still need to work out what I am Otherwise, a café, or Clare’s latest novel, I See You, is anywhere with white going to do with the character. published by Sphere in hardback noise.

Coming into HMP Downview and will appear in paperback in l Never go back, has really helped me know the the spring.

SOME TOP TIPS FROM CLARE ON WRITING:

never look back!

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HOPE AND WHERE TO FIND IT: WRITING ALL THE GOOD THINGS First-time novelist Clare Fisher reveals her inspiration

If my novel All the Good Things began anywhere, it began with Beth’s voice.

She came to me one night as I was drifting to sleep. I told her I was knackered and would she, please, wait until the morning, but she refused. She needed to tell her story there and then.

Beth is in prison and convinced she’s a “100 % trademark certified” bad thing. Then, her therapist challenges her to write a list of good aspects of herself. Can she do it? Can she see herself as good, whilst facing up to the bad acts she’s committed? Writing the list is a way of writing a new story about herself.

In writing a book, as in life, there are many moments where you get stuck.

Dead ends, dark ditches, deep puddles;

there are so many ways to give up. But Beth, in my book, refuses to be given up.

And it was often in delving into the most difficult places that she discovered love and friendship, laughter and hope.

It was a visit to New Hall women’s prison near Wakefield that opened my eyes to the ways in which Beth’s emotional landscape and the physical landscape of the prison might interact. I ran some creativewriting workshops with the women on how to create fictional characters. They were amongst the most enthusiastic and imaginative students I’ve ever had.

How do we know people in fiction? How do we know them in life?

How and why do they change? The women were bursting with stories – stories from their own lives on both the inside and the outside, stories of people they’d read about and people they’d met. Sitting in a room with so many locked doors gave them a hunger to understand what had happened to them and why.

Often, it is the stories we’re afraid to tell that most need telling. It may take something extraordinary, or extraordinarily difficult, to shake us free of this fear. I hope that in sharing in Beth’s story, my readers, whoever they are and whatever they’re doing, come a little closer to their own story – the one that’s waiting to be told.

All the Good Things is published on 1 June 2017 by Viking, Penguin UK.

“My creative writing students in New Hall were some of the most imaginative.”

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MY FAVOURITE

BOOK

FROM »‘ALLEXTRACT THE GOOD THINGS’ (OPENING)

“1. Smelling a baby’s head right into your heart Of all the good things that have ever been in me, the first and the best are you. Every single part of you, from your stroke-able earlobes to the hope curled up in your toes.

Remember that. Remember it when the dickheads say you’re a bad or a so-what thing.

Remember it when you’re convinced the good things are jammed behind other people’s smiles. Remember it the hardest when you feel like nothing at all.

Writing a list of good things may seem pretty retarded – at least, that’s what I said when Erika brought it up. I didn’t know Erika before they put me in here but now we have to put up with each other for a whole hour every week. She has these geekster glasses that make her eyes look bigger than any person’s should. When I said the word ‘retarded’, they grew so big, it was like she knew everything about me and about the universe and about whatever lay outside the universe, and that made me feel small, and so I jumped up, gripped the back of my chair and said: ‘I’m not a retard.’

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My favourite book is: A LITTLE LIFE

by Hanya Yanagihara It’s about: A boy being abused and the impact it has on him.

I love it because: The author got the right balance on the subject.

By WomenMATTA drop-in attendee

My favourite book is: TO KILL A MOCKING BIRD

by Harper Lee It’s about: Racism and discrimination in the deep south of North America.

I love it because: It tackles racism in a way that is accessible to everyone.

I first read this book atschool and it inspired me to continue to become an avid reader.

By Wendy Callaghan, WomenMATTA Project Worker My favourite book is: FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM

by JK Rowling It’s about: A wizard in search of the almost extinct magical creatures.

I love it because: My daughter does!

By Lynne, WomenMATTA drop in attendee My favourite book is: DESERT FLOWER It’s about: Genital mutilation and the career of a supermodel.

I love it because: I admire the woman fighting against this ritual.

By Tina, WomenMATTA service user My favourite book is: TRACY BEAKER

by Jacqueline Wilson It’s about: A young girl in a children’s home.

I love it because: Tracy gets into trouble all the, time and she is cheeky!

By Helen, WomenMATTA dropin attendee

I waited for Erika to shout.

Or press whatever button she had to press to bring the screws running. Instead, she sighed like I was some telly programme she wished would change into a better one. I let go of the chair and sat back down.

‘Now,’ she said, laying her hands flat on the table between us. They were red raw and peeling, like she’d forgotten to wear washing-up gloves. ‘Why don’t you explain why you used that word – retard.’

‘I don’t know, do I? I open my mouth, the words come out.

End of story.’

‘That’s one way of looking at it,’ said Erika. ‘But there are others. For example, I, like you, know what it is to be a mum. I’ve got three kids.’ The way her face moved, even a blind man could have clocked how much she loved them. Would a blind man have clocked how much I loved you?

Would anyone?

‘One’s mad on football,’ she went on, ‘the other on Harry Potter; the third on spiders and spaceships. One hates loud noises; the other hates to eat anything round. It just so happens that one of them is autistic. But they’re all as real as one another.’

She paused and wiggled her eyebrows – eyebrows which, FYI, hadn’t been threaded or

T U R N I N G T H E PAG E : L OV E W R I T I N G

even plucked. ‘Do you see?’

The grown-up reply would have been: ‘Sorry’. And maybe: ‘Thanks for talking to me like I’m just another mum. Like we’re just two human beings. But even though I’m 21 and have done 100% TM certified grownup things like wash up my own plates in my own flat, rubber gloves and all; even though I’ve had a job and a boyfriend and a baby, grown-up isn’t always the way I am on the inside’.

I slumped down in my chair and mumbled: ‘Whatever.’

‘There are lots of ways to look at every person, and words like “retard” are dangerous because they make us believe there’s just one story.’

I opened my mouth but no words fell out, not even an almost-word, like ‘oh’.

‘I bet,’ she said, patting her grey-streaked, boy-cut hair, ‘you know a thing or two about those kinds of words?’

Suddenly, Erika and her glasses and the custard-yellow walls disappeared. I was back in that courtroom, not knowing where to look because, whether I looked at the judge and his wig or the clerk and her computer or the lawyers and their ring-binders or even the fake-wood walls, all I saw was the bad things I’d done. The things that stopped the other prisoners looking at me, unless it was to give me the evils.

‘Bethany?’ Erika’s voice shoved this memory to the part of my mind that’s a

bit like the patch of carpet under the sofa: it’s close, dirty and dark, and although you mean to sort it out, you never do, because the only parts of you that ever see it are your ankles.

Back in the room, Erika was staring straight at me but, for the first time in my life, I didn't mind; there was no way of knowing what a person was or wasn’t thinking about me, and this was an OK, or maybe even a good, thing.”

“Words like ‘retard’... make us believe there’s just one story.”

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Skinny says, “If you think these jokes are seriously lame and you can do better, then let’s hear them!”

Send your jokes in to: WOMEN IN PRISON (magazine) FREEPOST RSLB-UABE-TYRT Unit 10, The Ivories 6 Northampton Street London N1 2HY

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Baroness

JEAN CORSTON

FEMINIST, FIGHTER, CHAMPION of

RADICAL CHANGE for WOMEN IN PRISON - and a granny talks to Yvonne Roberts 76 ReadY steadY Go!

JEAN WITH HER GRANDSONS, HENRY AND CHARLES ON THE DAY OF HER INTRODUCTION TO THE LORDS, JULY 2005

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B A R O N E S S J E A N C O R S TO N

EAN CORSTON SITS IN A TEA ROOM IN THE

J House of Lords, describing how, on a recent visit to

a prison, a woman asked her if she was a duchess. Jean was appointed to the Lords after an accident forced her to retire as Labour MP for Bristol East in 2005. She had served as a Member of Parliament for 13 years. During that time, she was elected the first female Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party, a very tough job to hold as “shop steward” of the Labour back-bench MPs. “I told the woman I was a baroness, not a duchess,” Jean, 74, smiles. “But I told her, I’m also a granny.” Jean has two grown-up children and six grandchildren, aged 13 to 23.

Along with Professor Pat Carlen and the late Chris Tchaikovsky, founders of Women in Prison, Jean - a patron of WIP - has improved women’s prisons significantly but all three would say there is still a very long way to go.

March 2017 sees the 10th anniversary of the publication of the groundbreaking Corston report, authored by Jean. In 2006, Jean was commissioned by the Home Office in the then Labour government to conduct a report into vulnerable women in the criminal justice system. A few years earlier, she had chaired a human rights inquiry into deaths in custody. The Corston report’s radical recommendations received support from all three main parties: Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat.

The report pointed out that women – 5% of the total prison population – are in a prison system designed by and for men. It also 78 ReadY steadY Go!

argued that a high proportion of women in prison have family responsibilities, often as the sole parent. Many women also have mental health issues and should not be in jail at all.

Jean and her team visited a number of prisons and found that childhood abuse, domestic violence and self-harm were very common experiences among imprisoned women.

Among the changes Jean triggered as a result of the report, published in March 2007, was an end to routine strip searching, programmes to address mental ill health, the addition of two “pathways to reducing re-offending” (ie recognising the impact abuse and prostitution have on women’s lives and the choices they make), improved support on the first night in jail and over £15 million invested in creating “one-stop” shops in women’s centres in the community and in developing schemes to divert women from custody. A group of funders came

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JEAN WITH HER DAUGHTER IN THE 1960'S

JEAN AND PETER TOWNSEND AT A WEDDING IN 2008

JEAN AND HER UNCLE ALF IN MAY 1944, HULL

JEAN IN A SIKH TEMPLE IN MY CONSTITUENCY BRISTOL EAST IN 1999

JEAN AT SCHOOL AGED 11, 1953

SEAN AND HER DAUGHTER, SARAH, KERICHO, KENYA 1964

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B A R O N E S S J E A N C O R S TO N

together as the Corston Coalition to invest in providing women with community-based alternatives to prison, a more effective way to end re-offending.

I

NEVITABLY, 10 YEARS ON, THE first question is, has progress continued? In 1980, with a smaller general population, around 1,500 women were in prison. Between 2000 and 2010, the female prison population leapt by 27%, even as the consensus grew that custodial sentences of six months or less were not appropriate for many females.

Numbers have now declined from a peak of over 4,600 (2005) to around 3,800. The aim of WIP, and Jean Corston, is to have only a very small number of women incarcerated, with the rest given community sentences. Yet, now, changes to the system mean that women’s centres and the use of community sentencing are under a very real threat.

The government has announced that five small women’s prisons are to be built, a backward step. Jean fights on. “The House of Lords gives me a platform,” she says. “Here, I am a mouthpiece for people who have no voice. If I stop being effective, I’ll stop coming.”

So, who is this remarkable woman, a lifelong feminist, who, in her report, and in a lifetime of campaigning, has laid down so many milestones for women? Jean smiles. “I always say to a woman who may be in a dark

place and lacking in confidence, ‘if I can do it, so can you’. And it’s true. Women are strong. I think I’m very ordinary.”

Jean was born in Hull in 1942, during World War II, as the bombs rained down on the city. Her family later moved to Yeovil in Somerset. Jean’s father was a skilled glove cutter (ensuring leather was properly stretched and “fitted like a glove”) and a trade union activist, who was blacklisted by employers and was therefore often out of work. “My mother left us when I was 14,” Jean says. “We had so little money that often my sister, father and I would share a tin of soup.”

Jean passed the Eleven Plus and went to grammar school. “I came from a council estate so they didn’t treat me well. When people say how wonderful grammar schools are, I want to explode.”

Jean had to leave school at 16 and worked for the Inland Revenue because the family needed her wage. By 19, she was married and she and her husband, who worked for British Forces Broadcasting, had moved to Kenya. “The baby was stillborn. They took her away and put her in the sluice. It was treated as if I’d lost an umbrella. I was devastated.”

Jean rapidly had two more children and returned to England. “I used to feed four of us on £6 a week.” She was at home with the children for 11 years, and then took an A level at an evening class before studying Humanities

“I always say to others, ‘if I can do it, so can you’.

I think I’m very ordinary.”

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an academic and activist who helped to establish the Disability Alliance and the charity the Child Poverty Action Group. He was hugely influential in battling the scourge of poverty in Britain, one of the richest countries in the world. They met in 1980, married in 1985 and he died eight years ago.

“We were very lucky. We had 29 very happy years,” Jean says. “But the day he died was the worst day of my life.” The tears nearly fall.

Spend 10 minutes in Jean’s company and you are at ease. She is warm, caring and passionate. She became a candidate for Bristol East reluctantly and hated her first term in REAKING TRADITIONAL parliament in 1992. “The party was looking patterns of behaviour is in Jean’s blood. for a candidate. I said, “we don’t know Barristers are usually in their 20s when anyone who is presentable enough on they embark on a career; Jean was in her midtelevision so nobody has to hide behind the 40s when she left Labour Party employment sofa, and who would do it’. A colleague said, to read for a law degree and then train to ‘yes we do. It’s you!’” become a barrister. At the same time as she Jean now chairs the All Party was training for the bar at the Inns of Parliamentary Group on Women in the Court School of Law in London, at Penal System. She says she has no weekends, she was also “pounding the intention of giving up the campaign streets” in Bristol, canvassing as the for real and lasting change nor the Labour candidate for Bristol East. aim of ensuring the proper A barrister for two years, a funding of a network of job she says she loved, she independent women’s centres. often represented women in ”You only have to look at the cases of domestic violence. rates of re-offending to see “I’d lived a life. When I met a Jean’s favourite book: The Golden Notebook that the current system doesn’t woman with three children,

by Doris Lessing work,” she says. no qualifications, no money Jean’s hobbies: reading, I ask this extraordinary who went back to a man who gardening, and tapestry woman, who regards herself as beat her up, the police would (and she bakes a chocolate “very ordinary”, which of her say, ‘silly cow’, but I cake every Saturday for many achievements she feels understood her.” her grandchildren) the most proud, and she In her personal life, Favourite quote: “A woman smiles broadly. “Being a divorced and in her 30s, she is like a teabag; you never granny,” she says. met Peter Townsend. He was know how strong it is until

and Social Sciences for two years with the Open University. Then, she began to work for the Labour Party and, aged 38, she became Southwest Regional Organiser, based in Bristol, considered “a man’s job” by many men.

In 1985, during the time of the miners’ strike and the bombing of the Grand Hotel in Brighton, which Margaret Thatcher was visiting for the Conservative Party Conference, Jean was responsible for the Labour Party Conference. One of her male critics said: “You can’t have a woman running the Conference; she’ll cry.”

B

MORE JEAN!

it’s in hot water.” Eleanor Roosevelt

Ready Steady Go! 81

STIR IT UP!

TRIFLE DELIGHT

Jo in Foston Hall serves up a little of what you fancy

By Jo Illustrated by Lucy

Ingredients l Serves 4 1 tin of fruit (pineapple slices 65p, fruit cocktail £1) Custard (powder 39-45p/ready carton £1.45) 1 jelly (strawberry, 59p) 1 Angel Delight (strawberry, 89p) 1 carton of milk (59p) 1 or 2 cans of thick cream (76p each) Chocolate for topping (Twirl 50p, Smarties £1) Total cost: between £4.43 and £6.28

Method

1 2 3

Leave overnight to set.

4

Pour on the set jelly.

Drain the fruit and mix the jelly.

Mix the Angel Delight with milk.

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5 6

Layer the custard on.

Smooth the thick cream over the top.

7

Grate chocolate over the top (optional) or pop on some Smarties.

Eat and enjoy!

Please send us your favourite recipe We would love to publish your recipes. Please send yours in to the Freepost address at the back of the magazine

A RT S A N D C R A F T S

IT’S WINTER KNIT SOME WRIST WARMERS! Pattern by Sofia Gullberg, Policy and Admin officer, WIP

T’S GETTING COLDER AND EVENINGS are closing in – so cosy up and get knitting! Wrist warmers come in all sorts of variations and different levels of difficulty – some look like fingerless gloves with a thumb, others like simple tubes that slip over your hands. They can be really fancy, with decorative cable knit or buttons, or plain and simple. They can be knitted in the round or as one long strip that you stitch together.

This is a super-quick and easy version to get you started!

I

These wrist warmers will be knitted in garter stitch. This means that you simply knit every line. Because of the garter stitch, there will be some natural stretch which will be useful in order to get the finished wrist warmers over your hands.

Materials needed:

Yarn – any colour, type or size.

It doesn’t matter what type of yarn you choose, as long as you use the right sized needles to go with the wool. The bigger the yarn and needles, the bigger the piece.

However, thinner yarns such as double knit (DK) or 3-ply will be better for this project, as it is a small piece of work.

With thinner wool, you will be able to 84

get a soft, flexible finished piece.

Also, remember that the wrist warmers will be close against your skin, so choose a yarn with a soft, comfy texture.

Straight knitting needles sized to your wool eg size 3 needles for 3-ply yarn or size 4 needles for DK yarn.

Tapestry needle

Skills needed:

You should be able to cast on, knit and cast off. You will also have to stitch the edges of the strip together using a tapestry needle.

If you feel you need to learn the basics, get a book from the library or, even better, ask a friend who knows how to knit!

Instructions: Make two identical pieces.

Cast on your stitches

The amount of stitches needed is up to you. Start casting on and see how wide you want your wrist warmers to be. The stitches you have on your needles will be the edge of the wrist warmers, so you will be able to see straightaway how wide they will be.

For example, you may choose to cast on 20 stitches or 40 stitches, depending on how big your yarn is and how far up your arms you want the wrist warmers to go.

Knit

Then you just start knitting! Keep going until the knitted item is long enough to fit around your wrist. Make sure you don’t make it too long, as you want to end up with a snug fit.

Cast off

When you feel your wrist warmer is long enough, cast off.

Stitch together

Stitch the edges of your strip together so that you end up with a round tube. It needs to be large enough to fit over your hands but small enough to be nice and snug around your wrist.

If you find these wrist warmers useful and feel you want to take your knitting up one notch, you will be able to find more complicated patterns for fingerless gloves in knitting books in the library.

You can also experiment with making your own – just improvise!

For example, you could knit in the round, instead of on straight needles; you could make the warmers tighter and add a couple of buttons on the top; you can experiment with colours; make them stripy; use a different type of stitch…

The opportunities are endless and there is no right or wrong, as long as you are enjoying your knitting!

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A DAY I N T H E L I F E

Claire A day in the life Campaigns, tweets and recipes from inside – Women in Prison’s Policy and Campaigns Manager gives a glimpse of her working life.

Illustration by Ulla My job at WIP takes me to many places. Today, I am up early because I am visiting HMP Downview, the prison to which many women were sent when HMP Holloway closed last year.

The editorial group in Downview helps to shape the magazine. We hope to have a similar group in each of the 12 women’s prisons to discuss ideas for themes, articles, regular features and to provide content.

In Downview, the group interviews other residents, as well as visitors to the prison. Besides, participants often provide useful recipes for dishes that can be made in prison, for instance, a curry with ingredients such as a pinch of saffron!

My day-to-day work at WIP is extremely varied and no two days are the same. As well as providing support and advice for women affected by the criminal justice system, Women in Prison has always striven to educate the public and politicians about the reality of women’s life in prison.

WIP therefore campaigns to reduce radically the number of women

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going into prison and change the system for women and their families positively.

My role at WIP is to oversee this work and I spend a lot of my time shaping our campaigns strategy, writing, meeting MPs, speaking to journalists, contributing to government consultations, tweeting and giving talks to persuade people of the value for all of reducing the number of women in prison and providing alternatives in the community.

In Downview, I really enjoy working with everyone. We have fun and celebrate hearing women read the powerful poetry and articles they have produced, which are getting better and better at every session.

One of my colleagues does an amazing job running another editorial group in HMP Foston Hall.

There is a great feeling of joy and success when women from all the different prisons send me work or ideas in the post (I love receiving post!), so that we can feature as many different voices as possible in the magazine.

A R E G U L A R F E AT U R E T H AT I N T R O D U C E S A S TA F F M E M B E R F R O M W O M E N I N P R I S O N

Campaigning for change is not just about placard waving (although I do plenty of that, too). It’s also being smart about how you present your argument and ensuring you have your voice heard. At WIP, it is not my voice but the voice of women who have experienced the criminal justice system first hand that are heard - you know the score and know what needs to change.

Part of my job is to help WIP provide a platform for women to speak out and tell their story in a safe, empowering and, hopefully, fun way.

Yesterday, for example, I met a woman from the world of spokenword poetry to find out whether we could run spoken-word workshops (read the article on the subject written by the poet Joelle Taylor in this magazine, p64).

At the moment, I am also helping to organise an event in Parliament for women affected by the criminal justice system to meet Members.

Getting these events off the ground takes a lot of meetings, daily administration, sitting at a computer and deploying effective organisational skills (which, if you saw my desk, you would know is not my strongest point!).

Campaigning can be a long, uphill slog but achieving justice for women drives us at WIP every day.

Some working days are longer than others. I live outside London, so I enjoy taking the train and winding down, ready each morning to begin all over again.

Ready Steady Go! 87

OUT

OUT an d

OUT!

!

S D R A W P U

Actress Jennifer Joseph talks to Yvonne Roberts about how she went from prison to playing Shakespeare on stage

INE YEARS AGO, JENNIFER JOSEPH, NOW 48,

N came out of prison. She subsequently spent a couple

of years with the charity Clean Break. It works with women at risk of offending, prisoners and former prisoners, to develop their creative writing and acting skills. Watch Jen in performance and it’s easy to see this former accountant has huge talent; it bubbles over.

Ready Steady Go! 89

“I was a She has had roles in passport, keeping us broken woman mycaptive. several films, including I had to toe the Honey Trap and line because I had the when I came out Channel Four’s My children.

Mad Fat Diary. She “My suitcase wasn’t of prison.

A friend spent some of last year even packed appearing in the allprofessionally, just told me about packets female production, set in of weed, but I a women’s prison, of The didn’t know then what it Clean Break.”

Shakespeare Trilogy – Julius was. It could have been Caesar, Henry 1V and The Tempest – at the Donmar Kings Cross, London. The production starred Harriet Walter (Law & Order: UK; Downton Abbey), a patron of Clean Break.

Jen is also a dab hand in the kitchen. In 2014, the mother of three won £1,000 in her heat of Come Dine With Me. Her menu was a tribute, she says, to her West Indian origins – patties, oxtail, rice and peas, and pineapple upside-down cake. “It cost a lot more to make the meal than the prize but it was worth it,” she smiles. “I added a lot of white rum. Rum in everything, rum punch, Guinness and rum, everything laced with rum.” Jen has a huge, rumbling laugh, which is infectious.

How did she get from serving time in HMP Bronzefield and Downview to the London stage? “I left school at 16 and, eventually, got a job in a department store as sales assistant,” she explains. “I was promoted and got my accountancy certificate.

Ten years ago, at 38, I was the single mother of three kids. I worked hard, so we had a nice life. I met a guy locally and got chatting. I told him we were going on holiday to Jamaica, this and that – I was flattered by his attention.

“In Jamaica, on holiday, I bumped into him again. In hindsight, it was such a pattern and no coincidence. It ended up with him taking 90 ReadY steadY Go!

heroin. I could have got 10-18 years. I knew I was going to get caught. When we got to London, I was as nervous as hell, sweating profusely.

“My son was eight, one daughter was about to go to college and had to defer for a year. My middle child was about to do her exams. It was a terrible time.

“When I got stopped in London, it was a big relief. It wasn’t as if I intended to make a career out of it. It wasn’t my choice. But I’m old enough and ugly enough to hold myself responsible and I know how I got into that situation. I should’ve been stronger. I should’ve and I could’ve. I’d never been arrested before, never been in a police cell. I was a mess.”

J

EN WAS ARRESTED IN AUGUST 2007 and sentenced to 27 months. She was released after 10 months in August 2008, having been a model prisoner. “I decided at the outset I would keep my nut down and do my bird,” she says. “All I thought about was out, out, out. On remand, my children visited every day. I wanted to say, ‘don’t come. I can give you advice but I’m not there to protect you and it’s killing me.’ But how can you say that to your children?

“Inside, I became a kind of advocate,

JENNIFER JOSEPH

especially for the younger women. It took away the tempest in my own heart; it gave me a purpose. I had to tell the governor at one point, ‘boss, I’m not everybody’s mum!’ A lot of the women, given a proper chance, did normalise their lives and stopped going in and out of prison.”

At 40, Jen took up acting. “As a child, I never thought acting was possible for someone like me. At Clean Break, I had to do a creative-writing course. I left it to the last minute and wrote something about an eating disorder, way out of my experience. Zawe (Ashton actress, playwright, author) suggested I perform it at the next Open Day. “I performed it and I ended up in an emotional state on the floor. I thought, ‘I don’t even know what this is, but I like it’. I love acting. In 2006, at the end of my training, Zawe shook my hand and said, ‘Jen, I’ll see you on stage’. Me – on stage!”

Jen adds: “I was a broken woman when I first came out of prison. I was depressed. My children didn’t know who I was. One day, a friend told me about Clean Break. All I heard was, ‘they allow you to act’. I hadn’t been on a train for 17 years, because of my claustrophobia, but I had to travel by train for my audition. It was the best thing I ever did.

It was the saving of my soul.”

The Shakespeare Trilogy was also performed in New York but Jen was refused a visa because of her conviction 10 years earlier.

The refusal had a positive side. “Just after, in December 2013,” she explains, “I had three cardiac arrests and no oxygen to the brain for 47 minutes. The artery to my heart was 99% blocked. The upside of me not getting a visa is that, if I’d gone on the plane, the altitude would have put too much pressure on my

blocked artery...I revived 24 hours after collapsing. I became the miracle woman of St Thomas’ Hospital, London,” Jen laughs. “One of the nurses burst into tears and said, ‘if you didn’t know Jesus loves you, you do now!’”

Has Jen learnt any lessons from life? “I don’t have any envy or jealousy in my DNA. You only get what you work for. If I see a person who is wealthy, I think to myself, ‘I don’t know what you did to acquire that money, and I’m not sure I’d do what you did to get it, but if it’s legit, anyone can get where you are.

“My children, grown up now, tell me every day how proud they are of me, although I can’t forgive myself for putting them through what they experienced. In acting, I’m still a newcomer. I’m so happy to try it all. I perform in plays with Clean Break. I know the women often only come to a performance to get out of their cells but once I tell them my story, everything changes. They want to know there is life after prison. They want to learn about hope – and I have plenty of that!”

MEET THE AGONY AUNTS

M E E T T H E AG O N Y AU N T S , W H O C A N G I V E YO U I N F O R M AT I O N AND ADVICE ON T H E I S S U E S T H AT M AT T E R TO YO U M A RT I N E O N E D U C AT I O N , TRAINING & E M P L OY M E N T SOFIA ON HOUSING

Ready Steady Go! 93

ADVICE

EDUCATION, TRAINING & EMPLOYMENT

By Martine Lignon, Women In Prison trustee Illustrations by PPaint

Letter from reader ‘A’ I have heard that a new Academy has just opened in my prison and wonder whether I should apply. What do you think?

Dear ‘A’, You are absolutely right. The Max Spielmann Learning Academy has just opened in HMP Downview.

It offers highly professional training in all aspects of photographic industry techniques and reprographics.

We would certainly recommend joining this learning programme for a number of reasons.

The first is that the techniques you will train in will greatly enhance your own creativity, enabling you to produce photo cards, photo gifts, personalised cushions and other beautiful things that will delight your friends and family and demonstrate your artistic potential.

The other important reason for joining this Academy is that you will not only learn the most recent photographic techniques but will also apply them, put them into practice, by providing a professional service during your training.

This means you will gain genuine vocational experience, working “inside” as you would work “outside”, in formal employment.

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The technical knowledge you will gain will be complemented by a qualification in customer service – a skill you can transfer to all kinds of jobs and all sectors of activity.

Crucially, gaining qualifications from the Max Spielmann Academy will open doors to paid employment after your release. Max Spielmann is “the photo expert” for online digital photo printing, poster printing, digital photo gifts, photo books, passport, visa and ID photos.

With 300 photo-centres across the UK, and mobile centres in a number of supermarkets, it offers a huge number of opportunities.

As if all this were not enough, The Max Spielmann Academy is owned by James Timpson, Chief Executive of the highstreet Timpson company. Ten per cent of all Timpson’s colleagues up-and-down the country (Timpson does not speak about his “staff” but refers to his “colleagues”) were directly recruited from prison, with many of them becoming highly successful store managers. With a remarkable generosity of spirit, James Timpson believes in enabling all colleagues to deploy their assets and capabilities and gain not only respectable employment but a high level of self-pride.

So, go for it and enjoy!

ADVICE

HOUSING

By Sofia Gilbert Women in Prison Policy and Admin Officer Illustrations by Ulla

Dear WIP, I am leaving prison soon but I don’t have anywhere to live when I’m released. I grew up in care, so I can’t go and live with my family and, as I’m only 20 years old, I have never had my own place to live. What are my housing rights?

All the best from Amy Dear Amy, Thank you for writing to us. Anyone who is between the age of 18 and 21, and has spent more than 13 weeks in care whilst growing up, is considered “priority need” by the council. This means that the council is responsible for helping you find housing when you are released from prison.

I would recommend that you go and see a housing advice worker in the prison before you leave and explain your situation to them. They should be able to help you set up an appointment for your day of release. You might also be able to get a support worker from the CRC to come with you as part of their through-the-gate programme.

Either way, on your day of release, make sure you go to the housing department (the homeless persons’ unit) at your local council. Please bring as much paperwork as possible to show evidence of who you are and what your situation is. For example, you should bring ID with you (a birth certificate is usually enough). The local council is responsible for housing you straightaway.

As you are a care leaver, you can also get support from social services. Besides, there are charities that would support you in the community. It might therefore be a good idea to work with them when you are released, as they can give you more advice and support concerning your housing for the future.

Wishing you all the best for your release!

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ADVICE

Dear WIP, Is it true that you can rent a flat through a private landlord, even if you don’t have a job? Do your benefits cover the rent and how much can the flat cost?

Yours, Misha Dear Misha, Thank you for your letter. Yes, it is true that benefits can cover your rent.

Unfortunately, not all landlords accept tenants on benefits, although some do. If you have access to the internet, or know someone who has, there are a few websites that you might want to check out, for example: http://www.dssmove.co.uk/ or https://www.gumtree.com/ The exact amount of housing benefits you can get varies, depending on where you live. For example, you can get more money towards your rent in central London as rents are higher there than in the rest of the country. To find out about the rates where you live, check this website: https:// lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/search.aspx Sometimes, people have to top up their rent using their own money, as housing benefit doesn't always cover the whole rent. Please bear this in mind when looking for a flat, so that you don’t end up with one that is more expensive than you can afford.

Please note that, if you are a single person under the age of 35, who wants to rent privately, you can only get benefits for a room in a shared house (what is known as the shared-accommodation rate).

Good luck with your flat hunting!

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ADVICE

Useful contacts

MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT

WOMEN IN PRISON

MIND: Mind Infoline, Unit 9, Cefn Coed Parc, Nantgarw, Cardiff, CF15 7QQ 0300 123 3393

FREEPOST RSLB-UABE-TYRT Unit 10, The Ivories 6 Northampton Street London N1 2HY Freephone: 0800 953 0125 info@womeninprison.org.uk

SUBSTANCE MISUSE SUPPORT

HOUSING

Frank Helpline: 0300 123 6600

Shelter Helpline: 0808 800 4444

Phoenix Futures Advice Line: 0845 600 7227

NACRO Helpline: 0300 123 1999

Action on Addiction Helpline: 0300 330 0659

LEGAL & GENERAL ADVICE

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Prisoners’ Advice Service (PAS): Prisoners’ Advice Service, PO Box 46199, London, EC1M 4XA 0845 430 8923 PACT (Prison Advice & Care Trust) Helpline: 0808 808 3444 Prison Reform Trust Advice and Information Service Advice Line: 0808 802 0060

SOMEONE TO TALK TO Samaritans Freephone: Freepost RSRB-KKBY-CYJK, PO Box 9090, STIRLING, FK8 2SA Freephone: 116 123 100 ReadY steadY Go!

Women’s Aid Helpline: 0808 2000 247 Rape & Sexual Abuse Support Centre (Rape Crisis) Helpline: 0808 802 9999

WOMEN’S CENTRES Women’s Breakout: Upon release please go to the online directory run by Women’s Breakout to find the nearest specialist women’s centre to where you are based. www.womensbreakout.org.uk/ projects/

FAMILY SUPPORT National Offenders’ Families Helpline: 0808 808 2003

Illustration by Chenna Ready Steady Go! 101

ALL YOURS! A L L YO U R S

PAINTINGS, POEMS, STORIES & MORE – ALL BY YOU 102

A L L YO U R S

103

A L L YO U R S

OUT FOR GOOD

by Rachel

Illustration by PPaint

A S EXPECTED, IT’S A SPECTACULAR sunrise this morning. Sitting in her room, Kylie looks out of her window, watching a big orange ball rising, melting the tiny dew drops left on the grass, marking the beginning of another day inside.

It’s not quite 5.30am but even now she knows it’s going to be a hot mid-summer’s day. She makes a mental note to go outside for association before lunch. It might be the very few times this year that she will feel that heat of the sun on her skin before the winter kicks in.

Ordinarily, by now, she would have popped the kettle on, jumped in the shower and checked her phone for emails, but not having any of these pleasures – or pressures – she relishes the excuse for a few more hours of sleep before unlock.

She is comforted in the fact that she is safe, warm and cozy enough… things aren’t really that bad are they? She knows that she’s a “glass half full kind of gal”, but is happiness really that simple?

She keeps waiting for that “prison catch”, 104

that unknown danger she grew up fearing as a little girl. Maybe it’s time that makes this place seem unbearable…

After all, she had only been inside for three months; she still has plenty of time to figure that out. So, for now, she’s going back to sleep to catch some extra ZZZs. Kylie’s morning officially starts at 8am, the same way every morning, to the sound of a screw’s key turning the heavy lock on her metal door: clink clink. Lying there, slightly groggier than before and, strangely, a little more depressed, she doesn’t need to open her eyes to feel that deep sense of dread and denial fall upon her like a heavy blanket.

However, just as quickly as she feels it fall, she pushes it aside and gets up from her bed.

She consciously puts this daily routine into practice with the hope that positivity

»

A L L YO U R S

will be restored. Maybe, next week, she will try to get up 15 minutes earlier to do some yoga, perhaps that might edge those positive vibes into place a bit quicker.

As she inspects her face in the square, scratched mirror she thinks nostalgically back to her parents, her mum and dad, so proud with how she is coping… proud? It that the right word? They seem to think so.

The thing about family is that, no matter how hard you may have pushed them away, they just don’t leave. Sometimes that love and support are all you need to push you right back into a positive place.

See, she has a lot for which to be grateful.

Kylie says a silent little prayer to the Lord; then she splashes cold water on her face, slips on her slippers and pulls the curtains aside. It was only two days earlier, sitting at that same bay window again, rubbing her sleepy eyes and squinting out into the early morning sky, that she saw two birds take flight and fly by together. At the time, in an effort to raise her spirits, she had pulled out her notepad and jotted down three reasons why she was grateful.

I am grateful to see this day. I am grateful that I’m warm and safe. I am grateful for the freedom of the two birds flying high above.

Thinking back to the joy of these two birds flying over C Block, she suddenly feels alone. This time, she silently prays that a transformation doesn’t take place. The kind of transformation that occurs to caged birds, unable to fly and express the true meaning of their lives, wasting away, losing their feathers and gloss.

She looks more deeply into herself and prays that one day soon she will have the energy and the freedom to spread her wings 106

and fly among the clouds, across the oceans diving into the seas, swooping through the valleys, out for good, that’s where she hopes to be.

Kylie is a foreigner but no, it doesn’t matter. A place like prison should be foreign for everyone. Out for good, that’s where she wants to be.

A L L YO U R S

THE FLAME

BY NESSA

I can hear music in my ears.

Beautifully soft, heavenly music coming out of the sky.

The sky is lit with a hundred thousand candle flames.

The flame that burns on the candle burns for everyone to see.

The flame that burns in my heart burns with desire.

The desire of lust, the desire of dreams.

The desire to dream.

I’m dreaming away.

In my dreams, he is mine and I am his.

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NO CHANGE

BY BENITA

I sit and think about what I want my life to be.

Does it exist in our world, is it reality?

Am I expecting too much in a world that is so corrupt?

Are you like me, a black woman living in society?

Hoping my dreams become reality.

Wanting to help the poor, living my life by the law.

One rule for you, one rule for me.

Can’t you see this is democracy?

They’re not going to corrupt my brain and make me go insane.

Release the ball and chain, society remains the same.

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MUST BE MAD

BY ANON

Tell me if I’m crazy But I’m happy being in jail I don’t get many visits And I don’t get a lot of mail But I’ve learnt to be responsible And I’ve faced up to my crime I’ve got no more excuses All I’ve got is time The time I’ve got goes quickly Proactivity is the key And I’m motivated by the notion That one day I will be free I’m not chasing my release date And I’m not living in the past I’m just changing as a person So I can make the freedom last But with a sentence that’s uncertain That’s known as IPP* And with a system that doesn’t work The future is hard to see But I’ll keep pushing on through And make good use of my time It will come good in the end Now I’ve stopped this life of crime

*IPP - Imprisonment for Public Protection applies in England and Wales

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A POEM

BY PRUE

I had no food in my fridge No gas or electric.

My hatred inside of me was overflowing I was angry and self loathing.

Before I met my support worker Carole I dreaded it.

I thought before our meeting – just another professional hypocrite.

But I was shocked when we met.

She did not label nor judge me She listened to me!

Women in Prison helped me and here is the proof.

Four weeks today I am off drugs.

Totally clean after seven years of use.

Nothing has worked before I just lied and said I was clean then I'd sneak out of the door to score.

I was sly and would do anything to get high Now I'm loving life and looking forward to the years missed.

I'm starting again, I'm learning to live as me, not artificially.

Thank you, Carole.

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Have you been moved or transferred?

We know women are often moved or transferred from prison to prison without any warning. You might have been working with Women in Prison in one prison and then been moved to another.

It is important for you to let us know if you have been transferred, so we can continue to give you support. We are not given information about where you are or whether you have been moved, and we don't have access to this information because we are independent from the CJS/Prison.

Please use this sheet to let us know if you have been moved and that you want to keep working with us. Tear it out and post it to:

Women in Prison, Freepost RSLB-UABE-TYRT Unit 10, The Ivories, 6 Northampton Street, London N1 2HY

Name: Prison no: Where you were: Where you are now: Your worker: What we were supporting you with, if anything: Ready Steady Go! 113

WHAT HOW

DOES WOMEN IN PRISON BELIEVE? DOES THAT INFLUENCE HOW WE WORK?

Chris Tchaikovsky set up Women in Prison (WIP) over 30 years ago, after she had served a sentence in HMP Holloway. She lobbied tirelessly to improve conditions inside prison, to widen the knowledge and understanding of the judiciary about women affected by the criminal justice system, and to end the use of incarceration for all but a tiny minority of women.

Chris said: “Taking the most hurt people out of society and punishing them in order to teach them how to live within society is, at best, futile.

Whatever else a prisoner knows, she knows everything there is to know about punishment – because that is exactly what she has grown up with. Childhood sexual abuse, indifference, neglect – punishment is most familiar to her.”

n Women in Prison continues to campaign for a radical overhaul of female imprisonment.

WIP aims to convince and demonstrate to policymakers that the majority of convicted women should serve sentences not behind bars, but in the community. They should remain close to home where their often complex needs can be properly addressed, recidivism ended and the connection with their children maintained. n Women in Prison recognises that every

woman has her own assets and capabilities. These are valuable tools in making real and lasting changes to their lives, but they are too often undermined by the experience of prison. n Women in Prison is a women-only

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organisation. It believes that the male and female experience of the criminal justice system has some similarities, but many more differences. Too often these differences, such as being a single parent and primary carer, fail to be properly acknowledged and understood, which adds to the punishment already exacted.

n Women in Prison workers, inside and outside prison, endeavour to offer individual women a consistently professional relationship based on trust and mutual respect and kept within appropriate boundaries. Their aim is to work with women affected by the criminal justice system, so they can achieve the change they choose to make. n Women in Prison believes that most women in prison pose no risk to the public and should not be incarcerated. For the very few who do, the design, location and regimes of our prisons are totally inadequate. n Women in Prison knows, from both research and experience, that prison is expensive and ineffective in breaking the cycle of crime. n Women in Prison believes that the most

effective way to reduce women’s offending is to deal with its root causes – which generally rest with gender inequalities and social injustice – in community alternatives.

Women who come to WIP do so voluntarily.

WIP is not part of the punitive system.

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World Book Night International Women’s Day Open a book – find a future Jean Corston, women’s champion, talks to RSG! Jokes Wordsearch Interview with Actress Jennifer Joseph All Yours: art & stories Agony Aunts Coming in the next issue

Here’s to your good health & wellbeing!

WHAT YOU TELL US COUNTS! YO U R S AY I F YO U H AV E A N Y T H I N G TO T E L L U S A B O U T W H AT YO U L I K E O R W H AT YO U D O N ’ T L I K E ; S U B J E C T S , I N T E RV I E W S A N D I D E A S YO U WA N T TO S U G G E S T; O R I F YO U ’ D L I K E TO C O N T R I B U T E TO T H E M AG A Z I N E , P L E A S E W R I T E TO : WOMEN IN PRISON F R E E P O S T R S L B - UA B E - T Y RT U N I T 1 0 , T H E I VO R I E S , 6 N O RT H A M P TO N S T, LONDON N1 2HY 116 ReadY steadY Go!

Everything you want to know about your physical, emotional and mental health.

How to give yourself a health overhaul.

How to seek the right kind of help at the right time. How to keep your mind in good shape.

Ten tips to get physical!

First aid for the future

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Plus all the regular features and a lot more besides!