Agenda Alliance

Our statement on the BBC Panorama documentary which captured racism, misogyny, and islamophobia demonstrated by serving police officers. A radical re-approach to building trust and confidence must be taken that centres young women and girls.

Read here: www.agendaalliance.org/news/agendaa...

NEW REPORT FROM TRANSFORMING TOGETHER:

‘Meeting the unmet need for women: A networked model for shifting power and changing systems in the North East’

Read more: www.agendaalliance.org/documents/20...

#Imkaan have shared the following devasting statement regarding the impact of the far-right's extremist targeting of VAWG services and their staff.

There must be urgent measures taken to protect by and for services and the women and girls they support:
www.imkaan.org.uk/imkaan-state...

Proud to also be a signatory to this letter. The government must urgently tackle the poverty crisis in the UK to prevent more women being driven into sex work by poverty and financial need.

Pink graphic with an image of a woman in the bottom right corner, holding a sign which says "I want to be heard". Text reads "Are you a story-teller, with a passion for making change for women and girls? Join our team as Communications Co-Ordinator. Deadline to apply 9am, 13 October."

Are you passionate about uplifting marginalised experiences and making change for women and girls?

We are now recruiting for a communications co-ordinator to join our team.

Deadline to apply: 9am, 13 October

Find more details on our website: www.agendaalliance.org/careers/comm...

Our statement in solidarity with our Muslim, migrant, Black, brown and minoritised colleagues and friends, in the wake of the far-right's mobilisation in London this weekend.

Please read: www.agendaalliance.org/news/agendaa...

The Women’s Justice Reimagined partnership has launched a briefing setting out the urgent steps the Women's Justice Board must take to address racial disproportionality in the criminal justice system.

Read more: www.agendaalliance.org/news/wjr-rac...

Headshots of Agenda Alliance's four new Trustees against a pale blue background.

Agenda Alliance is delighted to announce the appointment of four new members onto our Board of Trustees: Tina Ajuonuma, Anne Kazimirski, Mariam Radi, and Tanja Salem.

Find out more about them on our website: www.agendaalliance.org/news/four-ne...

Agenda Alliance responds to the Sentencing Bill

The Ministry of Justice UK’s Sentencing Bill has been published.

The Bill offers a vital opportunity to reform sentencing, and work to reduce the reasons women and girls offend.

Read our initial response here:
www.agendaalliance.org/news/agendaa...

We're proud to share our first impact report, marking a decade of Agenda Alliance striving to make a difference for women & girls at the sharpest end of inequality.

Find out how we've pushed the overlooked and underrepresented needs of women and girls onto the political agenda: tinyurl.com/mhe6bw9n

Report after report from the Chief Inspector of Prisons this year have highlighted the lack of safety and proper support for women across our prisons.

We wish to remember Natasha Chin, and the as yet unnamed 25 year old young woman, whose lives could have potentially been saved with better care.

Two prisoners die in UK women's jail within days of each other The jail is holding both Lucy Letby and Constance Marten.

It is deeply distressing to read the news that two women have died so recently at HMP Bronzefield.

The loss of these lives only serves as a painful reminder of how serious the consequences of women's unmet needs in custody can be. Our thoughts are with all who loved them.

tinyurl.com/2ewj3bku

Agenda Alliance responds to the Independent Sentencing Review

We previously raised our concerns regarding the recommendations to reduce the threshold for deportation included in the Independent Sentencing Review, and the potential serious impacts on migrant women.

You can read that statement here: www.agendaalliance.org/news/agendaa...

Statement on government plans on early deportation of migrant people in contact with the criminal justice system - Hibiscus Initiatives 12.08.25 The government’s plan announced over the last days to introduce legislation that would allow the immediate deportation of migrant people convicted of criminal offences in the UK will cause ca...

We're dismayed by the government's plans to expand the numbers of people facing deportation immediately after conviction.

Read our Women's Justice Reimagined partner Hibiscus' statement to understand why this could seriously harm women & girls 👇

hibiscusinitiatives.org.uk/blog/stateme...

Purple square with the Agenda Alliance logo in white, and a photo of Jess Southgate. Text reads 'Moving on, looking back: Jess Southgate reflects on seven years at Agenda Alliance'

After seven meaningful years at Agenda Alliance, our Deputy CEO, Jess Southgate, is moving on to a new role at the Youth Endowment Fund.

We are now recruiting for a Head of Influencing and Impact here at Agenda; find more details at the close of Jess' blog:
www.agendaalliance.org/news/jess-so...

Agenda Alliance responds to levels of self-harm reaching ‘new peak’ in women’s prisons

"We expect to see a clear, targeted, approach for young women included in the upcoming Women's Justice Board’s strategy, to make sure they can remain in their communities, supported by well-funded specialist services designed to meet their specific needs."

www.agendaalliance.org/news/agendaa...

Great to see coverage of this issue in the @the-independent.com today.

We're calling for the Department of Education to launch a specific inquiry into the needs of girls missing from education, either through official or unofficial exclusions.

www.independent.co.uk/news/educati...

📢 Our analysis has found a shocking 257% increase across the last 6 years of the number of girls marked as severely absent from school.

We're calling for better pathways of support for girls with unmet needs, to make sure girls in all regions can stay in school.

Read more: tinyurl.com/mpnautth

Agenda Alliance responds to sharp rise in girls' exclusions

New data from DfE shows girls' exclusions have increased by 10% on last year - we're really concerned by the impact near-record levels of suspensions and exclusions will have on girls and their life chances.

Read our statement:
www.agendaalliance.org/news/agendaa...

Alongside seeing the voices of Black, Asian, migratised and minoritised women at the heart of this investigation, there must be increased investment in maternity funding, including working with expert charities to ensure additional avenues of support for women who need them.

This year we have seen huge cuts to maternity services - the national Service Development Funding (SDF) for maternity is set to go from £95m in 2024-25 to just £2m in 2025-26.

This a decimation of maternity funding, and will only deepen the inequalities we know exist in maternal healthcare.

This week, Wes Streeting announced an investigation into NHS maternity services.

From the outset, this investigation must centre the lived experiences of Black women, who are three times more likely to die during childbirth than white women, and experience higher rates of maternity complications.

Our response to this afternoon's Spending Review:
www.agendaalliance.org/news/agendaa...

“Who pours into my cup?”: a spotlight on Birth Companion’s Izzy Project

We also recently spoke to our member, @birthcompanions.bsky.social, about the Izzy Project, their service which provides trauma-informed non-judgmental 1:1 advocacy support for women experiencing separation shortly after birth:
www.agendaalliance.org/news/birthco...

We Need Support

If you'd like to know more about our work in this area, have a look at our briefing, commissioned by Greater Manchester Combined Authority:
www.agendaalliance.org/our-work/pro...

We were grateful to share the panel with Karina Graham from Pause, and the film's director, Daisy-May Hudson, two incredible women who have turned their life experiences into immense passion for change.

We hope that this film will help women fighting these battles feel seen, heard, and less alone.

New film Lollipop powerfully lays bare the 'inhumane' children's care system Lollipop tells the story of a young single mother who leaves prison expecting to be reunited with her kids, but released into homelessness.

Thanks @isabellamcrae.bsky.social and @bigissue.com for having us to speak on the Q&A panel for this gut-wrenching new film.

We shared insight from our briefing, We Need Support, which highlighted the challenges women face navigating child removal.

www.bigissue.com/culture/film...

Great to speak about our work on child removal for a Q&A panel last night after special preview screening of 'Lollipop', alongside director Daisy-May Hudson and Karina Graham from Pause.

The film is gutwrenching and powerful - in cinemas from June 13!
www.metfilmstudio.com/distribution...

We have an opportunity to stop setting women in prison up to fail Sonya Ruparel, CEO of Women in Prison, writes about why the government must seize its chance and stop failing women in prison.

"These recommendations... represent a fundamental shift in how we choose to respond to women who encounter the justice system.

We can choose to keep failing them—or we can choose to act on the opportunity for better justice. Let’s not let it slip away."
www.bigissue.com/opinion/sent...

The Independent Sentencing Review's findings, and any implementation by government, offer a significant opportunity to limit the harms caused by the criminal justice system to women at the sharpest edge of inequality.

Read our response: www.agendaalliance.org/news/agendaa...