Around 25 percent of women are reported to have experienced domestic violence. For women in prison, that number is far higher. Around 60 percent report having experienced abuse in the home.
International Women’s Day (IWD) takes place on Friday 8 March.
It is a global awareness day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality.
National Prison Radio understands the importance of reflecting this with the experiences of women inside prison.
National Prison Radio’s Lady Unchained recently delivered a TED Talk on the subject of Women and Girls Vs the Justice System, available to watch here.
In her talk, Lady Unchained played out recorded voices of women and performed her own poetry to call on everyone, male and female, to be part of the movement tackling violence against women and girls.
On International Women’s Day, Lady Unchained will be bringing her lyrical flow to National Prison Radio’s weekly NPR Friday talk show.
Lady Unchained told National Prison Radio: “One thing that is crazy for me is that a lot of women feel safer in prison. That is mad to me.”
In the show, Lady Unchained and her co-hosts will be talking about how in the UK today, women are more likely to enter the workforce with higher qualifications than men but earn less per hour.
She visited HMP Styal and HMP Bronzefield, both women’s prisons, to talk to women about how they experience the sorts of inequalities that are reflected in our wider society. Alongside these conversations, we’ll be hearing the thoughts of women living outside of the prison walls, after release.
For this year’s International Women’s Day, Lady Unchained is calling for listeners to take action to end violence against women and girls.
National Prison Radio highlights that it’s important for men as well as women to be involved in this action. This includes remembering to be an ally to women and taking time to think deeply about what it means to be a woman in 2024.
National Prison Radio has asked prisoners to think about the following:
What would it mean if men and women switched for a day?
What are the particular challenges that women face and how can I change that?
Lady Unchained writes in her poem: “Prison sentences have become our safety blanket. We hide our pain behind bars that have become our safety net.
“These conversations are going to continue. There are a lot of women being abused out there. Let’s create some spaces where women are safe. I’m tired of walking home with my keys in my hand.”
Lady Unchained’s International Women’s Day show will be broadcast on NPR Friday on Friday 8 March 2024.
