Women's Problem Solving Courts: Variations on a Theme

• In Event: Gender, Crime and Justice Working Group Panel 12: Gender and Justice

Abstract

Women’s Problem-Solving Courts (WPSC) are specialised courts designed to address the unique circumstances of women who are charged or convicted of criminal offences. Women in the criminal legal system often have mental health problems, addiction issues, unstable housing, exploitative or violent domestic relationships, and broken or strained relationships with their children. All of these are factors which are likely to have contributed to the criminal offending. Imprisonment is unable to address these issues, but the WPSC take a different approach by supporting the woman to address many of these issues during her sentence. Dr Shona Minson’s work on the sentencing of women has most recently focused on the use of these courts in two jurisdictions in the UK (England and Wales, and Scotland). Extension of their use is being trialled in the UK. Argentina has been using WPSC since 2018 and is a jurisdiction where legislation passed in 2018 mandates training on gender and violence against women for all in public office including the judiciary. Drawing on empirical research and policy and practice documents from three jurisdictions, this paper considers the different models of WPSC in England/Wales, Scotland and Argentina, and the rationale behind them. It explores the hypothesis that until we understand the purpose of these courts, both in terms of law and justice, it is impossible to evaluate their usefulness to women as an alternative justice procedure.

Author

• Shona Minson, University of Oxford