Giving women a voice

I've been freelance producing for IJP for three years now. I love the fact that on every job I'm plunged into scenarios which are fascinating, eye-opening and often quite bizarre. On a dark rainy Wednesday evening last week, I was shown down to the basement of Albany Street Police Station in north London and led into the cells where 5 police officers were waiting to be interviewed, by me. It was late, stiflingly airless, and totally surreal to be directing police custody sergeants from the side of the desk where if I'd had a different kind of life, I might be standing handcuffed, answering questions, rather than asking them. 

I just thought - wow, here I am, talking directly to police on the front line about the way they deal with the most vulnerable women in society. They had all just come off long shifts to be filmed for a DVD, which will help to raise awareness of the issues faced by female offenders.

The DVD was commissioned by the Ministry of Justice in response to Baroness Corston's report for the Government on the treatment of women in the Criminal Justice System. At the beginning of the project, we filmed an interview with her at the House of Lords. She cried as she talked about some of the women she had met in prison, and the stories they had told her about their lives. I've also felt very emotional whilst making this film. Some of the women that we met at Anawim Women's Centre in Birmingham told us things that I could hardly believe still happen in Britain today. They bravely lifted the lid on traumatic experiences to talk to us on camera, and in doing so they will have an important impact on how Police, Probation officers, Judges and Magistrates will handle cases in the future.

This type of commission pushes the envelope of film as a communication tool. The Ministry of Justice won't just use the DVD as part of a new training programme for staff. It will also be distributed to government departments, agencies and policy makers, bringing the lives of the women who spoke to me and the experiences of the staff working with them directly to the heart of national debate about policy and practice in the Criminal Justice System.

Heidi Perry, Producer/Director, Inside Job Productions