From experience to empowerment: the impact of Revolving Doors’ Women’s Forum
We recently launched our Hope Report, setting out our impact between 2025-2026. It’s been a huge year for us: the first of our new five-year strategy, and one in which we’ve published leading research, shaped thinking and achieved our long-fought-for policy goal of an end to short prison sentences.
As ever, it’s been our members – people with lived experience of the revolving door – who have led the way, showing what it means to shape change and build happier, healthier futures away from cycles of crisis and crime. This is a longer version of a piece in the Hope Report from Hannah, a member of Revolving Doors who first joined us in early 2025. Since joining, Hannah graduated from our Changemakers Academy, became a qualified peer researcher and trainer, and joined our Lived Experience Advisory Panel (LEAP), a shadow Board for our members.
Here, she reflects on her experience of our Women’s Forum, and its role in building her confidence and shaping her journey as she now begins a role as a support worker, helping others out of the revolving door and into brighter lives like the one she now lives:
There was a time in my life when I felt stuck in a cycle of crisis and survival, not always knowing how to find a way forward.
Crisis, survival, mistakes, consequences back again. Like many women, my experiences were shaped by things that aren’t always visible: trauma, instability, and trying to cope in ways that didn’t always lead me to the right places. I kept travelling down this path until it eventually led to the criminal justice system, and into prison.
What I didn’t have back then was a space where I felt heard, understood, or safe enough to be honest about what I had been through.
That’s why being part of the Women’s Forum has meant so much to me.
From the very beginning, it felt different. It wasn’t about being judged or labelled. It was a space built on respect, understanding, and my own complicated lived experiences. And where women like me, with many different experiences too, can speak openly about our lives, our challenges, and what really needs to change.
What makes the forum so powerful is that it’s not just about sharing stories, it’s about turning those stories into something meaningful.
In the forum, I’ve been able to talk about things that are often hard to say out loud: the realities of prison, the impact of trauma, the barriers to getting support, and the reasons why so many women end up stuck in cycles of crisis and crime. But instead of feeling defined by those experiences, I’ve felt empowered by them.
For the first time, I’ve felt like my voice matters.
The forum has been a safe space, like, genuinely safe. A place where women listen to each other without judgement, where honesty is met with understanding, and where you can be yourself without fear. That kind of environment is rare, and it’s incredibly important, especially for women who have experienced trauma or felt silenced in the past.
Being part of this space has been motivating and uplifting. It’s helped me grow in confidence, speak up, and realise that my experiences can help shape something better, not just for me, but for other women too.
And that’s what makes this work so important.
Because the things we talk about in the forum are not just personal to me, they reflect bigger issues in the system. Many women in the criminal justice system are there for non-violent offences. Many are dealing with mental health challenges, poverty, abuse, or addiction. And too often, prison doesn’t address those issues, prison and interactions with police and the courts can make them worse.
What we’ve shared in the forum aligns so closely with what is now being recognised more widely: that things need to change.
The recent focus on reducing women’s imprisonment and investing in community support reflects what so many of us have been saying all along; That women need support, not just punishment. That early intervention, safe services, and trauma-informed approaches can make a real difference. That keeping women in the community, especially those who are mothers or primary carers, can prevent further harm.
These are lived realities – not just ideas.
The Revolving Doors Women’s Forum shows what happens when women are given the chance to be part of the conversation. When our voices are included, the solutions become more real, more practical, and more human.
For me personally, being part of the forum has been a turning point. It’s helped me see that my past doesn’t just define me and if anything, it can also be a source of strength. It’s given me a sense of purpose, and a belief that change is possible.
Not just for me, but for others walking a similar path.
I’m proud to be part of something that is not only supportive but also working towards real change. A space where women are not just seen but really, really heard and where those voices are helping to shape a better, fairer system.
Because when women are supported, understood, and given the opportunity to thrive, the cycle can be broken.
And that changes everything.
