Honouring Our Communities: Recognising the Voices of Black Women in the Justice System
Lilly Lewis, Women’s Involvement Advisor, One Small Thing
In the next of her series of blogs, Lilly Lewis, One Small Thing’s Women’s Involvement Advisor, explores what it means to honour Black women, reflecting on the challenges they face, the contributions they make, and why recognising their experiences is essential to building stronger and more inclusive communities.
Black History Month 2026 invites us to reflect on what it truly means to honour our communities. For me, that means recognising the women whose voices have too often been unheard, whose experiences have been overlooked, and whose contributions deserve to be valued.
As Women’s Involvement Advisor at One Small Thing and Founder of Watering Your Soul CIC, I work alongside women who have experienced trauma, disadvantage and the criminal justice system. I see their strength, resilience and determination to build a different future. I also see how easily the Black women I work with can be defined by their circumstances rather than understood for who they are.
We must see the woman, not the label.
Behind every woman is a story. For many, this includes domestic abuse, childhood trauma, poverty, substance use, homelessness or care experience. For Black women, these challenges can be compounded by racism, discrimination and barriers to accessing appropriate support.
My own lived experience has taught me how important it is to be met with compassion rather than judgement. I know the difference it makes when someone sees your potential instead of defining you by your past.
Every woman deserves dignity, the opportunity to rebuild her life and the chance to be heard.
The power of lived experience
Through my work, I have seen how powerful community can be. Sometimes, the difference between a woman giving up and finding the courage to move forward is simply having someone who believes in her.
Safe spaces, supportive relationships and opportunities to rebuild confidence can help women recognise their strengths and begin to imagine a different future.
But we must go further than listening to women’s stories. We must recognise lived experience as expertise.
Meaningful involvement is not about inviting women into a room, asking them to share painful experiences and then carrying on as before. It means giving women genuine opportunities to influence policy, shape services and challenge decisions that affect their lives.
“We must ask ourselves whether Black women are being given the opportunity to influence the systems designed to support them. Are their experiences of racism and discrimination being acknowledged? Are we prepared to listen when they challenge the way things have always been done?”
If we want meaningful change, Black women must have a seat at the table, and their voices must make a difference to the decisions being made.
Challenging inequality and creating change
Honouring our communities also means challenging the inequalities that continue to shape women’s lives.
Imprisonment can have devastating consequences for women, their children and their families. We must consider whether community-based alternatives, early intervention and sustained, trauma-informed support could offer better outcomes for women and the communities around them.
This is not about ignoring harm or accountability. We must all take responsibility, it is about understanding women’s circumstances, addressing unmet needs and creating opportunities for lasting change.
Support must be gender-specific, trauma-informed and culturally responsive. Treating every woman the same does not mean every woman receives what she needs. We must recognise the different barriers women face and ensure their experiences shape the services available to them.
Black women affected by the criminal justice system are not simply people who need support. They are mothers, daughters, professionals, advocates and community leaders. They have knowledge, skills and ideas that can help create fairer systems and stronger communities.
Their voices belong in the conversations where decisions are made.
Honouring women all year round
Black History Month gives us an important opportunity to celebrate Black women, recognise their contributions and reflect on the inequalities that remain. But this work cannot begin and end in October.
Honouring our communities must be reflected in the services we fund, the policies we develop, the voices we amplify and the inequalities we are prepared to challenge, including the specific barriers and inequalities faced by Black women
As Women’s Involvement Advisor at One Small Thing and Founder of Watering Your Soul CIC, I will continue to champion lived experience, compassionate support and meaningful involvement. I believe every woman deserves to feel safe enough to speak, valued enough to contribute and respected enough to know her voice matters. For Black women in particular, this means ensuring their experiences are heard, believed and reflected in decision-making.
When I think about honouring our communities, I think about the Black women who keep going despite everything life has thrown at them. The women finding their voices, rebuilding their confidence and helping others do the same.
We have a responsibility to ensure they are no longer left out of the conversations that shape their futures.
To honour our communities, we must honour the women within them. That means listening without judgement, recognising lived experience as expertise, challenging racism and discrimination, and sharing power with the women whose lives we seek to improve.
Because a stronger society is one where every woman, regardless of her background or circumstances, has the opportunity to be heard, supported and valued, and where Black women are recognised not only for the challenges they face, but for the contributions they make to their families, communities and society.
