ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the need for and expansion of problem-solving courts (PSCs) as well as the ongoing challenges they face in the wider policy context of long-standing calls for gender-informed responses to female offending. By way of a case study, it considers the development and operation of a specialist Women’s Review Court (WRC) in the North of England aimed at facilitating desistance and avoiding female imprisonment by supporting women on suspended or community sentences. The WRC’s underpinning ethos and approach are outlined and reflected upon alongside some of the outstanding challenges yet to be reconciled concerning gender-specific courts more generally. These comprise considerations concerning the operation and evaluation of such initiatives as well as intersectional considerations, ensuring consistency in access to services/support, and the need for wider sentencing reform. It is also argued that the needs of women must not be side-lined in changes to how courts operate in a post-pandemic era and following the reunification of the National Probation Service (NPS).
