Delivering Justice for Women
I learned a lot from moderating a sobering conversation between Harriet Wistrich and Debaleena Dasgupta of the Centre for Women’s Justice (CWJ) at the Impact London Collective event. We supported CWJ in our last grant round.
🔹 Strategic Litigation: CWJ’s unique approach involves taking on cases that challenge systemic failures and push for broad reforms. Strategic litigation can take years to yield results. The ongoing David Carrick case, which involves a former Metropolitan Police officer convicted of numerous rapes and assaults over 17 years, highlights the failure of the police to act on repeated complaints against him.
🔹 Article 3: We explored the importance of Article 3, which protects against torture and inhumane treatment, and discussed its transition from European law to British law through the Human Rights Act 1998. CWJ’s strategic use of Article 3 is critical in cases like Devon & Cornwall Police, where systemic neglect amounted to significant human rights violations.
🔹 Key Cases:
John Worboys Case: A landmark case involving a taxi driver who drugged and raped multiple women, showcasing police and parole board failures and highlighting the need for greater accountability within state institutions.
Civil Case Against Greater Manchester Police: CWJ represented victims of the Rochdale grooming gang, exposing long-term failures to investigate and prosecute, demonstrating the role of litigation in tackling systemic shortcomings.
Case Against David Carrick: This ongoing case underscores the Met Police’s failure to address numerous complaints against Carrick, revealing severe systemic issues that need urgent reform.
Super-complaints: CWJ has led the way in using super-complaints to challenge systemic policing failures. This mechanism allows designated groups like CWJ to raise significant issues affecting the public interest. Their work on Police Perpetrated Domestic Abuse (PPDA) has revealed not just isolated incidents but broader institutional failures that demand action.
Police Perpetrated Domestic Abuse (PPDA): Cases such as those involving Devon & Cornwall Police bring to light how officers sometimes protect colleagues accused of abuse.
Impact Beyond Wins: Even when cases aren’t won, CWJ’s work brings critical issues into the public eye and often inspires policy changes. One example is CWJ’s attempt to challenge the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) over its approach to prosecuting rape cases, which, although not successful in court, brought much-needed attention to the issue and influenced public discourse and policy.
CWJ is also committed to nurturing future feminist lawyers who will approach law differently, create systemic change, and work with frontline groups supporting victims. Happy to support this vital work for a more just and equal society.