farah damji

In today’s episode, one of the founders of The View, Farah Damji, speaks with Siyanda, who was released from prison recently, about her experiences inside, what she learned and what kept her going.  A few weeks ago we brought you an important podcast with Camilla, Siyanda's mother and the force behind the Free Siyanda campaign. Camilla believes her 22 year old daughter who was vulnerable and disabled was let down and has suffered a miscarriage of justice.

She was sent to prison for 4 years and 6 months. Her attackers walked free although Siyanda called the police and was clearly the victim of a racially motivated violent attack. We explore Siyanda's experience inside prison, what she learned, and what kept her going. Siyanda's wrongful incarceration led to the beginning of the Free Siyanda campaign, from which she got a lot of support. After two years and three months, she has faith that this was not the end for her. The unfair sentence has caused a rift between her and the administration of justice.  

She says "There's a miscarriage of justice because I'm a Black woman."

As a Black woman, the judge considered Siyanda a criminal and a threat to the public even though she believes he knew she was not guilty. She felt that the judge had to make some negative comments. While in prison, she did not get any support for her disability; her mum had to send her medication to ease her pain. The situation also caused her trauma leading to Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy in prison when she finally hit rock bottom.   

Siyanda hopes that with the help of the campaign, she can free herself from the wrongful conviction and help other people in the same situation she was in. Since different organisations could not help black people, especially women who find themselves in prison or in the wider justice system, Siyanda and her legal team took her case to the Court of Appeal and the judge accepted their witness statement as fresh evidence. 

 Amplifying the Free Siyanda campaign will help raise awareness in the community, especially for black people who are racially abused in Wales. There should be a mass movement with people who have been abused to come out and tell their stories.  

Siyanda believes that the justice system should change, and women being sent to prison for the crimes of men should not be incarcerated. 

"For anyone who is not white, your life is irrelevant to them," she says.

 The judge said she had been through so much, after looking at her pre-sentencing report, and she had overcome so much, and there was no reason she could not overcome prison. 

This is an appalling attitude for a judge to take which is literally, "It sounds like you have been abused before; let me abuse you some more."

With the justice system clearly favouring white people, Siyanda said she felt that her life was not as important as a lighter skinned or white person's life. 

For #FreeSiyanda: http://freesiyanda.com/

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Rebel Justice Podcasts : Episode 7: Interview with Ivana Bacik and Farah Damji.

Welcome to The View Magazines Rebel Justice Podcast. In this weeks episode we speak to Ivana Bacik and the co-founder of The View, Farah Damji, about their involvement with Someone’s Daughter and the criminal justice system. 

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Rebel Justice Podcasts : Episode 4: Women with Lived Experience Part 2

Madalena speaks to  model and mental health campaigner Naomi Harlow, activist and former prisoner Clare Barstow, prison law solicitor and expert Rob Welsh - from our sponsors, Instalaw, a leading prison and criminal defence law firm - and former prisoner and one of the founders of The View, Farah Damji.

Today we continue to look at whether women with lived experience can be part of the solution when it comes to effective policy and stopping the cycle of crime and reducing reoffending. 

Can Women with Lived Experience Be Part of the Solution? - Part 2

We continue our series on participation of women with lived experience who can be part of the solution when it comes to effective policy and stopping the cycle of crime and reducing reoffending.

 Host of the Rebel Justice podcast, Madalena Alberta speaks to  model and mental health campaigner Naomi Harlow, activist and former prisoner Clare Barstow, prison law solicitor and expert Rob Walsh - from our sponsors, Instalaw, a leading prison and criminal defence law firm - and former prisoner and one of the founders of The View, Farah Damji.

In this episode we explore the lack of openness to new alternatives to imprisonment. Previously Rob questioned why prisoners didn't receive training etc in prison and what qualifications people can get while they are there. Prisons must provide education, learning and skills  for prisoners serving sentences. Clare also mentioned that there is currently a huge shortage of prison psychologists and prison psychiatrists and that it takes six months to even get a referral from a prison GP and then another 18 months to get any treatment.

Naomi said that because she has been working with children and young people, she saw an 8 year old child who refused to go to class. He was pained and angry that someone was ridiculing him for coming from a poor background. During the pandemic, the gap between the rich and the poor grew bigger. Although laptops are distributed in schools, they are limited in number and these gaps, between the children who have and those who don't, increased significantly. His reactions are a raw and direct response to fear and existential trauma. Support for hobbies is also an issue, as lack of money and lack of time prevent poorer children from interacting and having meaningful relationships with their peers. When we talk about choice and recovery, we have to meet people's basic needs, their mental health and emotional needs, for example, support in housing, work, self-advancement and education.

During Rob's experience representing women in prison, he found that there are many people in the prison system who need to re-establish positive family links which is an important thing, and they need to be aware of the charities and assistance available to them. But many will encounter difficulties with leaflets and information about services, loans etc.  Farah mentioned there are serious mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. These can be daunting for those who feel very vulnerable. But if someone is willing to come along with you and help your re-entry into society together, it can make a huge difference.

Everyone needs to be listened to, to feel safe, to be loved. That's why it's absolutely vital to understand how people in the system feel and for women with lived experience to be involved in the healing process of other women.

With thanks to all our panellists and the many people who made Someone’s Daughter possible. The campaign continues, globally, so watch our social media f

For more unmissable content from The View sign up here

The VIEW Magazine CiC 

Presents

Rebel Justice Podcasts : Episode 3: Women with Lived Experience Part 1

Madalena speaks to  model and mental health campaigner Naomi Harlow, activist and former prisoner Clare Barstow, prison law solicitor and expert Rob Welsh - from our sponsors, Instalaw, a leading prison and criminal defence law firm - and former prisoner and one of the founders of The View, Farah Damji.

Today we look at whether women with lived experience can be part of the solution when it comes to effective policy and stopping the cycle of crime and reducing reoffending. 

With thanks to all our panellists and the many people who made Someone’s Daughter possible. The campaign continues, globally, so watch our social media for dates and further announcements.

© The View Magazine 2021

Narrated and Edited by Madalena Alberto 

Produced by The View Magazine 

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