Women and families have diverse experiences of criminal and social justice. We are proud that the Women, Family, Crime and Justice (WFCJ) research network has provided a platform to share knowledge and experiences towards tackling some of the enduring challenges associated with this. The collection of works presented powerfully symbolises the original aims of the network, when launched in 2018 to bring together practitioners, those with lived experience, external agencies, service users, academics and researchers, in a safe, supportive, non-judgemental, egalitarian forum. We sought to facilitate the coming together of similarly focused individuals, all connected in one way or another by a shared passion for criminal and social injustice. We hope that the discussions presented in this text provide a valuable point of reference to inspire action for all these communities.

Since our launch, we have hosted a veritable plethora of amazing speakers in our quarterly seminar series sessions. All of the speakers have shared their work and experiences to audiences eager to hear and to learn. The conversations, debates and discussions in the seminars, much like the chapters in this collection, have been stimulating, fascinating, sometimes challenging and/or painful, but always informative. This critical collection seeks to broaden the reach of the network by sharing some of the presentations in written form with a wider audience.

The introduction reiterated the WFCJ research network's commitment to facilitating and influencing positive change via sharing of knowledge, critically exploring and informing research and policy, informing and collaborating with practitioners, and dissemination and publication. This collection contributes to meeting those commitments.

Additionally, we share a commitment to feminist principles of equality and reflexivity, and this is also returned in the chapters present herein. Notwithstanding the diversity of the chapters, there were a number of recurring themes across the chapters. These included: stigma and shame; power, equality and agency; access to appropriate services and failure to meet needs; and family and relationships.

Stigma and shame

Most of the chapters alluded in some way to the importance of shame and/or stigma. Nicola (Chapter 2) spoke of how the women in her research became labelled, tainted and criminalised from the moment they were deemed ‘deviant’ or law breakers.