I was privileged to participate in the inaugural conference that launched the Women, Family, Crime, and Justice network. It was a dynamic and diverse gathering, determined not only to share knowledge and insights in an inclusive way, but also to provide opportunities for crossfertilisation between research, personal experience, policy and practice.

Mainstream discussions of crime and punishment rarely distinguish between women and men. This renders women invisible, marginalised as a small minority within a heavily male-dominated justice system. It has taken a long time for the criminal justice system in particular to understand that relationships are a significant ‘criminogenic risk factor’ for women, because they are such a strong protective factor for men. When men are sent to prison, women keep the home fires burning, visit them in prison, care for their children and provide essential support. The reverse is not true. Meanwhile, women with criminal convictions are regarded as doubly deviant – not only have they broken the law, but they have also offended against feminine stereotypes, especially if they are mothers.

This is an important book, contributing to an important project – a growing body of literature by, for and about women whose circumstances and constrained choices have conspired to make them ‘a female offender’. I especially welcome the thematic focus on stigma and shame, as that is an under-researched dimension of the gendered impacts of punishment, one that needs greater recognition.

Despite growing political consensus about the futility of shortterm imprisonment, it remains the case that nearly three quarters of women sentenced to prison are given sentences of less than 12 months, overwhelmingly for non-violent offences. The disregard for children when a mother is imprisoned (despite government claims that children's best interests are at the heart of all decision making) is matched by institutional disregard for the impacts on women themselves of forcible separation from their children.

The UK has one of the highest rates of women's imprisonment in Western Europe. It is well evidenced that high rates of imprisonment are closely associated with high levels of inequality, and it is salutary to note that in 2019 the UK fell six places in the global rankings of gender inequality, from an ignoble 15th place to 21st place (Global Gender Gap Report, 2020).