Open Justice is a term that the government throws around a lot, but it actually means nothing to victims. It is supposed to bring clarity and confidence into the system from the general public, but in reality, everything is behind closed doors.

As a victim of domestic and sexual abuse, I naively reported what happened to me, unaware of the trauma you, as a victim have to endure in the criminal justice system. Coming out the other end I wanted to find out what happened, what was said, why decisions were made and what was discussed. I was advised not to sit in and listen to the trial after I gave evidence. Even if I wanted to be there I would have had to sit on a bench next to my abuser's family and friends. 

The only way to hear the whole story of a trial is to request court transcripts. However, victims are routinely quoted between £6,000 and £22,000 for transcripts of their trial.

My coping mechanism is to take action, and I quickly found out that most other victims had come across the same challenges. It all started with a petition, which turned into a joint campaign with the Victims Commissioner of London, Claire Waxman. The campaign was supported by various other victims and survivors campaigning to amend the victims bill. 

The Victims bill has been going through parliament for years, and is being discussed again this month. As a group of survivors, together with the Victims Commissioner, we are urging the government to include a number of points in the bill. The core change that we are asking for is access to court transcripts for free; especially the summing up and sentencing for all victims.

The power of women supporting women

The campaign is not without its challenges but it has highlighted to me what is good about this industry because women really do support women. When I put a call out in WACL’s talent group to ask for support, I had two amazing women, Opal Turner and Ant Jackson hop on board to give their time, energy and creative excellence to make this campaign into something real alongside the brilliant Luke Lasenby.

We launched a website, Twitter and Instagram accounts with content that bring awareness to the issue. The truth is that most people that you speak to, unless having gone through the system themselves, know little about the justice system. When they understand this problem people are outraged, and rightly so. We urge people to share and to write to their MP. So that MPs can put pressure on the lords and parliament to have this change go through.

But we also wanted to create space for victims to feel heard and to be able to tell their story. To be able to feel like they are doing something good with their terrible experiences. And to empower people to speak up.

As a group of victims we feel empowered to lobby the government on this. The greatest feedback was received when we were told we ‘royally pissed off the Ministry of Justice’. A campaign they couldn’t miss and wouldn’t stop. And we are not stopping. Together with The Kite Factory, a media buying agency, we have managed to secure multiple media placements on digital within Westminster, targeting those MPs and also some digital OOH executions

The House of Lords is meeting today to vote on the amendment. We still need support, and we need everyone to email their MPs. To make noise, to make everyone aware. So please, email your MP, share out content, and shout about this. Because should I really need to pay thousands of pounds to find out what happened at my own trial?

Support the Open Justice For All campaign here.

Please visit our website for our pre- written email to send to your local MP and visit our socials to tag your MP and share with your friends. Lets give victims the justice they deserve