Agenda Alliance responds to announcement of a new Girls in Youth Justice Advisory Board

On Tuesday 11 November 2025, the Ministry of Justice announced the creation of a new Girls in Youth Justice Advisory Board.

We welcome the Ministry of Justice’s announcement of a new Girls in Youth Justice Advisory Board (GYJAB) in response to Susannah Hancock’s independent review into the care of girls in the youth justice secure estate.

As has always been our position, the needs of girls in custody differ vastly from the needs of boys, so we are pleased that the Government have now rightly prioritised a gendered focus on this issue. Our research, which was consistently referenced in Hancock’s review, has built a strong evidence base for the need for a specialist, gender-responsive, trauma-informed approach to girls and young women in custody. With that said, there has been a missed opportunity in the GYJAB lacking representation from an organisation that focuses on women and girls, and we would welcome the opportunity to discuss this with the Minster for Youth Justice.

Girls in custody have experienced extensive trauma and abuse and currently experience an unacceptable level of harm due to lack of appropriate care.

Through our research, we’ve found that:

• 63% of young women serving community sentences had experienced rape or domestic abuse in an intimate partner relationship;
• Up to 75 – 90% of girls in the youth justice system may have experienced abuse from a family member;
• and 42% of young women in custody say they need help with trauma.

Many girls in custody arrive there due to a lack of support around multiple, intersecting needs, such as poverty, poor mental health, and domestic or sexual violence. Racism, experience of the care system, and other forms of trauma or abuse often compound these needs, and can act as a barrier to women’s access to support.

As highlighted in Hancock’s review, our report, A Call to Action, which is part of our Young Women’s Justice Project, found that Black, Asian, minoritised, and migratised young women experience inequality on account of their ethnicity and immigration status, as well as their age and gender. In addition, many care-experienced young women encounter ingrained prejudice within the system, leading to disproportionate criminalisation.

Considering this, we urge the GYJAB to focus on the specific needs of Black, Asian, minoritised and migratised girls, as well as care experienced girls. Girls with intersecting and marginalised identities are disproportionately impacted and criminalised by the criminal justice system, with their needs particularly neglected, and they are the girls who we must tailor systems and services to. Additionally, the GYJAB must include representation from an organistion focused on the specific, gendered needs of women and girls.