The Garden Court Chambers Youth Justice & Child Rights Team, in association with the Drive Forward Foundation, invites you to a training session on care experienced people in the criminal justice system.
Hear directly from advocates who have direct experience of the care system to gain practical knowledge on how better to support your clients.
| Date: | Tuesday 25 May 2021 |
|---|---|
| Time: | 5pm - 6:30pm |
| Venue: | Online |
| Cost: | Free |
| Areas of Law: | Youth Justice & Child Rights , Criminal Defence |
This training will be a unique opportunity for lawyers to better understand the population that they serve. Care experienced people are over-represented in the criminal justice system and children in care are around seven times more likely to be criminalised than their peers. This session has been created by care experienced members of Drive Forward Foundation’s Policy Forum. Drive Forward Foundation is an organisation that supports care leavers into sustainable education, employment and training and also facilitates this forum of care experienced campaigners.
We hope that by the end of this training, lawyers will better understand the care system and childhood trauma and the impact that these have on many of those who come into contact with the criminal justice system. We hope that as well as hearing from lived experience, you will also be given some practical tools to better support the young people that you work with.
This event has been organised by Fatima Jichi of the Garden Court Chambers Youth Justice & Child Rights Team and Megan Davies of Drive Forward Foundation.
Speakers
Judy Khan QC, Barrister, Garden Court Chambers (Chair)
Judy has experience of criminal defence work across a wide spectrum of criminal cases. She has been instructed as leading counsel in cases involving allegations of murder, attempted murder, kidnap, fraud, money laundering and large-scale importation/supply of drugs. She is predominantly briefed in murder cases, often involving gang-related killings committed by young defendants. She also specialises in cases involving serious sexual allegations. Judy won Crime Silk of the Year at the Chambers Bar Awards 2019.
Andrew Neilson, Director of Campaigns, Howard League
Andrew Neilson leads the campaigns team. He was previously press and communications manager at the Howard League and was a government press officer for seven years. Andrew has a MSc in voluntary sector management from Cass Business School.
Fatmata, Drive Forward Foundation
Fatmata (or Fats) is 26 and lives in Birmingham. She is a young justice advisor for Leaders Unlocked, campaigning for positive change for people with experience of both the criminal justice and the care system.
Shevonne, Drive Forward Foundation
Shevonne is a law graduate and trainee solicitor. She uses her lived experience of the care system to campaign for change with Drive Forward’s Policy Forum and has spoken out extensively on the issue of criminalisation of children in care.
Nadia, Drive Forward Foundation
Nadia is a civil servant working at the Department for Work and Pensions. She is a committed campaigner on Drive Forward's Policy Forum, particularly on the issue of criminalisation of children in care and care leavers.
Kadiatu, Drive Forward Foundation
Kadiatu works at the Ministry of Defence and is committed to social justice. She is an active member of Drive Forward's Policy Forum and 'FORE' group (Forward on Racial Equality).
Shimron, Drive Forward Foundation
Shimron is a civil servant at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Shimron has worked with Drive Forward Foundation for nearly three years and is passionate about reducing the criminalisation of children in care and care leavers.
Jordan, Drive Forward Foundation
Jordan is the Middle East Programme Manager at Forward Thinking and is also a trustee at Drive Forward Foundation. He founded Drive Forward's Policy Forum in 2016 and is a passionate advocate for care experienced people.
