Access to Justice

Research, Advocacy, and Scrutiny

BSWN’s Access to Justice work emerges from our existing Policy, Scrutiny & Accountability projects which aims to address structural inequalities that disproportionately impact Black and Racially Minoritised individuals. Aware of the role that the law plays in disadvantaged marginalised communities, we are also saliently aware that law can be used for the benefit of said communities. Our Access to Justice Project aims to leverage the resources, networks, and strategic positions we hold as a regional racial justice organisations to increase access to justice for Black and Racially Minoritised communities, improve legal and rights-based education amongst racially marginalised communities, and create tangible changes to existing and upcoming legislations that would disproportionately impact racialised individuals.

Race & Justice Conference in the South West

The Race & Justice Conference marked the very first convention of its kind in the South West region. With the support of Burges Salmon LLP and Miranda Grell (Barrister at Staple Inn Chambers), this Conference gathered more than 80 professionals and advocates throughout the United Kingdom to highlight, and collectively tackle, the most pressing issues in the racial justice sector.

Alongside a series of in-depth panels, BSWN also hosted the Criminal Justice Alliance, the Public Law Project, and Liberty in providing three intimate workshops that aimed at improving the knowledge and skills of attendees around topics related to access to justice. 

The Conference was also used to inform the future of BSWN’s Access to Justice work, with the final hour dedicated towards co-producing an Action Plan with the Conference attendees. This Action Plan contains community expectations of what a BSWN Access to Justice programme could look like, what they would like BSWN to focus on, and what methods of engagement would be most effective. 

 

The Disrupt Foundation

Consolidating the ideas co-produced during the Conference with the help of Miranda Grell, BSWN successfully received funding from the Disrupt Foundation for an exploratory pilot phase to see how best we could utilise our resources and expertise to improve access to justice for Black and Racially Minoritised communities. 

To help lead the Access to Justice project, BSWN onboarded Dr Barbara Brown as its dedicated Research & Advocacy Lead, providing crucial strategic guidance and direction. Utilising the Conference Action Plan, BSWN laid out a year-long plan that included research, workshops, and roundtable discussions that would ensure a comprehensive view of the legal landscape in the South West.

 

Research

Secondary Research on Race, Health, and Education

The Access to Justice Project specifically focused on two aspects of justice: healthcare and education. With the support of Project Officer Jeff Monzon and BSWN Volunteer Aditya Verma, desk-based research was conducted to sketch out the existing landscape of racial disparities within these two areas of society – nationally, regionally, and locally. 

This research was then presented to key stakeholders who attended the Community Roundtable in 2024. Key insights included:

  • Black and Asian women are more likely to die during childbirth.

  • Medical records and notes of Black and Racially Minoritised patients were likely to either be left unrecorded or poorly recorded.

  • Black students are three to five times more likely to be disciplined by way of exclusions.

  • Black Caribbean students remain behind in GCSE attainment by 18 percentage points.

Primary Research on Education with Reparative Futures of Education (University of Oxford)

BSWN partnered with Reparative Futures of Education (Repair-Ed) from the Department of Education at the University of Oxford to better understand the experiences of parents to children of African-heritage backgrounds in Years 4 to 6 of Bristol’s primary schools. This partnership, with the support of Margaret Simmons-Bird, held the objective of reimagining the structures of educational institutions as it pertains to learning, belonging, and equality. 

Three workshops were conducted by Dr Annabel Wilson and Dr Barbara Brown in the Bristol City Centre, Barton Hill, and Knowle/Knowle West. Following the publication of our joint research report, the key findings of our work were presented to numerous stakeholders at a Policy Roundtable and shared widely with affected parents in Bristol schools.

 

Non-Policing Solutions to Homelessness with The Runnymede Trust and The Mwanzo Project

Black and Minoritised people are three to five times more likely to face discrimination in the process of looking for a home. As such, homelessness amongst racialised groups is more likely to be experienced than those racialised as White. To help reduce homelessness and to tackle its systemic causes, BSWN has conducted research with The Runnymede Trust and the Mwanzo Project to help understand non-policing solutions to homelessness in Bristol. The key findings of this research are:

  • The Police’s approach towards homeless individuals does not protect them, aiming to relocate them as opposed to solving the root cause of homelessness experienced by the individual.

  • There is a systemic lack of compassion in society: hostile architecture, poor healthcare follow-ups, and general public indifference.

  • Gentrification is a major cause of homelessness as Black communities are being priced out of historically African-Caribbean neighbourhoods.

  • An overinvestment in student housing and commercial properties over affordable housing is a major driver of homelessness.

  • With Black and Racially Minoritised communities three times more likely to rent than White communities, they are disproportionately impacted by rising cost of rent.

Alongside this, our research uncovered potential non-policing solutions to homelessness, such as:

  • Housing First Schemes – The provision of permanent housing with wraparound support that prioritises autonomy over emergency shelters

  • Investments in Community Hubs – These spaces offer administrative support, hot meals, and services for those experiencing homelessness or are at risk of homelessness.

If you want to know more about this report, please contact Jeff Monzon (japheth@bswn.org.uk)

 

Legal Workshops

Our Collaboration with Systemic Justice: Strategic Litigation, Race, and Education

BSWN also formed a strong partnership with Systemic Justice, an international firm that focuses on the advancement of social justice through strategic litigation. Together with the support of Nani Jansen-Reventlow (Director), Jonathan McCully (Head of Legal Services), and Darius Hooman Nassimi (Legal Services Assistant), BSWN provided three workshops focused on the use of strategic litigation in education and race-based issues called the ‘Courts and Classrooms’ workshop series. These workshops provided crucial information on a useful tool in campaign strategies, with Systemic Justice providing excellent examples of how strategic litigation can be used to further the goals of a movement. 

 

Our Collaboration with Sistren Legal Collective: A Legal Workshop for Black and Minority-led Organisations in the South West

Supplementary BSWN’s strong Community Development work, our Access to Justice team also partnered with the Sistren Legal Collective, a grass-roots collective of lawyers who provide support to Black and Minority-led charities and grassroots campaigns who work broadly in the area of racial and social justice.

If you’re looking for legal-based advice for your Black and Minority-led Racial/Social Justice organisation, reach out to Sistren through this link. 

If you’re an existing client to Black South West Network’s Community Development team and require legal advice for your organisation, please contact our Regional Capacity Development Manager, Nathalie Sherring, at nathalie.sherring@bswn.org.uk. 

Upcoming Workshops

 

Predictive Policing Scrutiny Group

The Predictive Policing Scrutiny Group is composed of several community organisations in and around Avon & Somerset that are dedicated towards scrutinising the ongoing use of predictive algorithms in the tracking and identification of individuals at risk of crime or exploitation. Black South West Network is working closely with Bristol Copwatch and numerous other partners to raise awareness of these issues and to build a campaign that looks to advocate for stronger accountability measures in the use of predictive algorithms.

Our current focuses are on the Avon & Somerset Constabulary’s use of Qlik Sense Offender Management Applications as well as Bristol City Council’s deployment of the Think Families Education App in more than 100 Bristol Schools. 

We are currently assisting film-maker and producer Bashart Malik in the creation of an informative short film that raises awareness of the issues of the Think Families Education App. To support Bashart Malik and the wider Predictive Policing Scrutiny Group in the creation of this film, please donate to the Kickstarter campaign.

Please note: You may have to create a Kickstarter account to donate

 

BSWN’s Partnership with Just Fair

Black South West Network is partnering with Just Fair, a national civil society organisation dedicated to the advocacy of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ECSR) in the United Kingdom, to increase the understanding of use of ESCR and Human Rights-based approaches for Black and Racially Minoritised communities in the South West of England. 

This three-year partnership aims to create a fully fledged campaign throughout the South West to raise awareness of the strength of ESCR in protecting the interests of Black and Racially Minoritised communities throughout the region. To push this groundbreaking initiative forward, BSWN and Just Fair have employed a South West Human Rights Officer, Ben Onyibo Ameke Robinson, in January 2025 to better understand the ESCR-specific needs of Black and Racially Minoritised communities. Ben, alongside the Just Fair and BSWN team, will be working on the Racial Justice through Human Rights programme in order to introduce these rights frameworks to our wider networks. We have a number of upcoming workshops, the details are below.

Ben Onyibo Ameke Robinson

Human Rights Officer

Alongside this partnership, BSWN has fed into Just Fair’s first and second evidence submissions to the UN Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Right with a particular focus on the challenges faced by Black and Racially Minoritised people in the Southwest of England.