JAILBIRDS- Mim Skinner

JAILBIRDS: an honest, must-read that celebrates women from all walks of life.

With 5% of the UK prison population being female, prison teacher Mim Skinner tackles the topic head-on and in an informative and caring way. I loved that whilst the book clearly highlights pitfalls within the system- something that needs to be brought to light- that the book was largely centered around the incredible women that Mim encountered and whom she cared for and invested her time into helping. For me this was as important, if not more so, as Mim humanises these women who are largely judged and belittled by the public and vilified by the media with little knowledge or understanding of the bigger picture.  

Within the pages, Mim actively seeks to provide a narrative for the women she speaks so fondly of in a bid for readers to better understand reality of life for these women and how they end up in such circumstances. Rightly so, she recognises the contributing factors that are interwoven into the women’s journeys- she doesn't in any way condone that these women have broken the law but actively seeks to further understand and support the women to help them reform and to provide opportunity for change. As she so eloquently puts it ‘We need to change the narrative...[the] stories would say that we the onlooker, are simply good and those in prison are simply bad. [The] narratives comfort us by making us believe that crime happens because there are bad people, rather than making us reflect on the structural inequalities that mean women in prison are statistically those who have drawn a bad ticket in life’s lottery.’ By bringing to light the poor support systems and noting how a large proportion of women are released homeless and with no accommodation organised for them it is a stark reminder of how we as a country are furthering the problem. 

Not content with leaving it there, Mim intersperses the chapters with stories of hilarity including the many uses of tampons, biscuit gate and smuggling giant veg as well as stories from her experiences,

 and from the women themselves. A wonderful, if somewhat heartbreakingly poignant read that showcases Mim’s devotion to prison reform, encourages reflection on a system that has many problems and ultimately highlights an underlying thread of hope. A must-read that I highly recommend to all! 

5 stars