On 31 March 2026, I was remanded to HMP Bronzefield, the largest women’s prison in Europe.

Source for Bronzefield’s size: Independent Monitoring Boards, December 2025

Block 2

I was placed on Block 2. In the early hours of the morning, a guard’s flashlight startled me awake. After that, I couldn’t sleep. I was traumatised, reliving memories from my childhood.

So I picked up a pen. In my first week, I made three complaints: the first to the governor, and the next two directly to the director of the prison. Filling in those forms gave me back my voice, and with it, my strength.

Not guilty

On 13 April 2026, I was found not guilty. But by the time the verdict came in, the staff had gone home, so I spent one more night in Bronzefield. On 14 April, at 10am, I finally walked out.

Had the verdict gone the other way, I would have been working in Shades of Beauty, the prison’s salon. I had told them I was a nail technician, and I’d already been offered an interview. It showed me the lovely system Bronzefield has set up to give women skills, purpose and something to look forward to, and that has stayed with me.

Where pain becomes power

Coffee and Canvas was born in those two weeks: a warm, safe space where any woman can sit down, pick up a brush and feel heard. No experience needed. No judgement. Just colour, conversation and a circle that holds you.

Why creativity matters

Evidence shows the arts can improve mental health and wellbeing and support people as they move away from crime, and arts activities have been found to make prisons safer places. Simply giving people access to art and craft materials in their cells has been linked with lower reoffending.

Source: Clinks and the National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance. See also the World Health Organization’s 2019 review of more than 900 publications on the arts and health.

Going back, with paintbrushes

My dream is to return to Bronzefield, this time to run Coffee and Canvas workshops inside, so the women on the wing can find what I found: their voice, their strength and a circle to belong to.

Join the circle

If you have lived through domestic abuse or domestic violence, whether you call yourself a victim or a survivor, there is a seat here for you. Come as you are. Together, we become whole again.

We never share the names, faces or stories of other women from Bronzefield without their consent.