Discussion on lived experience in prison reform: Achievements and challenges
Organisers: Penal Reform International and the Amsterdam Law Hub
Co-sponsors: Bureau Clara Wichmann
Date and time: Friday, 19 September 2025 at 10.00 a.m. – 12.00 p.m. CEST at the Amsterdam Law Hub, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 164, 1018 WV Amsterdam. The event will be hybrid with online streaming.
This discussion aims to explore and advance the meaningful inclusion of people with lived experience (PWLE) in prison reform efforts, in line with international human rights standards. The discussion aims to facilitate knowledge-sharing, foster collaboration, and strengthen the role of PWLE within the prison reform movement.
Target audience: Civil society, activists, government officials, academics and students.
Context
Penal Reform International (PRI)’s 2024-29 strategy includes a goal to promote the inclusion of people with lived experience in criminal justice reform efforts in recognition of the inherent value of such an approach. In 2024, PRI published a 10-point plan for policy makers to meaningfully involve people with lived experience in reform efforts. PRI’s Global Group of Experts by Experience brings together 15 people from across the world who have lived through the criminal justice system, ensuring their voices shape more humane and effective reforms. Guided by a co-created Charter, the Group reflects the growing lived experience movement, which highlights that authentic involvement of those directly affected leads to more informed and empathetic policies. While stigma and barriers to participation remain, PRI’s 2025 Global Prison Trends report highlights initiatives worldwide – from mentoring schemes in the US to youth- and women-led advocacy in Europe, Africa and Latin America – demonstrating the transformative power of lived experience in driving meaningful change by placing empowerment at the heart of justice reform.
At this gathering, participants will explore the role of lived experience in prison reform. It aims to foster knowledge-sharing, sustain momentum, and deepen engagement. The event is co-organised with academic researcher and lived experience advocate Dwayne Antojado (University of South Australia and member of PRI’s Global Group of Experts by Experience), whose research and network will be central to the discussions.
Dwayne is currently on a European tour promoting his newly released book, which includes a compelling collection on lived experience criminology. The Roundtable will explore a central question: Has the promise of lived experience led to the radical change we envisioned – or are we still falling short?
The discussion will examine both the achievements and challenges of involving PWLE in reform processes.
Proposed programme (subject to change)
Discussion: ‘Doing’ lived experience across systems: What lessons have we learnt? (60 mins)
Moderator: Dwayne Antojado
🔹 Paula Harriott – CEO of Unlock, a charity supporting and advocating for people with criminal records in England and Wales. A prison reform activist and a person with lived experience of imprisonment, Paula has dedicated her career to advancing equity, social justice, and systemic change.
🔹 Scott Kidd – Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Lincoln and founding member of the Experience for Justice Collective CIC (E4J). Scott’s teaching and research bridge scholarship, practice, and lived experience, with a strong focus on inclusion and advocacy.
🔹 Kemi Ryan – Community activist, author, and co-founder of Reformed Development, a community-led crime prevention and education project. Kemi is also a visiting researcher on the UKRI ‘Imagining Possible Futures for Lived Experience Criminal Justice Study’.
🔹 Gill Buck – Associate Professor of Social Work at the University of Chester, advocate for ethically embedding lived experience into policy, practice, and research. Gill’s current UKRI-funded project explores past, present and possible futures of lived-experience-led criminal justice in the UK and Ireland (her research can be found here: Imagining Possible Futures – https://imaginejustice.co.uk/).
🔹 Donna Arrondelle – Senior Research Fellow at the University of Southampton, whose interdisciplinary research addresses inequalities across policy, criminology, health and social sciences. Drawing on her own lived experience, Donna’s work focuses on mothers in prison and alternatives through the lens of health justice.
Participants (40 minutes)
🔹 Lilianne Ploumen, Bureau Clara Wichmann (tbc)
🔹 Yara Abbing, University of Leiden
🔹 Khalil Chait, Humanitas
🔹 Hadassa Noorda, University of Amsterdam
🔹 And many more
Q&A with audience (20 mins)
Duration: 120 minutes
Format: Online and in-person
Languages: English.
Contact person at PRI:
Jérôme Mangelinckx
Global Policy Manager
jmangelinckx@penalreform.org