The aristocrat fighting to help prison children escape the stigma of crime

"The eye-opening experience came just a few short years after she was taken by her late father, the sixth Duke of Westminster and one of the richest men in Britain, to speak to two heroin addicts at a drug treatment centre in Liverpool. The transformative experiences a world away from her life at the family's 11,000-acre estate in Cheshire helped spark a lifelong passion for criminal justice reform."

"After completing an undergraduate degree in criminology and sociology, including a dissertation on babies born in prison who are removed from their mothers, she embarked on a career in prison reform and philanthropy at times becoming a vocal critic of successive governments' neglect of the justice sector. Her pioneering women's centre, Hope Street, which opened in 2023, offers a groundbreaking alternative to help keep female offenders and their children out of prison."

Lady Edwina Grosvenor experienced early exposure to addiction and families at risk, which catalysed a lifelong commitment to criminal justice reform. Travel and work in Nepal's Central Jail reinforced her focus on prisons. Academic study in criminology and sociology included a dissertation on babies born in prison who are separated from their mothers. A career in prison reform and philanthropy followed, alongside public criticism of government neglect of the justice sector. Hope Street, opened in 2023, provides an alternative designed to keep female offenders and their children out of prison. A scholarship program now supports children of prisoners and young people with justice involvement to pursue university education.

Read at www.independent.co.uk