Birth Companions submission to the Sentencing Council consultation 2023

In September 2023, the Sentencing Council opened a consultation on several amendments to the guidelines on how judges and magistrates to should decide criminal sentences fairly and consistently.

This submission outlines Birth Companions’ response to the proposed mitigating factor relating to pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period, including revisions to the draft, and comments shared by members of our Lived Experience Team. It also provides brief responses to a number of other questions in the consultation.