Woman Alive | The podcast for Christian women

Prisons don't work for women

Woman Alive | The podcast for Christian women

Show Notes

On the latest episode of the Woman Alive podcast we're asking if women in prison is having a negative impact on society. With women being the main caregivers, should offenders be treated differently to men? Is Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood right to have the 'ultimate ambition' to close women's prisons in the UK?

Rev Tracy Sickel is a prison chaplain who has worked in prisons for 15 years. She currently operates in three women's prisons and is also CEO of Imago Dei which helps female inmates process trauma, abuse and low self-esteem.

Catherine De Souza is the CEO of Prison Fellowship England & Wales. She's also a justice advocate, Elim Pentecostal minister and a trustee of Tearfund. She has a background in church leadership, prison ministries and is passionate about caring for the marginalised. For more on her work head over to prisonfellowship.org.uk

Our Great Sexpectations dilemma this episode is: 'Why do I feel doomed to unrequited love?' womanalive.co.uk/opinion/great-sexpectations-why-do-i-feel-doomed-to-unrequited-love/18340.article

The producer of the Woman Alive podcast is Rachel Huston.

Special offer! Podcast listeners get 50% off Woman Alive magazine: womanalive.co.uk/podcast

More from Woman Alive | The podcast for Christian women

Sep 29, 2026

What does it look like to trust God with something that seems impossible?

Sep 17, 2026

What would you do if God asked you to walk away from everything you’d worked for? Nellah Kunzwa was a successful YouTuber, doctor and founder of Biblical Boss Babe, with around 100,000 followers and a thriving online ministry. But at the height of her influence, she felt God tell her to step away from social media and learn to be ‘famous at home’. Speaking to Premier Woman Alive commissioning editor, Jemimah Wright, Nellah shares her extraordinary journey of faith – from a life-changing encounter with God at 17 to building an online ministry reaching thousands of women – and why she discovered that obedience matters more than influence.

Sep 17, 2026

Naomi Partridge, co-founder of HOLOS Kombucha, left a successful corporate career after a life-changing encounter with God – a journey that eventually took her to Cambodia, where she discovered how business could help women rebuild their lives after exploitation. In this interview with Woman Alive’s Jemimah Wright, Naomi shares how God stripped away her identity in achievement, led her into anti-trafficking work and ultimately brought together faith, purpose and business in a very unexpected way. Follow Naomi: @naomipartridge Follow HOLOS Kombucha: @holoskombucha

Mar 8, 2026

This very special episode is our first EVER live video recording with an audience of Woman Alive readers, writers, friends and friends of the podcast! Today’s conversation on The Sisterhood, is inspired by International Women’s Day.

Feb 2, 2026

If you could get a preview of your future, a year, five or ten years from now, would you? A recent study by mobile network provider 02 revealed 78% of 25–34-year-old in the UK rely on their horoscopes to make major life decisions, and some Christians are guilty of going from one event to another seeking a “word of prophecy”. In Leviticus 19:26 we read very clear instructions, “Do not practice divination or seek omens”.

See all episodes →