Eve Was Framed: Women and British Justice

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She also tackles the prison system, and how many women are sentenced to imprisonment for minor crimes for which a man would not be. The women talk of feeling dirty, like scum; the relative calm of the courtroom is their last chance to say: I am not going to be crushed. Police, lawyers and judges still have difficulties in abandoning their stereotype of the abused woman as someone who is submissive and cowed.

It comprehensively covers the 20th-century history of women in the criminal justice system in a variety of roles - lawyer, judge, victim and defendant - and illustrates the impact of misogyny throughout without being preachy.

Kennedy shares her own experience of coming up as one of the few female barristers and the ways in which archaic traditions are limiting the pipeline of female lawyers who could become tomorrow's judges - and thus the system is perpetuated. Those most susceptible to this injustice are women, the young, the working class, immigrants, the Irish, black people and homosexuals.

Curfews for women given community sentences save costs on probation officers “but can leave women vulnerable to domestic violence for the 12 hours per day that they are confined to the house”.It is organised well with adequate space being given to explore each of the various topics and themes, building arguments. The trouble is, says Kennedy, there are “no separate sentencing guidelines for women offenders, and the existing guidelines make next to no mention of gender-specific issues”.