"Unchained" From Holloway to award winning broadcaster & mentor - how Lady Unchained is unlocking the future for others

Organised by the Liverpool Diocesan Council for Social Aid (LDCSA), Adelaide House Female Approved Premises, in partnership with the Liverpool Diocese Racial Justice Team, and Liverpool Cathedral, and forming part of the Prisons Week of Prayer, these events are of particular interest to those impacted by, working in, or concerned with, the criminal justice system, especially those working with women and their families, and with racial justice.

This year's event includes a film showing, dinner and talk.

We are delighted to welcome Lady Unchained, to lead our 2026 Prisons Week Events.

Lady Unchained is a poet, author, broadcaster, criminal justice reform advocate, and founder of Unchained, a CIC dedicated to empowering people affected by the UK criminal justice system through enabling creative expression, hands-on mentorship and advocacy for reform and redemption. As a Co-Creator of the 2025 film 'Holloway', Lady Unchained will share her story and how she is helping unlock the future for others.

Lady Unchained's work is rooted in lived experience. At the age of 21, she served an 11-month prison sentence after becoming involved in a fight while protecting her sister. While in prison she started writing poetry as a way to process trauma, isolation, fear and the harsh realities of incarceration. These early writings later evolved into powerful reflections on the justice system and the glaring racial disparities within it. Following her release, Lady Unchained transformed her personal journey into a life mission: to challenge the narrative around people caught up in the criminal justice system and create pathways for rehabilitation and opportunity. Through Unchained, she delivers mentoring programmes and workshops that use creative writing and performance to help individuals in or leaving prison develop their voices, confidence and practical life skills. The organisation focuses on four pillars essential to successful reintegration — employment, environment, education and relationships.

As a public commentator and advocate for criminal justice reform, Lady Unchained brings a lived-experience perspective to national and international platforms, contributing to discussions about prison reform, racial disparities and life after incarceration. Her work and insights have featured across major media outlets including BBC, ITV News, Good Morning Britain, TEDx, and publications such as The Guardian. She is also a presenter on National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people in prison, broadcasting into prison cells across England and Wales. Through this platform she helps support prisoners through their sentences and prepare for life after release.

Most recently, Lady Unchained is the co-creator and presenter of the Unchained Voices pod cast, which explores the intersection of art, culture and justice while amplifying voices with lived experience of the criminal justice system and contributing to national conversations about rehabilitation and social change

Holloway - About the film

Six women return to the now abandoned Holloway Prison to take part in a women’s circle. Sharing some of the most intimate experiences of their lives, they each unravel what led them to prison, building an eye-opening portrait of failing systems and trauma, while discovering their extraordinary capacity to heal through sisterhood.

Directed by BAFTA Breakthrough Daisy-May Hudson (Lollipop, Half Way) and EMMY nominated Sophie Compton (Another Body), this deeply moving and transformational documentary feature was made via a unique process of a trauma-informed co-creation with six contributors, a group of talented, high-profile women who are running charities and using their lived-experience to call for change. They are Aliyah Ali, Mandy Ogunmokun, Sarah Cassidy, Lady Unchained, Gerrah, and Tamar Mujanay.

HOLLOWAY is a profound, meditative, eye-opening and ultimately inspiring exploration of trauma and the immense human capacity for recovery.

Location: Liverpool Cathedral

3pm for 3:30pm start - Holloway Film showing,

Concert Room, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott Suite (SGGSS)

6pm – Dinner, Dining Room - SGGSS

7.30pm - Talk, Concert Room - entry via SGGSS

As this event forms part of the Prisons Week of Prayer, prior to the dinner, attendees are invited to join the Cathedral's short Evensong service at 5.30pm.

If you have any accessibility requirements, please contact admin.ldcsa@ldcsa.org.uk

For information on travelling and access to Liverpool Cathedral see visit Liverpool Cathedral

Liverpool Diocesan Council for Social Aid vision is to see potential realised and hope restored for lives impacted by the criminal justice system. The charity, based in the Church of England Diocese of Liverpool, has been in operation for over 200 years, and today manages Adelaide House Female Approved Premises, coordinates the L

Description supplied by the event organiser.