In this week’s episode, we speak with feminist activist, researcher, and former Scottish Women’s Aid Chief Executive Lily Greenan about decades of campaigning on violence against women and girls and LGBT+ rights, the limits of legal reform, and the role of activism in creating social change. 

Drawing on over forty years of organising – from rape crisis advocacy and police training in the 1980s, to campaigning against Section 28, to legal reform on domestic abuse and coercive control – Lily reflects on working both within and outside legal systems, and on the importance of joy, solidarity, and collective action in sustaining movements for justice. 

Lily shares her insights on: 

• Why legal reform alone is not enough to transform the lived realities of women, LGBT+ people, and survivors of abuse 
• The role of activism both within and outwith legal systems, and how grassroots organising, public protest, and collective action shaped campaigns against violence against women and girls in Scotland and for LGBT+rights. 
• The opportunities and frustrations of working with legal systems, policymakers, and public institutions to create lasting social change 

Additional resources for this episode are linked below: 

Learn More 

• About the Women’s Aid movement through the Speak Out project, hosted by Glasgow Women’s Library: featuring oral history clips of women connected to the movement
• “Section 28, how it came and went”: A blog post on Section 28, the Scottish Homosexual Action Group (SHAG) and Lark in the Park, by the Equality Network: https://www.equality-network.org/our-work/history/section-28-how-it-came-and-went/  

Take Action 

• Find your nearest Scottish Women’s Aid group  

• Find your nearest Pride 2026 event

Find out more at https://lawmanity.pinecast.co

Read transcript

In this week’s episode, we speak with human rights lawyer and author Nani Jansen Reventlow about her new book ‘Radical Justice’ and what it means to confront injustice at its roots. 

Drawing on her work in strategic litigation and her reflections in ‘Radical Justice’, Nani explores how systems of oppression are sustained, how the law can both reinforce and challenge them, and why meaningful change requires both imagination and action.  

Nani shares her insights on: 

• What it means to pursue “radical justice” by addressing the root causes of injustice, rather than relying on superficial or short-term solutions 
• The tension between using the law as a tool for change and recognising its role in maintaining existing power structures 
• Why activism must operate on two tracks at once: improving current systems while imagining and building entirely new ones 

Additional resources for this episode are linked below: 

• Buy Nani’s book ‘Radical Justice’ here: https://www.plutobooks.com/product/radical-justice/  

• Inspired and want to do something about it?  Check out “Take Action” on the Radical Justice website: https://radicaljusticebook.com/take-action/  

• Want to hear more from Nani and also get 30% off the book?  Sign up to Nani’s newsletter here: https://tinyurl.com/y3v8mfwu and follow her other projects here: https://www.nanijansen.org/  

Find out more at https://lawmanity.pinecast.co

Read transcript

In this week’s episode, we speak with feminist campaigner, consultant, and commentator Talat Yaqoob about how law shapes power and inequality, and whether it can genuinely deliver justice for marginalised communities. 

Drawing on her extensive work across women’s equality, anti-racism, and intersecting inequalities, Talat explores how these dynamics play out in practice, from reactionary decision-making to the lived experiences of those most affected. 

Talat shares her insights on: 

• How legislation such as counter-terrorism measures can disproportionately harm racialised and Muslim communities
• What it would mean to reimagine law as a tool to redistribute power, increase accountability, and create transformative justice
• Ahead of the 2026 elections in Scotland, what the next Scottish Government must prioritise in order to address inequalities already embedded in law and prevent the use of law to demonise communities and erode individual rights

Additional resources for this episode are linked below:

Learn More

• Amnesty International, “UK’s Governtment’s Prevent Duty ‘Fundamentally Incompatible’ with Human Rights – Major New Report,” 2 November 2023, https://www.amnesty.org.uk/latest/uk-governments-prevent-duty-fundamentally-incompatible-human-rights-major-new-report/
• Liberty – Protest Rights, https://www.libertyhumanrights.org.uk/fundamental/protest-rights/

Get Involved

• Women Against the Far Right Scotland https://www.instagram.com/womenagainstfarrightscotland/
• Tax Justice UK & Patriotic Millionaires UK https://taxjustice.uk/ and https://patrioticmillionaires.uk/
• The Justice for Sheku Bayoh Campaign https://www.stuc.org.uk/campaigns-sheku/

Errata: In the podcast, Jen refers to “a legal challenge brought by Liberty against the anti-protest measures set out in 2013 and brought into effect by then Home Secretary Suella Braverman” - this should refer to “2023,” not “2013.”

Find out more at https://lawmanity.pinecast.co

Read transcript

In this week’s episode, we speak with Scottish Traveller advocate and social justice campaigner Davie Donaldson about the realities of navigating the legal system as a Traveller in Scotland, and what true justice could look like for Traveller communities.

Drawing on his lived experience and over a decade of advocacy, Davie reflects on the structural barriers embedded within the law, the crisis points where Travellers most often encounter the justice system, and the urgent need for systemic change.

Davie shares his insights on: 

• How the law has been weaponised against Traveller communities, creating a system that is inaccessible, intimidating, and fundamentally unequal
• The reality of legal processes during evictions, and how bureaucracy, time pressure, and legal complexity create impossible tasks for families already in crisis
• Why representation, relationship-building, and community empowerment are essential to transforming the legal system into one that upholds dignity, cultural rights, and justice for all

Additional resources for this episode are linked below:

• Davie’s podcast series ‘The Cruelty: Stolen Generations’ has been shortlisted for the True Crime 2026 awards in the Impact for Change category. Listen here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/m002d7lt
• To learn more about the Public Sector Equality Duty and how an Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) should be conducted, read more here: https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/guidance/public-sector/public-sector-equality-duty/assessing-impact-and-public-sector-equality-2
• Davie’s article, “Should Traveller camps be considered ‘Sacred’?” for Conyach Advocacy https://conyach.scot/should-traveller-camps-be-considered-sacred/

Find out more at https://lawmanity.pinecast.co

Read transcript

Episode Notes

In this week’s episode, we speak with activist and law graduate (and Lawmanity’s new Legal Caseworker!) Amanda Amaeshi about what meaningful access to justice really looks like in practice. 

Drawing on her final-year module Access to Justice and Community Engagement at University College London (UCL) Faculty of Laws, as well as her experiences volunteering with the UCL Integrated Legal Advice Clinic in Stratford, East London, Amanda reflects on both the power and limitations of the legal system. 

Amanda shares her insights on: 

• How a legal system that enshrines equality in law can, in practice, deny it through cost, complexity, and chronic underfunding
• The role of lawyers in social justice movements: not as protagonists, but as allies and collaborators
• Why a more empathetic, community-driven vision of justice is essential for making the system work for those it is meant to serve

Additional resources for this episode are linked below:

• Legal representation out of reach for many survivors of domestic abuse – The Law Society | Katie Johnson | 3 October 2024 https://todaysfamilylawyer.co.uk/legal-representation-out-of-reach-for-many-survivors-of-domestic-abuse-the-law-society/    

• Not Safe Here - Report | Rape Crisis England and Wales https://rapecrisis.org.uk/get-informed/not-safe-here/  

• Stop and Search ‘Mission Creep’ disproportionately targets marginalised groups | Bradley Young | 14 October 2024 https://www.thejusticegap.com/stop-and-search-mission-creep-disproportionately-targets-marginalised-groups/

• UCL Integrated Legal Advice Clinic (UCL iLAC): https://www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/access-to-justice/ucl-integrated-legal-advice-clinic-ucl-ilac

• UCL Laws’ Centre for Access to Justice: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/access-to-justice  

• UCL Faculty of Laws: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/

• “[A] lawyer’s role in society is not to change the rules of the game, but to assist in maintaining the rules and to help resolve conflicts established under the rules.” - p.406

➡️James Douglas, The Distinction Between Lawyers as Advocates and as Activists, 40 Clev St L Rev 405 (1992) | https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1759\&context=clevstlrev 

• “The conventional narrative goes something like this: the lawyer is the protagonist. A social problem exists and a group or individual calls on the lawyer to do something about it. The lawyer asks, what legal levers can I pull to fix this problem? She explores various possibilities, decides on a course of action together with her client, and proceeds. The legal strategy either wins, in which case the story is a successful one, or loses, in which case it fails. The central concern of the narrative is whether the law is a useful tool for social change, or is more likely to derail it.” - p. 2133
• “In neither case did the lawyer elbow the community group protagonist aside. Rather her challenge was to help the group assess the local effects of political or economic changes taking place on a municipal, national, and global levels; to strategize about how best to intervene in that landscape; and to figure out how legal tactics could bolster and protect the group’s efforts to carry out larger strategy. What doors could law open? What stories could it tell? What time could it buy? What promises could it exact? What power would it build?” - p. 2137-38 

➡️Jennifer Gordon, The Lawyer is Not the Protagonist: Community Campaigns, Law and Social Change, 95 CALIF. L. REV. 2133 (2007) | https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=\&httpsredir=1\&article=1348\&context=faculty_scholarship 

• Young Leaders: Everyone has a role to play to make the world a better place | Amanda Amaeshi | 30 October 2024 https://thewowfoundation.com/news/young-leaders-everyone-has-a-role-to-play-to-make-the-world-a-better-place/   

Find out more at https://lawmanity.pinecast.co

In this fourth and final episode of our special series, ‘Equal under the Law?’, our expert panel of inspiring activists and lawyers from across the UK come together to reflect on their journeys to this very moment, and offer advice to young activists.

Davie Donaldson encourages young activists to draw on their own experiences to pursue justice for their communities. Sandy Brindley highlights volunteering in frontline activism as a powerful way to find purpose and direction, while Talat Yaqoob urges listeners to embrace new and unexpected opportunities.

Andy Sirel speaks about seeking opportunity where others see difficulty and treating everyone with dignity, while Lily Greenan reflects on courage and the importance of recording and learning from your journey. Amanda Amaeshi and Satwat Rehman address resilience in the face of criticism and self-doubt, emphasising the need to stay rooted in your values and remember why you campaign. 

Pheona Matovu underscores authenticity and integrity, Heather Fisken champions collectivising with others, and Tressa Burke reminds us to rise again after setbacks. Alison Pickup closes with a call for patience, encouraging young activists to take time to understand their skills, motivations and networks of solidarity.

Join us as we close this series with encouragement for aspiring changemakers. What does it take not only to fight for justice, but to sustain that fight over time? And how can activists carve out a path that is both principled and personally fulfilling? 

...

Resources:

Young Leaders: Everyone has a role to play to make the world a better place | 30 October 2024 | Amanda Amaeshi  

[https://thewowfoundation.com/news/young-leaders-everyone-has-a-role-to-play-to-make-the-world-a-better-place/](https://thewowfoundation.com/news/young-leaders-everyone-has-a-role-to-play-to-make-the-world-a-better-place/ "https://thewowfoundation.com/news/young-leaders-everyone-has-a-role-to-play-to-make-the-world-a-better-place/")

Find out more at https://lawmanity.pinecast.co

Read transcript

In this third and final episode of our special series, ‘Equal under the Law?’, we delve into the complex relationship between law and social justice through the voices of inspiring activists from Scotland. We explore the pivotal question: “What does justice look like?"

Read transcript

In this second episode of our special series, ‘Equal under the Law?’, we explore whether the law serves as a barrier or a tool for marginalised communities striving for equality, with a little help our expert panel of 11 inspiring activist leaders from Scotland.

(Content warning: This episode discusses experiences of discrimination, violence, and trauma. Please take care while listening.)

Our guests, including Talat Yaqoob, Pinar Aksu, and Tim Hopkins, critically examine how the law and the legal system can both empower and hinder progress. While they recognise the law's potential to secure safety and protection, they also highlight its role in perpetuating systemic inequalities. As we hear from Pheona Matovu and Satwat Rehman, the design and implementation of laws often reflect societal biases that exclude marginalised voices.

Throughout the episode, we confront the barriers faced by individuals seeking justice, including access to legal advice and representation and the emotional toll of pursuing legal remedies, as highlighted by Heather Fisken. Amanda Amaeshi and Tressa Burke shed light on the practical challenges within the legal system, while Sandy Brindley underscores the importance of legal reform as both a necessity for safety and an educative tool for societal change.

Join us as we navigate these critical discussions, seeking to better understand the role of law in the ongoing fight for equality and justice. Can the law truly be a force for good, or does it remain an obstacle for those in need?

Find out more at https://lawmanity.com/podcast/

Read transcript

In this first episode of our special series, “Equal under the Law?," we delve into the complex relationship between law and social justice through the voices of inspiring activists from Scotland. We explore the pivotal question: "Does the law treat you and your community equally?" Our guests, including Pheona Matovu, Satwat Rehman, and Pinar Aksu, share their experiences and insights on how the legal system often perpetuates systemic inequalities rather than addressing them.

(Content warning: This episode discusses experiences of discrimination, violence, and trauma. Please take care while listening.)

Pheona Matovu, founder of Radiant and Brighter, discusses the inherent biases in the law that disproportionately affect racialised communities, while Satwat Rehman highlights the exclusionary practices faced by single-parent families. Pinar Aksu reflects on the historical roots of immigration laws and their ongoing impact on asylum seekers, revealing a troubling disconnect between legislation and the lived experiences of those it is meant to serve.

Throughout the episode, we hear from a range of activists, including Tim Hopkins, who reflects on the progress made for LGBT+ rights, and Sandy Brindley, who addresses the ongoing challenges faced by survivors of sexual violence. The conversations reveal a consensus: while some progress has been made, the law often fails to provide equitable treatment for marginalised groups.

As we navigate these critical discussions, we also consider the emotional toll of engaging with a legal system that can feel alien and intimidating. Activist Davie Donaldson shares poignant stories of families struggling to claim their rights within a bureaucratic legal system designed without their input.

Join us as we question whether the law can ever truly treat everyone equally and whether it can be wielded with the humanity that our society desperately needs.

Find out more at https://lawmanity.com/podcast/

Find out more at https://lawmanity.pinecast.co

Read transcript

This week's, we talk to activist lawyer, Maria McCloskey, former director of Public Interest Litigation Support in Belfast, NI about how she worked with grassroots climate justice activists - the Stop Whitehead Oil Terminal (SWOT) campaign - to bring a successful legal challenge to plans to develop a major fossil fuel terminal in a quiet seaside town near Belfast.

Learn more:

• The Stop Whitehead Oil Terminal campaign: https://stopwhiteheadoilterminal.org/
• Public Interest Litigation Support (PILS): BLOG: Whitehead, the oil terminal and what happens next - The PILS Project
• The PILS Toolkit also covers some legal concepts that Maria mentions in her interview (judicial review, public interest litigation) and explains them in an NI context: pilsni.org/toolkit/
• Also check out the PILS glossary of legal terms
• And finally, here is the full ITV clip (30 June 2025) featured in the episode: https://www.itv.com/watch/news/climate-time-bomb/3203hv8

Find out more at https://lawmanity.pinecast.co

Read transcript

This week, we’re  speaking to Andy Sirel, Legal Director at JustRight Scotland, about a legal challenge that secured access to further and higher education for potentially thousands of young people in Scotland.  Tune in to hear how an aspiring doctor, and a student-led campaign successfully established a right to education in human rights law for migrant young people in Scotland and expanded access to further education for everyone who follows in their footsteps.  

Further resources:

• STV interview: 'Talent is being wasted' by tuition fee residency rules in Scotland | STV News 
• JustRight Scotland blog post: Access to Higher Education for migrant students is now a real right 
• JustRight Scotland factsheet: Access to Education Factsheet July 2023
• Migrant Women Press article: Education for all: The right for asylum seekers to access education in Scotland. - Migrant Women Press

Find out more at https://lawmanity.pinecast.co

Read transcript

This week, we’re talking to feminist lawyer and activist, Harriet Wistrich, about her decades-long commitment to seeking justice for women who kill their abusive partners, and her determined fight for justice for women, in a system designed for men.

Harriet talks about her journey to becoming an activist lawyer, why she founded the charity Centre for Women’s Justice in 2016, and many of her high-profile cases from over 25 years’ at the frontline of legal practice - also covered in her stunning 2024 debut book: “Sister in Law”.

Buy the book here:

• Sister in Law (paperback):

https://housmans.com/product/sister-in-law-fighting-for-justice-in-a-system-designed-by-men/?noamp=mobile

• Sister In Law (hardback):

https://lighthousebookshop.com/book/9781911709268

Learn more about these organisations::

• The Centre for Women's Justice: https://www.centreforwomensjustice.org.uk
• The Justice for Women Campaign: https://www.justiceforwomen.org.uk
• Read the CWJ’s Women who Kill: How the state criminalises women we might otherwise be burying report here: https://www.centreforwomensjustice.org.uk/women-who-kill

This episode contains an audio clip from an ITN news story following the release of Kiranjit Ahluwalia, from custody at the Old Bailey (BBC creative archive licence)

• Watch the video clip here:

https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/video/freed-after-being-jailed-for-killing-violent-husband-news-footage/816069584?adppopup=true

Read transcript

This week, we sit down with legendary LBGT+ activist Tim Hopkins, to explore how campaigners used the law to achieve equality for LGBT+ people in Scotland, from the 1980s to the present. Tim shares his insights and wisdom from over thirty years of campaigning - against the notorious Section 28 law in the 1980s, to organising the first Pride March in Scotland in the 1990s, to leading the Equality Network for 14+ years, and finishing with the modern day struggles of trans and non-binary people to achieve equal dignity under the law. 

Additional resources for this episode are linked below:

Legislation

Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980, Section 80(1) Equality Act 2010 Gender Recognition Act 2004  Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill  Historic Sexual Offences (Pardons and Disregards)(Scotland) Act 2018 Local Government Act 1988

Legal Cases

For Women Scotland v Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16 For Women Scotland v Scottish Ministers [2023] CSIH 37 For Women Scotland v Scottish Ministers [2022] CSIH 4

Ghaidan v Godin-Mendoza [2004] UKHL 30 Goodwin v United Kingdom (Application no. 28957/95) P v S and Cornwall County Council, Case C-13/94 [1996] Smith and Grady v United Kingdom (Application nos. 33985/96 and 33986/96) Sutherland v United Kingdom  (Application no. 25186/94) Wilde, Greenhalgh, Parry v United Kingdon (Application no. 22382/93)

Media Clips Margaret Thatcher, Conservative Party Speech, 9 October 1987 Rishi Sunak, Speech, 5 October 2023

Other Resources

Equality Network  LGBT Youth Scotland Scottish Trans Time for Inclusive Education (TIE) TransActual - Critiques of the Cass Review

Find out more at https://lawmanity.pinecast.co

Read transcript

We’re here today to help listeners understand how the law can be used to achieve really significant change by looking at how Alison Pickup and colleagues led a successful campaign to challenge the UK Government's Rwanda policy, her role as a lawyer and activist in that campaign and your reflections now … a year on from that significant legal change, as the current UK Government prepares to repeal the Safety of Rwanda Act in the Border Security Asylum and Immigration Bill currently before Parliament. The legal win that her team secured after taking a case all the way to the UK Supreme Court that resulted in the court confirming that Rwanda was not a safe place to send refugees. Alison describes what the UK Government responded to that judgement, and how her team stepped in, again, to protect asylum seekers. We end the episode with some reflections from Alison on what more needs to be done to secure justice for refugees, and also her very wise advice for aspiring human rights lawyers and activists.

Resources:

• Rwanda – all is not lost: Asylum Aid's arguments on why the Home Office must still consider the real risk of people being sent into danger from Rwanda - Free Movement
• Rwanda: procedural fairness and extensions of time - Free Movement Fairness in safe third country removals: the Court of Appeal’s judgment in Asylum Aid’s case - Free Movement
• Press release: Home Secretary informs Asylum Aid about her intentions to repeal the Safety of Rwanda Act 2024 in this Parliamentary session | Asylum Aid
• Rwanda – all is not lost: Asylum Aid's arguments on why the Home Office must still consider the real risk of people being sent into danger from Rwanda - Free Movement
• Rwanda: procedural fairness and extensions of time - Free Movement
• Fairness in safe third country removals: the Court of Appeal’s judgment in Asylum Aid’s case - Free Movement
• Press release: Home Secretary informs Asylum Aid about her intentions to repeal the Safety of Rwanda Act 2024 in this Parliamentary session | Asylum Aid

Read transcript