Carolyne Willow started her career as a child protection social worker and has spent the past 30+ years campaigning for children's rights. Between 2000 and 2012, she was head of the Children's Rights Alliance for England, during which time she led the charity's successful fight for transparency in restraint techniques and initiated legal action to try and force the government to notify former child prisoners that they were unlawfully restrained. Carolyne was the founding director of Article 39, a small, independent charity fighting for children’s rights in England, and is now undertaking a 6-month pupillage at The Barrister Group. She was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Nottingham in 2024 in recognition of her work in children and young people’s services and she is the author of Children Behind Bars. Why the Abuse of Child Imprisonment Must End, of which the late Benjamin Zephaniah said in the foreword: "This book tells our truth".