Vivien Helen Stern, Baroness Stern (born 25 September 1941) is a

crossbench A crossbencher is a minor party or independent politician, independent member of some legislatures, such as the Parliament of Australia. In the British House of Lords the term refers to members of the parliamentary group of non-political peers. ...

member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. Stern was educated at

Kent College Kent College, Canterbury is a co-educational private school for boarding and day pupils between the ages of 3 months and 18 years. It was founded in 1885, and is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. Originally establis ...

and read

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

Bristol University The University of Bristol is a public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Bristol, which had ...

where she graduated in 1963. She was awarded an MLitt in 1964 and a Certificate in Education in 1965. Between 1967 and 1969 she taught General Studies at Birmingham College of Food and Domestic Arts. In 1970 she became a

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

, and in 1977 became the director of

NACRO Nacro is a social justice charity based in England and Wales. Established in 1966 from the previous National Association of Discharged Prisoners’ Aid Societies, it became the largest criminal justice-related charity in England and Wales. In th ...

, a post she held until 1996. She was a visiting fellow of

Nuffield College, Oxford Nuffield College () is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is a graduate college specialising in the social sciences, particularly economics, politics and sociology. N ...

, from 1984 to 1991, and was Secretary General of

Penal Reform International Penal Reform International (commonly known as PRI), founded in London in 1989, is an international nongovernmental organization working on penal and criminal justice reform worldwide. It is a Dutch Association. Activities Penal Reform Internatio ...

from 1989 until 2006. In 1997 she was appointed a senior research fellow of London University, based at the International Centre for Prison Studies in

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

. She was appointed a Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the

1992 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1992 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countrie ...

and was created a

Life Peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

as Baroness Stern, of

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( , ) is an area of South London, within the London Borough of Lambeth. Named after a medieval manor called Fox Hall, it became well known for the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. From the Victorian period until the mid-20th century, Va ...

in the

London Borough of Lambeth Lambeth () is a London borough in South London, England, which forms part of Inner London. Its name was recorded in 1062 as ''Lambehitha'' ("landing place for lambs") and in 1255 as ''Lambeth''. The geographical centre of London is at Frazi ...

on 13 July 1999. She has been a member of several parliamentary committees and is currently a member of the Parliamentary

Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments The Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments is a joint committee of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to scrutinise all statutory instruments made in exercise of powers granted by Acts of Parliament. Instruments ...

. She lists her political interests as

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

, foreign affairs, human rights, international development,

penal reform Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, improve the effectiveness of a penal system, reduce recidivism or implement alternatives to incarceration. It also focuses on ensuring the reinstatement of those whose lives are i ...

, and

prisons A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are imprisoned under the authority of the state, usually as punishment for various cr ...

, and has written several books, including ''Creating Criminals: prisons and people in a market society''; ''Bricks of Shame: Britain's prisons''; ''Failures in Penal Policy''; ''Imprisoned by Our Prisons: a programme for reform'' (Fabian Series); ''The Prisons We Deserve'' and ''A Sin Against the Future: imprisonment in the world''. Baroness Stern is a patron of several charities including the Venture Trust, the

Prisoners' Education Trust Prisoners’ Education Trust (PET) is a registered charity that works in prisons in England and Wales. It offers distance learning courses and educational advice and guidance to people in prison. It was founded in HMP Wandsworth in 1989. In 20 ...

, and Clean Break. She has honorary doctorates from the

University of Kent The University of Kent (formerly the University of Kent at Canterbury, abbreviated as UKC) is a Collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom. The university was granted its roya ...

Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (OBU; formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. Th ...

, the

University of Stirling The University of Stirling (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals; ) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by a royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built within the walled Airth ...

, the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

and is an Honorary Fellow of the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

. She is married to Professor

Andrew Coyle Andrew Coyle CMG is Emeritus Professor of Prison Studies at the University of London. Life Between 1997 and 2005, Coyle was founding director of the International Centre for Prison Studies at the School of Law, King's College London. In 2003, h ...

. In 2010, Baroness Stern carried out a review on how public authorities in England and Wales handled complaints of rape and sexual violence. In 2021, she took part in a panel held by the Home Affairs Committee to look at how findings in the review had led to changes in how cases are handled.UK Parliament website, ''Committee takes evidence on causes of low prosecution rates for sexual offences - Chairs of Dorrian, Gillen and Stern reviews to give evidence'', article dated October 19, 2021
/ref>

References

External links

House of Lords minutes of proceedings, 13 July 1999 * Baroness Stern i
patron
for the charit
Venture Trust

''The Stern Review'' (2010)
* Everywoman Safe Everywhere - Labour's Consultation on Women's Safety {{DEFAULTSORT:Stern, Vivien Baroness Stern 1941 births Living people English Jews Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Life peers created by Elizabeth II Stern, Vivien Stern, Baroness Alumni of the University of Bristol Academics of King's College London Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Honorary Fellows of the London School of Economics Jewish British politicians University College Birmingham