Nine Out of Ten Hauled Before Teesside’s ‘Kangaroo Court’ for TV Licence Evasion Are Women – Calls Grow to Scrap Outdated Law..
- teessidetoday
- Oct 21
- 2 min read
Yet more calls for the Controversial TV License to be scrapped, as its found almost all the cases brought before Teesside Court are women.
21st October 2025
Teesside’s magistrates court lists continue to expose a shocking and disproportionate trend, where women are being dragged before the bench in overwhelming numbers for the so-called crime of watching television without a licence.
A review of the Teesside Magistrates’ Court listings by the Teesside & Durham Post for this week reveals that nine out of ten defendants facing TV Licensing prosecutions are women — a pattern long criticised by campaigners as discriminatory and deeply unjust.
The pattern is not unique to Teesside. National data from the Ministry of Justice has shown that around 70–75% of all TV licence prosecutions across England and Wales are brought against women, many of whom are said to be single parents, living in low-income households or are classed as 'vulnerable' either due to illness or disability.
Critics say the process has turned the Justice System into a “kangaroo court” system, where vulnerable people — often struggling financially— are being criminalised for failing to pay what many now see as an outdated and unfair charge.
The BBC, which receives the proceeds of the licence fee, has faced increasing criticism for outsourcing enforcement to Capita, whose agents have been accused of repeatedly targeting women and vulnerable residents in deprived areas for quick prosecutions.
One legal observer in Teesside has described it as “a conveyor belt of poverty,” adding that the justice system is being willfully abused to punish those least able to pay.
The growing backlash has sparked renewed calls for the abolition of the TV licence fee altogether, with campaigners urging the government to de-criminalise non-payment — a reform previously promised by the government but never delivered.
Many argue the BBC should move to a subscription-based or advertising-funded model, ending the criminalisation of poverty and bringing the broadcaster in line with modern streaming platforms like Netflix or Disney+.
As the figures show, Just like Council Tax enforcement, Teesside’s courtrooms are becoming a mirror of social inequality — and women, once again, are paying the highest price for a system increasingly viewed as outdated, unjust, and beyond reform.
