Evidence

Evidence

As well as providing specialist services to foreign national and BMER women and men affected by the UK criminal justice system, we also aim to provide high quality evidence to policy-makers on the issues our clients face.

Evidence matters

Last year (2019/2020) we provided support to over 2,300 people a year in prisons, in immigration removal centres (IRCs) and in the community. Evidence is important to us as it helps us untangle the facts behind sensationalist headlines and draw funders and policy makers’ attention to the multiple, complex challenges our clients face.

Evidence helps us demonstrate which services have the most positive impacts. For example, between 2016 and 2017 there was a 35% increase in people identified as potential victims of trafficking (National Crime Agency) and we too have an increasing numbers of clients seek our support with matters relating to having been trafficked. In the last year we’ve supported 264 clients with trafficking concerns.  Our analysis suggests that some women and men who are convicted on evidence of a crime, have in fact been trafficked or coerced into criminal activity, occasionally wrongly ending up in prison instead of being correctly identified and supported.

Evidence we gather from our own work and from other expert sources helps us to constantly assess the need for our existing services and development of new services. Only with evidence we can establish and demonstrate which services make a positive and tangible difference.

UK statistics

Prisons

Approximately 11% of women in prison are foreign nationals. Some are known to have been coerced into offending or trafficked.

In September 2018 approximately 60% of foreign national women in prison were from Europe, with the largest groups from Romania, Poland and Ireland.

Detention

The UK has one of the largest networks of immigration detention facilities in Europe

As at the end of March 2018, there were 2,400 people in the detention estate (excluding prisons). This was 18% lower than the same time the previous year. In addition, 358 immigration detainees were held in HM Prisons.

Trafficking

In 2017 5,145 potential victims of trafficking were submitted to the National Referral Mechanism – a 35% increase on 2016. (National Referral Mechanism Statistics, March 2018)

Sentencing

Black women were twice as likely as white women to receive a custodial sentence in the Crown Court for drugs offences. Asian and other minority ethnic women were over 40% more likely than white women to be convicted at magistrates’ court.

UK prison statistics are from 2018: Ministry of Justice , Prison Reform Trust’s Bromley Briefings and the National Referral Mechanism Statistics (human trafficking)

Sentencing source: Analysis conducted for the Lammy Review of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) representation in the Criminal Justice System (2016)

HIBISCUS IN NUMBERS

Anti-trafficking

Anti-trafficking

Last year we supported 199 potential victims of trafficking in prisons, in detention and in community

Community

Community

Last year we supported 199 potential victims of trafficking in prisons, in detention and in community

Prisons

Prisons

Last year we supported 199 potential victims of trafficking in prisons, in detention and in community

IRCs

IRCs

Last year we supported 199 potential victims of trafficking in prisons, in detention and in community

KEY PUBLICATIONS

LIFE STORIES