Women who are trafficked face a double injustice

We would like to tell you that their journey to justice is a straightforward one. We can’t.

For a woman who has been trafficked, the abuse and exploitation she will have has endured is traumatic enough. Unfortunately, in many cases, her suffering doesn’t end there. 28% of our referrals come from Immigration Removal Centres or prisons. Rather than being recognised and supported as victims these women are routinely detained by the UK authorities.

Donate today and help release these women.

If you are a woman who is from outside the EU, even if you have been trafficked, you will be dealt with by immigration officials. Officials who are often sceptical of accounts of trafficking.

Women are made to disclose their entire life story, on demand, without any mistakes. This includes highly traumatic experiences, including any sexual violence, to a number of officials who are often male. As you can imagine, this highly intimidating environment is extremely stressful for women who may already fear authorities, are afraid of being sent back to their home countries and who regularly are not given adequate interpreting services.

It’s as if the system is created to ‘catch her out’

One error can be used against her to undermine her whole case. Whilst detained, it’s very common for these women to have severe health problems – both mental and physical. They are rarely provided with the specialist medical support that they require.

Our Detentions and Prisons Worker wishes that her role didn’t have to exist. Thankfully, for the countless women who remain in prison or detention, it does. We have the only full-time post in the UK dedicated exclusively to actively seek out these women who are detained and to advocate on their behalf.

We need to raise £5,800 so that we can carry out the following over the next two months:

Assessments of up to 10 women in prison or detention who show indicators that they have been trafficked
Crucial advocacy to secure the release of at least three women
Provision of high quality interpreters so that the women’s stories are accurately told to the authorities, significantly improving their chance of being believed
Access to specialist support including mental and physical health facilities and practitioners
Travel to and from various prisons and detention centres to ensure that our worker can reach the women who need our support
Secure accommodation and financial support for women upon release