NO Way Out: Foreign Women in UK Jails trafficked or forced into crime

Foreign women are being imprisoned for crimes they were forced into, after being trafficked or coerced into offending, a new report says.

No Way Out

No Way Out is a  joint report by the Prison Reform Trust and The Female Prisoners Welfare Project (FPWP) Hibiscus, a charity which provides emotional and practical support to women foreign nationals in prison in UK.

The report shows that the while the number of women in UK jails had risen by 27% over the last 10 years, the number of foreign women behind bars rose 49%.

And the number of women entering the justice system from Eastern Europe now made up a fifth of all new cases, while one in eight came from China or Vietnam.

One in seven of all women behind bars in England and Wales are foreigners, serving sentences crimes involving drugs or immigration offences.

Need to look at the causes

Often their crimes are non-violent and these foreign women need to be identified sooner as victims of exploitation. The reform calls for changes to the system as at the moment assessing their status is left until after the women have pleaded guilty.

One African woman, whose son was kidnapped, needed money to pay legal fees to ensure his return. She was jailed for six-and-a-half years after she tried to smuggle five kilograms (11lbs) of cocaine into the UK.

The woman, quoted in the report, said: "I was scared, at that point, I have a baby... At that time we have no money, nowhere to live... I was with my son. I have to do this, it was a pressure. Big pressure on me. That person come to me and say (sic) 'look I got a lot of money', ridiculous amount..."

Olga Heaven, director of Hibiscus

"High numbers of women are brought into the UK deceived and exploited.

"Many are young women with a dream of going to a first world country to achieve something, but what they are brought in for is either prostitution or some other kind of enforced labour.

"Others who have been provided with false documents are detained by immigration or custom officials and often find themselves imprisoned on arrival.

"More needs to be done to identify vulnerable foreign national women in need of protection before they get into trouble with the law."

UK Government

A UK Government spokeswoman said: "Human trafficking is a brutal form of organised crime where people are treated as commodities and exploited for criminal gain.

"The Government is committing to tacking this, which will be helped by the proposed National Crime Agency.

"People identified as victims of trafficking while already in detention are likely to be released to allow them to access the necessary support.

"However, not all individuals identify themselves as victims when they first encounter authorities, which can lead to them being detained for a period.

"Where custody is appropriate, we are committed to meeting the complex needs of women offenders and recognise their often long histories of abuse, mental health issues and substance misuse problems."

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No Way Out Report

FPWP Hibiscus