bthechange CIC

bthechange CIC Our team are vastly experienced in working with people with complex needs and from a range of diverse backgrounds and cultures.

Multi-award winning Community Interest Company spanning the Southwest of England and South Wales, dedicated to empowering first-time entrants, racially minoritised individuals, and women that are facing challenges within the criminal justice system. bthechange CIC is an award-winning Community Interest Company that operates across The Southwest of England and South & Mid Wales providing a range of life changing initiatives to directly support over a thousand individuals a year with moving forward with their lives that are either at risk of entering or who are in the criminal justice system. bthechange not only provides structured programmes for client support, but we also play an active role in system change, working with those ‘intermediaries’ whose policies, rules, processes, cultures, and attitudes affect people with convictions. We have specialists in our team that covers: Substance misuse (psychosocial motivational interventions relapse prevention – managing/recognising triggers), Finance Benefit and Debt, Welfare support including Housing, universal credit, bank account & I.D applications, Employment support – CV writing, job applications & Neurodivergent inclusive programmes. We are extremely committed and proud of being an equal opportunities and diverse organisation, of which is demonstrated by our team who come from a multitude of backgrounds, with varied cultures, beliefs, and sexual orientations. We truly are a company that represents society.

23/03/2026

VAWG SECTOR LETTER TO JUSTICE SECRETARY CALLS FOR RE-THINK ON JURY TRIALS – RIGHTS OF WOMEN
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Baljit Banga, CEO, Hibiscus, says:
“We need comprehensive reform throughout our justice system, particularly as it affects Black and minoritised migrant women. It is clear that justice is far from blind. From our work at Hibiscus we know that migrant women subjected to VAWG are criminalised due to their immigration status, and much work remains to be done to ensure fairness at every stage—from interactions with the police right through to jury trials.

To make meaningful progress, we must take an approach that fully considers the realities of women’s lives. Only by engaging with their lived experiences can we challenge the assumption that our system is impartial. When women at the margins face discrimination, it undermines justice for everyone. Access to justice cannot be reduced to a single issue. It is deeply interconnected with violence, discrimination, and inequality.

Hibiscus is committed to championing reforms that improve access to justice for all women. We firmly believe that retaining jury trials as a cornerstone of our justice system is essential. While addressing racial bias is a necessity, the government’s proposal to reduce jury trials is not the answer. We stand for reforms that make our justice system more inclusive and equitable for every woman.

It is important that government listen to women, centre women’s experiences in discussion on reforms and build a justice system that serves women who have been subjected to violence and harm. “
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https://www.womensgrid.org.uk/?p=29128
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VAWG SECTOR LETTER TO JUSTICE SECRETARY CALLS FOR RE-THINK ON JURY TRIALS – RIGHTS OF WOMENBaljit Banga, CEO, Hibiscus, ...
23/03/2026

VAWG SECTOR LETTER TO JUSTICE SECRETARY CALLS FOR RE-THINK ON JURY TRIALS – RIGHTS OF WOMEN
Baljit Banga, CEO, Hibiscus, says:
“We need comprehensive reform throughout our justice system, particularly as it affects Black and minoritised migrant women. It is clear that justice is far from blind. From our work at Hibiscus we know that migrant women subjected to VAWG are criminalised due to their immigration status, and much work remains to be done to ensure fairness at every stage—from interactions with the police right through to jury trials.

To make meaningful progress, we must take an approach that fully considers the realities of women’s lives. Only by engaging with their lived experiences can we challenge the assumption that our system is impartial. When women at the margins face discrimination, it undermines justice for everyone. Access to justice cannot be reduced to a single issue. It is deeply interconnected with violence, discrimination, and inequality.

Hibiscus is committed to championing reforms that improve access to justice for all women. We firmly believe that retaining jury trials as a cornerstone of our justice system is essential. While addressing racial bias is a necessity, the government’s proposal to reduce jury trials is not the answer. We stand for reforms that make our justice system more inclusive and equitable for every woman.

It is important that government listen to women, centre women’s experiences in discussion on reforms and build a justice system that serves women who have been subjected to violence and harm. “
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https://www.womensgrid.org.uk/?p=29128
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20/03/2026

WOMEN IN PRISON AND THE MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS: WHEN CUSTODY REPLACES CARE

Whilst women in prison are a minority of the total population in UK prisons, they have some of the highest rates of mental illness, self-harm and su***de in the country, raising serious questions about whether prisons are used as a means of dealing with mental health problems rather than providing care.

A GROWING MENTAL HEALTH EMERGENCY BEHIND BARS
Women make up less than five percent of the total prison population within England and Wales, they are also more prone to mental illness. According to criminal justice charities and inspection reports, more than 80% of women within prisons have a mental health problem such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and personality disorder.

The rates of self-harm among women in custody far exceed those of their male counterparts. Women make up a large percentage of self-harm incidents despite their low population. Recent statistics have revealed that the rates of self-harm among female inmates hit record highs in 2024. This has led to fears that the correctional system is failing its most vulnerable inmates.

https://theviewmag.org.uk/women-in-prison-and-the-mental-health-crisis-when-custody-replaces-care/ #:~:text=Prison%20environments%20are%20rarely%20designed,women%20are%20in%20short%20supply.




20/03/2026

Funding boost for women's services - Pact response

In response to the Government's announcement about a new £32m investment to support women caught up in the criminal justice system, Andy Keen-Downs, CEO of Pact said:

“This investment is a welcome step towards creating a justice system that understands women’s lives and responds to them with compassion, evidence, and common sense. Too many women are sent to prison for short sentences that achieve little except deepening the trauma, poverty and instability that led them into offending in the first place.

"We know that most women in the criminal justice system are themselves victims — of violence, coercion, addiction, and profound social disadvantage. If we are serious about reducing crime and protecting families, then we must address those root causes rather than relying on custody as a default response.

https://www.prisonadvice.org.uk/latest/news/funding-boost-for-womens-services-pact-response/

Pact - Prison Advice & Care Trust

19/03/2026

Refuge recently evidenced how 75 women were killed as a result of domestic homicide in the year ending 2025. Those numbers should spark outrage across our society.

This final act of violence could have been prevented had there been proper legal resources in place for victims, or proper housing support that meant victims could be safe.

Too many victims are forced to return to their perpetrators because they do not receive the levels of legal support needed to continue with the legal process. That means that many are unable to obtain things such as protective orders against their perpetrator, or obtain safe child contact arrangements.

https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2026-03-18/debates/16549C51-8152-44C2-BD4B-444EB3355B05/DomesticAbuseSurvivorsGovernmentSupport

19/03/2026

Domestic Abuse Survivors: Government Support debated on Wednesday 18 March 2026
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Ben Maguire
(North Cornwall) (LD)

"I must open today’s debate with a sad reality: according to Refuge, an estimated 2.2 million women and 1.5 million men have experienced domestic abuse in this country in the last year alone, and according to a 2025 report by the Office for National Statistics, this issue is far from niche. Refuge also found that, on average, one woman is killed by an abusive partner or ex-partner every five days in England and Wales. The fact that we use words like “on average”, “approximately”, and “estimated” on such a serious topic beckons us to acknowledge that those numbers still suffer from severe under-reporting, highlighting just how much more work we have to do.

In the light of International Women’s Day having just passed, and with the Government’s long-awaited violence against women and girls strategy still fresh in our minds, I want to take this opportunity to assess how Government support for domestic abuse survivors holds up in practice.

https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2026-03-18/debates/16549C51-8152-44C2-BD4B-444EB3355B05/DomesticAbuseSurvivorsGovernmentSupport

16/03/2026

Organisations highlighted growing pressures around housing, mental health, neurodivergent conditions and, for some, substance use, with women’s organisations particularly emphasising the needs faced by many of the people they support, including the intersecting impacts of poverty, domestic abuse, trauma and child removal.
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https://clinks.org/community/blog-posts/more-less-key-challenges-faced-voluntary-sector-working-criminal-justice?fbclid=IwY2xjawQkvglleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETBJaExkclJqT2hJdlRhTldGc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHhXkU3V1yOaedBsmbVc9Rx7tXI_UTXyiMDPJu6JWvjaqe7tVMTkEa3YfL9we_aem_9xd00SeYUkixgpoRLsc4ZQ

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