Every year on February 20th, we mark World Day of Social Justice—a day that calls us to reflect on the struggles of marginalised and vulnerable populations and to take action towards inclusivity and justice. As Religious Sisters of Charity, we are called to serve those who are most in need. One such moment of service came through the work of Sr. Patricia Byrne, a member of our congregation in Hackney, who encountered a deeply vulnerable woman while volunteering as a chaplain at Newhall Women’s Prison in Wakefield.
It was in this role that Sr. Patricia met a woman who was terrified, traumatised, and struggling to communicate. Speaking little English, she shared fragments of a harrowing journey. Originally from Nigeria, she had been deceived by an Italian woman who promised her work caring for children. Instead, she was subjected to severe abuse and exploitation before being trafficked to England. Forced to use a false passport to collect a document from a post office, she was arrested and sentenced to two years in prison—her suffering ignored, her circumstances misunderstood.
Sr. Patricia immediately recognised the signs of trafficking from her experience working with anti-trafficking initiatives such as the Trac Group. “She was so vulnerable,” Sr. Patricia recalls. “I was really struck by how vulnerable she was.” As the woman neared the end of her sentence, her future remained uncertain. Instead of finding safety upon release, she was transferred to a detention centre—an all-too-common outcome for victims of trafficking who lack formal recognition.
Knowing she had to act, Sr. Patricia reached out to the National Referral Mechanism, the UK’s framework for identifying and supporting victims of modern slavery. She also connected with the Medaille Trust, an organisation founded by Sr. Ann Teresa SSJA and supported by Catholic religious congregations. The trust, one of the UK’s largest providers of safe housing for trafficking survivors, was willing to provide shelter.
Through these efforts, the woman was accepted into a safe house where she could remain for several months while her case was investigated. There, she found a place of refuge—a place to learn life skills, improve her English, and rebuild her shattered confidence. Volunteers, Sisters, and outside organisations supported her in taking small but significant steps toward a new life. Sr. Patricia kept in close contact, visiting her at the safe house and later in independent accommodation in London.
With time, the woman’s story was formally recognised, and her trafficking status acknowledged. This changed everything—no longer treated as a criminal, she was given the opportunity to start afresh. From the safety of her new home, she found her footing. She built a support network, met a fellow Nigerian who became a source of strength, and together they created a loving home and were blessed with three children.
The transformation did not stop there. The woman who once struggled to communicate in English went on to earn a degree in social work. Though finding employment was difficult due to her prison record, she courageously challenged this, and her prison record was quashed. Sr Patricia still keeps in touch with the woman, and they remain strong friends to this day.
Reflecting on this journey, Sr. Patricia remains humble. “Sometimes you can do a small thing that you don’t realise is significant at all,” she says. “Yet, later, you see that it has made all the difference.”
On this World Day of Social Justice, we are reminded that justice is not only about grand gestures—it is about recognising the dignity of every person, standing alongside the vulnerable, and taking small, compassionate steps that can change lives.
