The UK’s asylum system is retraumatizing women and girls fleeing rape and sexual abuse and putting them at risk of further harm, leading charities say.
Rape Crisis England and Wales (RCEW) said sexual violence and abuse is often the main reason women leave their countries of origin and is a common experience for women traveling to the UK only to fail when they arrive.
In a report titled “It’s not safe here”, released on Thursday, the charity said women were being re-traumatized by interrogation-like asylum interviews; sharing mixed-sex accommodation, including bedrooms, with unrelated men; and poor living conditions and lack of support. . Reports say some face further sexual violence and abuse while living in shelters.
Makena*, a survivor of sexual violence and exploitation from Sierra Leone, said of her stay: “I was scared of the people I was staying with…I was so scared that I would be raped, I was scared that I would be forced to take drugs, I Afraid that they would open my door at night… I would pray to God every time, “Please God, let me get out of this house. “It was so traumatic, so terrible. It was the most horrific seven months of my life.
The charities said they heard of intimidation, harassment, racism, violence and abuse of women seeking asylum by predatory residents and staff, as well as the ease with which external criminals were able to target vulnerable residents.
The report said the behavior appeared to be facilitated by poorly trained staff, ineffective safeguarding, vetting, complaints and misconduct processes and a lack of access to support for women who wanted to complain.
Researchers interviewed four professionals working in the field, as well as eight women who had experienced sexual violence and abuse and lived in UK asylums. Each survivor – four of whom had been granted asylum at the time of writing – said Home Office decision-makers did not believe their stories.
Josephine*, who comes from Nigeria’s indigenous minority group violently targeted by Boko Haram militants, said: “I was refused because I couldn’t get the evidence [my daughter’s] circumcision. I said I couldn’t remember the date my daughter was circumcised. So, everyone thought I was lying. I tried my best to get it [the evidence]. Therefore, I was rejected and asked to return to Nigeria.
The charities said the Citizenship and Borders Act 2022 penalizes women for delaying making a claim and submitting evidence to support it, ignoring factors such as “shame, discomfort or fear” that can silence survivors. sexual violence.
Ciara Bergman, chief executive of RCEW, said: “It is a travesty for anyone to experience sexual assault, intimidation or exploitation at any time in their lives, and that these experiences can occur in a detention center Repeated and intensified in the system of detention.
Ghadah Alnasseri, interim co-executive director of Imkaan, said: “Our findings underline the urgent need for reform, emphasizing the need for safe housing, comprehensive and specialist support services and strong accountability measures.”
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Other recommendations include scrapping the “no recourse to public funds” policy, which the report says forces women whose asylum applications are rejected into poverty, making them more vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.
A Home Office spokesman said: “We are committed to providing a gender-sensitive asylum process that builds on the wider government strategy to tackle violence against women and girls.
“We work carefully to ensure that the needs and vulnerabilities of shelter residents, including those related to mental health and trauma, are identified and considered.”
*Name has been changed
