Asylum Aid says poor quality decision-making in women's asylum claims leaves them vulnerable to violence in the UK
Asylum Aid has published a briefing submitted to the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women.
You can read it here.
In the briefing, Asylum Aid says poor quality decision-making in women's asylum claims leaves them vulnerable to violence in the UK.
One third of people applying for asylum in the UK each year are women, and women asylum seekers, Asylum Aid says, are discriminated against both for being women and for being asylum seekers.
Asylum Aid notes that the Home Affairs Select Committee found "[w]omen are less likely than men to receive a correct initial decision on their asylum claim."
According to the briefing, Home Office statistics do not include whether gender-based persecution is the basis of a woman's asylum claim. However, research shows that between one half and three quarters of women asylum seekers have experienced violence either in their country of origin, during transit to the UK, or once in the UK.
Asylum Aid says the UK's standards for dealing with violence against women in relation to women seeking asylum compare poorly with those for women experiencing violence in the UK or abroad, demonstrating a lack of due diligence and joined up government.
The UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Rashida Manjoo, recently visited the UK and you can read her end-of-mission statement here.
In the April 15th statement, Manjoo said: "Another affected group are refugee, trafficked and asylum-seeking women who face insecure immigration status and who may be subject to the 'no recourse to public funds' requirement. These women are often unable to access any form of emergency accommodation, including refuges, because they are unable to claim housing benefit, income support and other state benefits. This leads to further victimisation, vulnerabilities and risk of abuse. I was informed about the establishment of the Sojourner Fund, which is aimed at providing support to women victims of domestic violence, who are in the UK on a spousal visa. While interviewed organisation welcomed this initiative, they explained that many women remain unprotected, as the fund only applies to a very limited pool of women affected by the no recourse to public funds rule, and is subject to a 40 day funding timescale, thus placing additional pressure on the already stretched third sector services."