Rape Crisis England & Wales and Imkaan highlight how women do not feel safe when seeking asylum
A major new report published yesterday by Rape Crisis England & Wales (RCEW) and Imkaan gives voice to asylum-seeking women who have been subjected to sexual violence and abuse prior to, during, and after seeking safety in the UK.
The 109-page report, Not Safe Here: The systemic failures to protect women and children from sexual violence and abuse in asylum accommodation, can be downloaded here. As the title suggests, the report finds that many women do not experience a feeling of safety when seeking asylum in the UK.
RCEW and Imkaan said: "We spoke to eight women with lived experience of sexual violence and abuse, and of living in UK asylum accommodation. These women told us that they did not feel safe, either physically or psychologically, whilst living in Home Office provided asylum accommodation. Not only was the environment retraumatising for these victim-survivors due to the poor physical conditions, mixed-sex settings, lack of support, and the scrutiny they faced throughout the asylum-seeking process, but women faced further sexual violence and abuse whilst living in asylum accommodation. The reported failure of accommodation providers to properly vet, train or discipline staff, or to provide appropriate accommodation for these women, exacerbates the risk(s) of them being subjected to further abuse."
The report describes in details how asylum accommodation is all too often an environment where women's existing traumas are compounded rather than addressed.
RCEW and Imkaan concluded: "Based on our interviews with asylum-seeking women and professionals who have experience of the asylum accomodation complex, we found that asylum accommodation and support services failed to meet the needs of those women who have survived sexual violence and abuse, as well as failing to protect them from further sexual violence and abuse. Based on the testimony of those women, we are deeply concerned at the risk to other asylum-seeking women who are placed in outsourced asylum accommodation run by the same private providers who operate on a for profit-based model, and the possibility that they will also be made to live in these reportedly unsuitable and sometimes dangerous environments. The survivors and professionals we worked with cited obvious signs of mismanagement within these settings, and a failure to fulfil contractual obligations, coupled with an absence of oversight or accountability."
In addition, the report describes how certain aspects of the asylum process—such as mandatory disclosures of past violence and abuse during asylum interviews—can re-traumatise women. The report states: "[T]he asylum process expects women to open up and talk about these experiences immediately on arrival to the UK, with no support and often with very little time between the experience of sexual violence and abuse and the interview in which they could process what had happened to them."
One woman is quoted as saying: "When I had the interview, the interpreter, he was a man. It was so hard for me to sit in front of them and explain what happened to me. I was talking about my rape in front of the man. They didn't even support or give me any women. I said, 'I'm scared of men'. And there was an immigration officer, he kept asking me stupid questions. I was there for seven to eight hours."
The report also briefly highlights problems with a lack of legal aid, noting: "Victim-survivors looking to appeal a decision require access to specialist legal advice and representation; however, cuts to legal aid and gaps in provision mean that it is difficult for asylum seekers to find lawyers to take on their cases. The result is that poor first-time decisions can go unchallenged or women can end up waiting many months, if not years, before they are able to access legal support to submit an appeal and have their case examined."
Based on their findings, RCEW and Imkaan call for comprehensive reforms to prioritise the safety and well-being of asylum-seeking women, emphasising the need for trauma-informed training for staff, proper vetting procedures, and safer, women-only accommodations.
The report also highlights the essential role of specialised third-sector organisations, which often provide critical care and community for women but remain underfunded. RCEW and Imkaan call for these services receive stable financial support to ensure the safety of those navigating the asylum system.
RCEW and Imkaan said: "There should be ringfenced funding for specialist VAWG services led by and for Black and minoritised women, which provide a critical point of access for asylum-seeking, refugee and migrant victims and survivors of sexual violence and abuse. Both national and local funding pathways must include local, community-based services across the specialist sector supporting migrant women and girls. This will help to develop existing community engagement and outreach work with women living within the asylum accommodation complex, and would provide opportunities to strengthen support, including: legal advice, education and information sessions about their rights and entitlements in the UK, and drop-in support groups to ensure they have support and guidance to navigate the complexities of the asylum system."
In response to the report, a Home Office told the Guardian: "We are committed to delivering an asylum process that is gender sensitive – building on the wider government strategy to tackle violence against women and girls. We work carefully to ensure that the needs and vulnerabilities of those residing in asylum accommodation are identified and considered, including those related to mental health and trauma."
RCEW and Imkaan gave Serco, who are contracted by the Home Office to provide asylum accommodation and support services, a chance to respond to the report. Serco said that they completely refuted the suggestions being made about their services in the report, adding that their accommodation, communication and complaints systems are all meeting the required standard.