Today, Yarl’s Wood detention centre has been open for 17 years. During that time thousands of women, who came to the UK looking for safety, have been locked up indefinitely causing them immeasurable trauma and pain. It’s time to shut down Yarl’s Wood and #SetHerFree (link to campaign page).

Our director Natasha Walter spoke alongside brave ‘Robbina’ who was previously locked up in Yarl’s Wood, causing her deep trauma, for a news feature by BBC Look East. ‘Priscilla’, who was detained for 6.5 months in 2017, spoke out about her experience to Helen Lewis for New Statesman. She said,

“It was getting to a point where I thought: I just want to kill myself. There was no point.”