Women for Refugee Women (WRW) is a charity that supports women seeking asylum in the UK and challenges the injustices that they experience. We have submitted evidence to the Home Affairs Committee on two key areas of our expertise: first, women in immigration detention and second, women who have been refused asylum and have been forced into destitution.
You can read the full submission here.
Women in immigration detention
WRW is in touch with women currently locked up in Yarl’s Wood detention centre. We have worked for years to highlight the pointless and inhumane nature of immigration detention, particularly for women who have already survived violence, torture and trafficking. We are very concerned by the way the Home Office has prepared for and responded to the coronavirus pandemic in relation to people in detention. Our submission includes evidence on five key areas:
1. Lack of preparedness for coronavirus in Yarl’s Wood and inadequate response once a case was confirmed
Women detained at Yarl’s Wood told us that there was a lax attitude to hygiene in the detention centre, with insufficient access to soap and hand sanitiser. One woman told us:
‘I don’t feel safe. I’ve locked myself away and am not talking to anyone because I have asthma and am afraid for my health. I just want to get out. This whole thing is just terrifying.’
2. Arrival of newly detained people into Yarl’s Wood
In the week following the confirmed case on 22 March, for instance, we were aware of six new women who were brought into Yarl’s Wood. More recently, on 13 April around 40 men were detained in the short-term holding facility there. Our understanding is that these men may have recently arrived in the UK by boat.
The health implications of bringing new people into the detention estate are extremely worrying and it is very difficult to understand why the Home Office is continuing with any new detentions at the moment, since it is simply not possible to remove anyone from the UK.
3. Continued detention of women during the pandemic, including women with underlying physical health conditions who are particularly at risk
We are aware of women with serious underlying physical health conditions which would put them at particular risk if they were to be infected with coronavirus, who were kept in Yarl’s Wood following the confirmed case and are still there. Additionally, we are in touch with women who are survivors of rape, trafficking and torture, and are very concerned about the impact on them of being detained during this extremely stressful time.
4. Lack of access to legal advice and other support in Yarl’s Wood
Detention centres are now closed to most outside visitors, including legal representatives, and as a consequence it appears that the legal advice surgery in Yarl’s Wood is no longer operating. This raises serious concerns about women’s access to justice.
Other services in Yarl’s Wood have been stripped back considerably. For instance, we understand that most of those working for the Wellbeing service, which provides mental health support, are now working remotely, and that the Welfare department is now completely shut. The effect of this, of course, is that already vulnerable women, who are being re-traumatised by detention, are now unable to access the limited support that was in place for them previously.
5. Insufficient support given to women upon release
We know from solicitors and other advocacy groups working in this field that some people have been released from detention to destitution. We are also aware of instances where the Home Office and Serco have failed to ensure that women can safely travel to their accommodation, ignoring their duty of care to highly vulnerable women who speak very little English.
Key recommendation:
All detention centres should be closed and those women who are currently detained should be provided with support and safe accommodation where they would have the means to self-isolate.
Asylum-seeking women living destitute
Many of the women we work with at WRW are living destitute, banned from working and with no access to statutory financial or housing support. We are very concerned by the way the Home Office has prepared for and responded to the pandemic in relation to these incredibly vulnerable women.
Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, WRW has moved to supporting around 300 asylum-seeking women via telephone. We are therefore aware of the pressing and growing needs of these women, as their usual sources of support cut down on activities or shut their doors. On a daily basis, we are hearing from women who are unable to buy food for themselves and their children, who are unable to self-isolate safely, and who are trapped in abusive situations.
One destitute woman in our network, Sarah, has stayed in various places in London since her asylum claim was refused some months ago. When we spoke with her on 14 April, she had no money, no food, and nowhere to stay. The mosque where she had been sleeping had asked her to leave due to concerns about the virus. WRW exhausted all options to secure safe accommodation for Sarah, including by contacting homelessness services. We also contacted multiple hotels and hostels but were informed that they were not accepting anyone other than key workers. Sarah had walked past police officers whilst she was wandering the streets, but was too afraid to seek help for fear of being detained due to her insecure immigration status. Sarah has now spent two nights sleeping outside, on night buses and in a park in central London.
Another woman we spoke with, Maxine, a survivor of sexual violence, has also moved several times since being forced into destitution due to a refusal of her asylum claim over a year ago. She is currently sleeping on the floor in an overcrowded house. To avoid street homelessness, she is forced to cook and clean for everyone, and shares her room with a man she does not know.
Asylum-seeking women who are made destitute are, in ordinary times, at heightened risk of abuse and illness. In a public health emergency, everyone should be protected.
Key recommendation:
Every destitute woman in the UK, even if she has had a refusal on her asylum claim, should be given immediate access to financial support and accommodation where she can self-isolate safely, whether through the existing system of asylum support or through the mainstream benefits system. This should be introduced with no caveats, no exemptions and no refusals.
You can read the full submission here.