Asylum Aid briefing demands dignity for every single woman

The report takes the experiences of female victims of rape and domestic violence and compares women in the asylum system with women in prison and the criminal justice system. It concludes that there are huge discrepancies between the treatment of women asylum seekers and women who are settled in the UK.

 

So what exactly are these discrepancies? In the criminal justice system, for example, police officers and criminal judges receive special training on women’s experience of sexual violence, whereas no such training is provided for government employees working in immigration.

 

The briefing argues that at the very least, immigration centres and courtrooms should be places where women feel comfortable and safe when recounting their experiences; that detention centres should provide women with the option of speaking to a woman if they wish (currently women seeking asylum may be asked to recount their experiences of rape in the presence of male translators or – worse still - their children); and that women should not be held in predominantly male detention centres.

 

Furthermore, all employees within the immigration system – and that includes judges - should receive advanced training on gender, human rights and asylum.

 

This briefing is part of Asylum Aid’s Charter of Rights of Women Seeking Asylum which calls on the UK Border Agency to treat women seeking asylum with fairness, dignity and respect and is campaigning for an asylum system which is gender sensitive – recognising both needs and experiences that are particular to women.  

 

The Testimony Project is one of over 200 organisations that has endorsed the Charter. If your organisation hasn’t yet signed up, make sure that you add your voice of support today.