Yarl's Wood hunger strike: six months on

On 5 February 2010, seventy women went on hunger strike at Yarl’s Wood detention centre. Their action and the reaction of the guards to it drew attention to the lives of detained women asylum seekers and the conditions they suffer.

Six months on, some of the women involved spoke to a crowded meeting in the House of Commons on 29 June 2010 about why they were driven to protest. Here is what they said:

Verna Joseph

Verna Joseph, an asylum seeker from St Lucia, was one of the women involved in the hunger strike. Despite her successful appeal against a deportation order, she was detained in Yarl’s Wood while the Home Office appealed.

She explained how many women detainees had become increasingly depressed before the strike. Many were unable to see their children and had heard no news about their cases for a long time. These women organised a meeting and decided they needed to take action to get their point across. “We felt like we were not being heard and were just forgotten,’ Verna said.

Commenting on the appalling way the guards treated the hunger strikers - including ‘kettling’ them in the corridor for several hours with no access to water, toilets or medical assistance, Verna said: “The government tried to say that this never happened. They just repeat that we were all treated with dignity and respect. They are lying and the proof could be found – there are cameras everywhere.”

Shelley Anne

Shelly Anne was also involved in the hunger strike. Dubbed a ‘ring leader’ by the guards, she was transferred to prison where she was kept for over sixteen weeks without charge. Now successfully bailed, she is determined to keep fighting: “We showed the world what was going on in there. Some women have been removed, but those of us who they cannot send back will bear witness to the harm we suffered. We are determined to win justice for the violent and vicious way we were treated.”

Ms D

Ms D had been detained for just under eighteen months at the time of the hunger strike. She has since been released and has spoken to the Black Women’s Rape Action Project of the positive impact the strike had on her: “I cannot believe how our protest and the support we got has changed my life around. I was facing deportation and permanent separation from my family. Now I’m back home with my children in my arms looking forward to the birth of my grandchild. The support me and other women got while we were on hunger strike was critical to our survival and all that we have been able to achieve”.

Legal proceedings

Many of the women involved in the strike are now in the process of bringing judicial review proceedings against SERCO and the Home Office. They are arguing that the decisions taken by Home Office officials and guards in the SERCO-run facility were unreasonable and unlawful and that actions taken breached their human rights.

The solicitors involved in these cases reject the Home Office’s stance that the strike never happened, sighting the consistent and credible evidence given by all the women involved.

At the House of Commons meeting, Emma Jones of Leigh Day & Co – a firm representing fifteen of the hunger strikers commented: “When people say that the hunger strike never happened, frankly we at Leigh Day just don’t believe that is true.”

Paul Jeffcoate of Fisher Meredith solicitors agrees. He is representing twelve of the women involved in the hunger strike and said: “Ministers have said that no force was used during this incident. That is not true.”

The need for change

The hunger strike gave rise to unprecedented media coverage and was crucial in raising public awareness of the plight of women detainees. However there still remains the need for fundamental change in both attitude and policy.

Speaking at the House of Commons meeting Jim Curran, Chairman of the Irish Civil Rights Association summed the situation up stating “This hunger strike has been a success. You’ve won the battle but you haven’t won the war, so the war has to go on.”

Yarl's Wood hunger strike: six months on

Yarl's Wood hunger strike: six months on

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