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Self-help workshop on asylum benefits The second workshop brought a new influx of people and was also very well attended by women who are currently fighting for benefits. Some of the people from the previous workshop who had planned to leave, decided to stay. Unlike with single mothers’ and disability benefits, benefits for women and children seeking asylum are not available from or managed by one Department. Different Council departments, agencies, as well as the Department of Work and Pensions are responsible. This is further complicated by frequent changes in legislation which for example, affect from what date an asylum seeker can get what. This makes it much more difficult for women to know what the rules are and what they entitle them to, especially since advisers and lawyers often don’t have the time to keep up with the changes. It is easy for each authority to refuse responsibility and pass women on elsewhere, misinform and even make up the rules. So it emerged, for example, that two mothers in the workshops in almost identical circumstances, had very different level of benefits. Women were furious that they had been refused housing benefit which they were entitled to and would have allowed them to find their own accommodation; instead they had been put in sub-standard hostels where the living conditions were appalling. They had no privacy, were often one of a few women in a hostel full of men, suffered from abuse from staff, were cold and sometimes hungry as the food was inedible or insufficient. It emerged how landlords were profiteering from the arrangement with National Asylum Support System as they charge exorbitant rents but are not held accountable for the conditions in which people are housed. A number of women described how they had managed to get re-housed. One woman did win housing benefit and was able to get her own flat. Women from Black Women’s Rape Action Project and Women Against Rape described how many voluntary agencies were well-funded to provide services to asylum seekers, yet when they tried to get emergency help for women, the agencies refused to help. These agencies also refused to challenge the introduction of vouchers and other repressive measures and instead were now working very closely with government and implementing policies which were causing widespread hardship. A man from Notre Dame Refugee Centre said that the staff he often dealt with were young and inexperienced and couldn’t be held responsible for the policies of the agencies they worked for. Women disagreed, saying that whether they were inexperienced or not there was no excuse for racism and other discrimination or for brutality and a lack of compassion. We discussed documenting women’s experience of advice agencies with a view to raising these problems with them.
Self-help workshops on the rights of women asylum seekers: Preventing dispersal Thurs 18 AprilPreventing detention and removals Thurs 25 April5-8.30pm, Crossroads Women’s Centre, 230a Kentish Town Road, London, NW5 2AB (entrance on Caversham Road)Dear friends, We are writing to invite you to two forthcoming workshops on preventing the dispersal, detention and removal of women asylum seekers, especially those who have been raped. The workshops will bring together women with organisations and legal representatives who have supported them, or who want to find out how they can be helpful. We will hear from: rape survivors who have been dispersed, detained and/or threatened with removal – their experiences of these brutal processes and how they fought against them; campaigners who have supported individual women and campaigned against the introduction and use of these procedures; and legal representatives who have helped to fight and win key legal cases. Whilst women asylum seekers fighting injustice in the asylum process have developed vital expertise, this expertise is not generally recognised nor is it available to others. An estimated 50% of women asylum seekers are fleeing rape and sexual violence, yet the government does not recognise rape as torture and grounds for asylum. The stigma of rape often denies women the support of family, friends and community other victims of violence might expect. Instead of receiving sympathy and support, rape victims are frequently blamed for what happened, or hide their experiences from those around them in fear of an unsympathetic, even brutal response. Dispersal, detention and the constant threat of being removed increases their vulnerability, denying them the protection, support and services available to other rape survivors. The government’s new proposals will further institutionalise the sexism and racism women currently face and exacerbate the obstacles to getting protection. Poor legal representation has often left women undefended and at risk. Women in detention are particularly vulnerable to unscrupulous lawyers who do nothing to press for their release or to present a thorough case to the authorities. Even conscientious lawyers representing women’s asylum claims may do little or nothing about support and accommodation procedures which impose dire poverty and horrendous living conditions on women and children. As distinguished immigration solicitor David Burgess has pointed out: ”In the field of asylum work it is a truth known to practitioners that legal representation can kill”. Working with Black Women’s Rape Action Project and Women Against Rape, we aim for these workshops to bring together asylum seekers, experienced legal representatives with service providers and campaigners focussing on these issues: we aim to increase the resources on which women can draw. We hope that the workshops will encourage lawyers and others to take on these crucial areas of work, on which women and children’s safety and welfare depend. Some refugee organisations have not opposed successive government attacks on asylum seekers’ rights. Instead, they have been instrumental in drawing up and implementing the current brutal regime: the Refugee Council and others are funded by the government to administer and arrange dispersal; the Refugee Legal Centre and the Immigration Advisory Service have contracts to provide legal advice to those held in “reception centres”. We have seen that where advocacy groups have a financial stake in implementing government policy their advice is often inaccurate and people are misinformed about their rights. The workshops will hear how this has affected women and how opposition to this collaboration is growing and can be strengthened. These will be the third and fourth in a series of workshops organised by Legal Action for Women. The workshops are not general advice sessions. Instead each workshop will begin with women’s experiences of these asylum procedures and address the following
How women’s experiences can be publicised so that any discussion
on what changes are needed is based on the reality of women’s lives.
For those not familiar with our work. Legal Action for Women (LAW) is a grassroots anti-sexist, anti-racist legal service for all women. Since it began in 1982, it has focussed on providing free legal advice and support to low-income women who are more likely to be denied justice. LAW combines access to a network of sympathetic lawyers, with experienced lay workers from similar backgrounds to the women using its services. We have helped prevent many injustices and set important precedents, including with the first private prosecution for rape in England, which resulted in an 11-year conviction. We enclose some information about our work. This workshop is open to the public and you are welcome to pass this invite on to anyone you think may be interested. Light refreshments will be provided. Please contact us if you need to book a place in the crèche. Power to the sisters Nina
Lopez-Jones
Please note: these workshops are not advice sessions.
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Legal Action for Women,
Crossroads Women's Centre,
230A Kentish Town Road,
London NW5 2AB |
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