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Desperately
Seeking Asylum Shattered lives Rape is the most common weapon repressive regimes use against women and estimates suggest that half of all women seeking asylum in Britain re rape survivors. A special report by the Crossroads Women's Centre. The first discrimination women face when claiming asylum is that the UN Convention on Refugees does not explicitly recognise the specific torture women face. Rape is the most common weapon repressive regimes use against women, and estimates suggest that half of all women seeking asylum in Britain are rape survivors, say Black Women's Rape Action Project and Women Against Rape. Most of the women referred to Black Women’s Rape Action Project and Women Against Rape, with whom we work closely, have been raped by soldiers, police or other authorities as punishment for their own or a family member’s actual or suspected political opposition. It is widely acknowledged that rape victims find it difficult to speak, especially when interviewed by hostile male immigration officers. When women do speak, they are either disbelieved or the rape is dismissed as “sexual gratification” not torture. The obstacles to justice are such that it can take years to win the right to be here; the ‘fast-track’ process further punishes women denying them the time they need to put their full case. Women are regularly detained for months, some with their children, including those who fled rape in detention. Many are mothers, some as a result of rape. All face acute poverty, having arrived with very little, if anything. They must try to survive on a pittance, with no money to buy essentials like nappies or toiletries or to pay fares to legal and health appointments. by
Black Women's Rape Action Project (BWRAP) Guilty
until proven innocent Women whose claims are rejected can appeal to an Immigration Adjudicator. In our experience, Adjudicators often ignore established case law and precedents, are generally uncaring, and even make disparaging personal comments about women giving evidence. Their judgements vary widely. Home Office officials and Adjudicators must be made to adhere to case law, rather than ignoring or misinterpreting it. Those who don’t must be legally and publicly challenged, so that discriminatory decisions against women are uncovered and prevented. "CRUCIAL FACTS ARE DISMISSED AS LIES OR IGNORED" Poor legal representation leaves many women undefended. Lawyers often do not know what the precedents are, do not see how they might apply, or are careless or even hostile. Women in detention are particularly vulnerable to unscrupulous lawyers as they have little or no access to the outside world. Government contracts with organisations like the Refugee Legal Centre and the Immigration Advisory Service have been used to further cut legal aid and curtail independent legal access. Where advocacy groups have a financial stake in carrying out government policy their advice is often tainted and women are misinformed about their rights. As distinguished immigration solicitor David Burgess pointed out: ”In the field of asylum work it is a truth known to practitioners that legal representation can kill.” Even conscientious lawyers may do little or nothing about support and accommodation procedures which impose dire poverty and horrendous living conditions on women and children. "LEGAL REPRESENTATION CAN KILL" Women have a right to full and thorough representation and need to know what to do if their lawyer is negligent or corrupt. Many have had to change lawyers several times before getting proper representation whilst under constant threat of detention and deportation/removal. The proposed legislation further undermines women’s right to legal challenges. By
Legal Action for Women (LAW) Forced to
move Emigrating is rarely a choice, particularly for women and children who are 80% of displaced people worldwide. Emigrating is often the only way to claim the protection we are entitled to and the wealth we have created through centuries of Empire. We are here because they are still there, still looting our labour and material resources. Immigrant people send home £65 billion a year – £20 billion more than aid programmes, much of it sent by low-waged women. by
Black
Women for Wages for Housework and Payday Lost Voices: I
couldn’t tell my lawyer because he also represented my husband.
I changed lawyers and finally told the Home Office about the rape
but they turned me down. So
I am appealing. My health
is still a big problem: for 2 ½ years I have been taking
anti-depressants. My child
and I are seeing a child mental health specialist to help us cope with
the stress we are living with. I left Kenya with my four-year-old daughter after we suffered mental and physical torture. Our house was burnt down and three men raped me. My husband disappeared. We escaped here in April 2000. I got very depressed, lost 15kgs in three months and was given sleeping pills and anti depressants. My claim was refused even though the
Adjudicator recommended Exceptional Leave to Remain.
My solicitor was making further representations when early one
Sunday, 10 police and immigration officers came to our home and took us
to Harmondsworth Detention Centre saying we had to leave the country the
next day. I couldn’t
speak to my lawyer because it was a Bank Holiday Monday.
I felt so depressed I attempted suicide. I
was forced to leave Uganda because I was raped by soldiers who beat my
son to death in front of me. When
I came in December 2000, I didn’t think I would be treated as a
prisoner. I was interviewed
by three women and three men, and I couldn’t speak about being raped.
I was taken to Oakington detention centre.
I stayed there one week and was so desperate I tried to kill
myself. "I FELT SO DEPRESSED I ATTEMPTED SUICIDE" |