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Legal
Action for Women NEWSFLASH
: Following our Press Conference Funding asylum NGOs: To defend human rights or to embed us with the Home Office? BBC London TV news broadcast an item on the dangerous living conditions women face at the infamous Eurotower hostel in South London. Using information provided by Women Against Rape, they interviewed a woman who was raped there, and other women (many of whom are rape victims) who are so frightened that they are unable to leave their rooms at night, even to use the toilets and bathrooms which are shared with men. Margaret Lally of the Refugee Council, which runs the accommodation on behalf of the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) was forced to acknowledge that the conditions at Eurotower are unacceptable. The Home Office was quoted as saying that “If there are any women who feel under threat, every effort will be made to remove them”. But instead of protection women who report rape at Eurotower are facing further violence. This morning the woman who was interviewed about being raped found sexist and racist death threats on the door of her room. At the time of writing, Margaret Lally has only offered Ms Z another room in Eurotower where she will continue to be under threat of attack. Ms Z has reported both the rape and the racist graffiti to the police. Contact: Niki Adams 07956 316 899 Legal Action for Women or Sian Evans Women Against Rape 07929 138 554 STOP PRESS: SLEEPING ON THE STREETS IS NOW OFFICIAL HOUSING POLICY. Six women asylum seekers along with two men were evicted from Eurotower under Section 55 (which denies accommodation to people accused of not making an asylum claim immediately on entering the country). Last night they were forced to sleep on the streets as the Refugee Council referred them to the police station but the police turned them away saying it was a Home Office decision to make them homeless. When the women said they were frightened for their safety. The police said that “citizens also had to sleep rough”. We have just learned that they returned to the Refugee Council One Stop Shop in Brixton this morning and are staging a sit-in demanding to be housed. At 7.45pm the Refugee Council is evicting them, and given them some food and a blanket to sleep on the streets. For more details
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