Women asylum seekers march for justice
Article published: Thursday, July 28th 2011
Women asylum seekers and refugees from Manchester will take to the streets of Liverpool on Friday to demand justice in an asylum system which they say treats themselves and their families like criminals.
Women Asylum Seekers Together (WAST) have organised the event to highlight the need for changes and show that “it is possible to build a humane and safe asylum system which upholds our human rights in Britain”. The self-help organisation was formed in 2005 to support vulnerable women seeking sanctuary in the UK and tackle gender-based asylum issues.
The march of WAST members and supporters will begin at St George’s square at noon, heading from there to the offices of the UK Border Agency (UKBA). Asli Tedros, a 30 year-old WAST member and refugee from Eritrea, told Mule that once there they will submit 13 demands “for the Home Office to recognise and treat asylum seekers, especially women, as human beings”.
The list will also be sent to Dallas Court, Greater Manchester’s UKBA reporting centre in Salford.
In their list of demands, WAST challenge the “criminalisation” of women asylum seekers through the presumption that “we are lying until we can prove differently”, and demand access to good quality legal aid lawyers. They also call on the UKBA to end detention and destitution and to provide better support in health and social care.
Other improvements include the better use by decision makers of reports by experts on the threat of gender violence in many countries. In particular they call for acknowledgement of the special difficulties many lesbian women and women who have been subjected to rape or sexual abuse face in gathering evidence due to cultural and political oppression, noting that “families, friends and communities will often not report or support women who speak out, for fear of their own safety or because they themselves do not believe women have the rights to.”
The majority of WAST’s 150 members, most of whom are asylum seekers and refugees from Africa, the Middle East and Asia, say they have experienced gender based violence and other forms of violence and torture in their home countries. Going through the asylum process in the UK has subjected them to further stress and years of uncertainty waiting for decisions from the Home Office.
Tedros is lucky; her claim was successful and she is now officially recognised as a refugee. She came from Eritrea six years ago and stresses the importance of WAST’s work: “There are a lot of refugee and asylum seeker groups in Manchester, but none which was formed by female asylum seekers themselves to share their experiences and support each other.”
The women say they are often left alone in the process of claiming asylum and interviewed in a hostile environment where they are asked to provide evidence of trauma and violence. Already vulnerable and traumatised by experiences that led them to flee their home countries, many women have additional needs in mental and physical health and social care such as being HIV positive, pregnant or having to care for children.
Yet these needs often go unmet, with a University of Kent study for the Equalities and Human Rights Commission in March last year noting “evidence of poor antenatal care and pregnancy outcomes”, and “inadequate” mental health services for “survivors of torture and organised violence”, as well as “evidence of an institutional failure to address health concerns about asylum seekers in detention”.
Until recently, the UKBA had no measures in place to take into account the special requirements needed by female asylum seekers who experienced gender-based violence such as rape and sexual violence, ‘honour’ violence, forced marriage and female genital mutilation. But WAST and other campaigners have achieved a first step in the direction of gender sensitivity. Tedros said: ““A few years ago gender was never even an issue, and the Home Office didn’t take into account in an interview that women were victims of rape, but now they do.”
However, the demands go much further and are aimed at improving the system for all asylum seekers in the country. Asylum seekers are not permitted to take on paid employment and for Tedros the most pressing issue is destitution: “Destitution means when your claim fails, you get kicked out of your home and you have nothing to live on. You are in limbo for so many years, living in the streets.”
“It is so important for women to have a shelter over their heads, as a woman on the streets, can you imagine what could happen to you?”
Further concerns include poor quality housing and isolation exacerbated by government dispersal policies introduced in 1999 to reduce the concentration of asylum seekers in the South East. Individuals were often housed in dilapidated areas, and the policy has been associated with rising levels of racist attacks to such an extent that in 2004 it was reported that police forces in six areas had demanded its suspension.
WAST expect a reply from the government. Tedros said: “We want the Home Office to accept our demands and implement changes for women asylum seekers.”
Kathrin Ohlmann
The march starts from St George’s Square at 12:00, heading from there to the UKBA offices on Water Street to hand over the list of 13 demands before returning to St George’s Hall for a rally at 4pm.
Click here for the full list and event details
More: Migration and asylum, News
Comments
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‘and demand access to good quality legal aid lawyers’
And who do these people demand pay for these lawyers?
Why do WAST’s members think they have a right to other people’s money to pay their legal bills?
Comment by simon on August 4, 2011 at 2:09 am
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