Female Asylum Seekers Allege Sexual Abuse as Home Office Safeguarding Faces Scrutiny

Female asylum seekers have alleged rape, sexual assault and exploitation by men they encountered through Britain’s asylum system. Some say they feared reporting what happened because they believed involving the police could damage their asylum claims.

The allegations reported by the Guardian involve several parts of the system.

One woman says an employee at her asylum hotel repeatedly harassed and touched her, then obtained her telephone number from accommodation records.

An Iranian woman alleges she was raped by a security guard at a Home Office hotel near Heathrow.

A Ugandan woman says a private immigration lawyer coerced her into sex when she could not afford his fees.

These are allegations and have not been established by a court.

Yet they raise an obvious safeguarding question.

AFRAID TO REPORT

Some of the women say they feared that reporting alleged offences to police could jeopardise their immigration cases.

If asylum seekers believe that, whether accurately or not, it creates an obvious opportunity for exploitation.

An abuser can rely on the victim believing that approaching the authorities carries a second risk: losing the right to remain in Britain.

The Home Office says accommodation providers must assess risks, provide support and take action to protect residents.

Evidence previously submitted to Parliament has raised concerns about whether safeguards inside asylum accommodation are adequate.

TWO DUTIES, NOT ONE

Britain’s immigration debate often treats public protection and migrant welfare as competing concerns.

They aren’t.

The state has a duty to control who enters the country and protect the British public.

Once the state places vulnerable people in accommodation under its supervision, it also has a duty to protect them.

That includes making clear that reporting rape or sexual assault does not itself prejudice a legitimate asylum claim.

Border control and safeguarding require the same thing: a competent state.

A system unable to protect either the public outside it or vulnerable people inside it is failing both.

Sources

The Guardian: Female asylum seekers report rapes and sexual assaults by British men

UK Parliament: Government response on asylum accommodation safeguards