 | |
| Founder | Natasha Walter |
|---|---|
| Type | Charity |
| Location |
|
| Website | www |
Women for Refugee Women is a charity challenging the injustices experienced by women who seek asylum in the United Kingdom.
| | |
| Founder | Natasha Walter |
|---|---|
| Type | Charity |
| Location |
|
| Website | www |
Women for Refugee Women is a charity challenging the injustices experienced by women who seek asylum in the United Kingdom.
Women for Refugee Women provide a welcoming and safe space for asylum-seeking women to come together in solidarity for English lessons, exercise classes and other confidence-building group sessions. [1]
Women for Refugee Women have supported female refugees from a variety of countries, with many having experienced abuse, loss or trauma, destitution and mental illness. [2]
The organisation also campaigns alongside female refugees against injustices they face whilst in the UK, including conditions in detention centres. This includes publishing research [3] and briefing politicians [4] to try and create a fairer asylum process.
Around 2,000 women who come to the UK seeking asylum are detained in immigration detention centres every year. [5] In 2017, Women for Refugee Women published research which found that the majority of women detained in Yarl's Wood are survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, which is in breach of the UK government's own policies on protecting 'adults at risk'. [6]
Women for Refugee Women also works with the arts, media and public events to document and raise awareness about women's stories. [7] In 2016, Women for Refugee Women produced a short animated film, directed by Priya Sundram, which documents and raises awareness about the experiences of women who have survived sexual violence and torture, and are currently detained in Yarl's Wood. [8]
Serco Group plc is a British company with headquarters based in Hook, Hampshire, England. Serco manages over 500 contracts worldwide. The company employs over 50,000 people. Serco operates in the following sectors of public service provision: Health, Transport, Justice, Immigration, Defence, and Citizens Services. Serco primarily derives income as a contractor from the provision of government services.
The Woomera Immigration Reception and Processing Centre (IRPC) was an Australian immigration detention facility near the village of Woomera in South Australia. It was opened in November 1999 in response to an increase in unauthorised arrivals, which had exceeded the capacity of other detention facilities. It was originally intended to hold 400 people, however at its peak in April 2000 it had nearly 1,500 detainees. After ongoing public pressure in response to several well publicised riots from 2000, accusations of human rights abuses, and capacity issues, the centre closed in April 2003.
Australian immigration detention facilities comprise a number of different facilities throughout Australia. They are currently used to detain people who are under Australia's policy of mandatory immigration detention. Asylum seekers detected in boats in Australian waters have been detained in facilities on the offshore islands of Nauru and Manus Island, previously under the now defunct Pacific Solution and under Operation Sovereign Borders.
Villawood Immigration Detention Centre (IDC) is an Australian immigration detention facility located in the suburb of Villawood in Sydney, Australia.
The Nauru Regional Processing Centre was an offshore Australian immigration detention facility, located on the South Pacific island nation of Nauru. The use of immigration detention facilities is part of a policy of mandatory detention in Australia.
Since 1945, immigration to the United Kingdom under British nationality law has been significant, in particular from the Republic of Ireland and from the former British Empire especially India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Caribbean, South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Hong Kong. Other immigrants have come from member states of the European Union, exercising one of the European Union's Four Freedoms, and a smaller number have come as asylum seekers, seeking protection as refugees under the United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention.
Immigration detention is the policy of holding individuals suspected of visa violations, illegal entry or unauthorized arrival, as well as those subject to deportation and removal until a decision is made by immigration authorities to grant a visa and release them into the community, or to repatriate them to their country of departure. Mandatory detention refers to the practice of compulsorily detaining or imprisoning people seeking political asylum, or who are considered to be illegal immigrants or unauthorized arrivals into a country. Some countries have set a maximum period of detention, while others permit indefinite detention.
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is a US-based not-for-profit human rights NGO that uses medicine and science to document and advocate against mass atrocities and severe human rights violations around the world. PHR headquarters are in New York City, with offices in Boston and Washington, D.C. It was established in 1986 to use the unique skills and credibility of health professionals to advocate for persecuted health workers, prevent torture, document mass atrocities, and hold those who violate human rights accountable.
The United States recognizes the right of asylum for individuals as specified by international and federal law. A specified number of legally defined refugees who either apply for asylum from inside the U.S. or apply for refugee status from outside the U.S., are admitted annually.
Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre is an immigration detention facility in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, near the town of Strathaven that is also known as Dungavel Castle or Dungavel House. It is operated by the American private prison firm GEO Group, under contract with the law-enforcement command Border Force for its detention of immigrants for the Home Office. It is the only such facility in Scotland.
Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre is a detention centre for foreign nationals prior to their deportation from the United Kingdom, one of 10 such centres currently in the UK. It is located near Milton Ernest in Bedfordshire, England, and is operated by Serco, which describes the place as "a fully contained residential centre housing adult women and adult family groups awaiting immigration clearance." Its population is, and has been, overwhelmingly female.
Refugee Action is an independent national charity founded in 1981 that provides advice and support to refugees and asylum seekers in the UK and campaigns for a fairer asylum system. It is governed by a board of trustees chaired by Penny Lawrence. Its chief executive is Stephen Hale OBE who joined the charity in February 2014.
The Australian government has a policy and practice of detaining in immigration detention facilities non-citizens not holding a valid visa, suspected of visa violations, illegal entry or unauthorised arrival, and those subject to deportation and removal in immigration detention until a decision is made by the immigration authorities to grant a visa and release them into the community, or to repatriate them to their country of origin/passport. Persons in immigration detention may at any time opt to voluntarily leave Australia for their country of origin, or they may be deported or given a bridging or temporary visa.
The Welsh Refugee Council is a sister organisation to the Refugee Council and Scottish Refugee Council, and works to help asylum seekers and refugees in Wales.
Robina Qureshi is a Pakistani born human rights campaigner. She is a notable critic of the UK's asylum policies and has campaigned to stop inhumane treatment and close detention centres for asylum seekers.
The United States government holds tens of thousands of immigrants in detention under the control of Customs and Border Protection and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Immigrants are detained for unlawful entry to the United States, when their claims for asylum are received, and in the process of deportation and removal from the country. During Fiscal Year 2018, 396,448 people were booked into ICE custody: 242,778 of whom were detained by CBP and 153,670 by ICE's own enforcement operations. A daily average of 42,188 immigrants were held by ICE in that year. In addition, over twelve thousand immigrant children are housed by facilities under the supervision of the Office of Refugee Resettlement's program for Unaccompanied Alien Children. Prior to referral to these other agencies, the CBP holds immigrants at processing centers; between mid-May and mid-June 2019, it held between 14,000 and 18,000 immigrants.
The National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) is a center affiliated with the Heartland Alliance in the United States that "is dedicated to ensuring human rights protections and access to justice for all immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers." Its executive director is Mary Meg McCarthy and it is headquartered in Chicago.
Sisters Uncut is a British feminist direct action group that is opposed to cuts to UK government services for domestic violence victims. It was founded in November 2014, and came to international prominence in October 2015 for a protest on the red carpet at the London premiere of the film Suffragette. The group identify as intersectional feminists, and is open to women, nonbinary, agender and gender variant people. The group aims to organise non-hierarchically and uses consensus decision-making. Sisters Uncut originated in London but has regional groups throughout the UK.
Immigration detention in the United Kingdom is the practice of detaining foreign nationals for the purpose of immigration control. Unlike other countries within the European Union, UK provisions to detain are not outlined in a codified consistitution. Instead, immigration enforcement holds individuals under Powers granted in the Immigration Act 1971 and by the Home Office Detention Centre Rules (2001). The expressed purpose of immigration detention is to "effect removal; initially to establish a person’s identity or basis of claim; or [implement] where there is reason to believe that the person will fail to comply with any conditions attached to a grant of immigration bail." Detention can only lawfully be exercised under these provisions where there is a "realistic prospect of removal within a reasonable period".
Immigration detention of refugee and asylum seeking children in Thailand violates the rights of children under international law. The undocumented migrant children are detained for indefinite and prolonged periods without proper access to legal support. Thailand is key transit route, host and final destination for refugees seeking asylum in southeast Asia and Australia. During the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) session in May 2016, various human rights issues including detention of refugee and asylum seeking children were reported. Currently, there are no effective alternatives to immigration detention and all sectors of population including children are subject to detention.