77% of rape survivors refused asylum
70% of women seeking asylum in the UK have suffered rape and other sexual violence. But women seeking safety for themselves and their children face the same uncaring injustice as women who are raped in the UK. Despite national and international legal precedents recognising gender-based persecution, rape victims still face great obstacles in claiming protection.
Rape survivors are often denied expert reports which could corroborate their claims and are frequently accused by the authorities and Immigration Judges of fabricating their account of what has happened to them. See our research documenting this. Most women also experience bad legal representation.
BWRAP and WAR help coordinate a self-help group of women asylum seekers, help women understand their cases, enable women to report rape they were never able to speak about before, document women’s experiences, write expert reports and help run a rota of volunteers calling women in detention. Our service work informs our campaign on the most pressing issues that women face. We have helped women win the right to stay in the UK, and be reunited with their children who they were forced to leave behind when they fled to the UK.
