Asylum charities put vulnerable woman out on the street

A woman who fled to the UK after being imprisoned, raped and beaten for opposing the government in her home country of Eritrea, was last week evicted from her hostel onto the street by the Refugee Arrivals Project (RAP). Since then she slept on the street in sub-zero temperatures, without blankets, on the floor of a freezing church hostel corridor and at Heathrow airport. Eventually a hostel run by nuns took her in. 

Ms W is suffering serious ill health and is deeply traumatised as a result of her experiences in Eritrea. She has had several operations whilst in the UK because of damage to her ear sustained during one of the beatings she suffered. 

On 8 December the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) threw Ms W out of her hostel, saying she was no longer entitled to support and accommodation because her asylum claim had been refused. But Ms W has received no written refusal of her claim from the Home Office and without this, her lawyer is unable to challenge their decision – leaving Ms W without a current asylum claim and therefore homeless and destitute. 

On Thursday 11 December Ms W was attacked and robbed whilst sleeping on a park bench in South London. WAR contacted the Medical Foundation (who have been counselling Ms W) to help her and late on Friday night Ms W was sent to a hostel run by RAP. 

On Monday RAP evicted her because Ms W refused to sign a paper agreeing to be returned to Eritrea where she faces further violence and even death. Despite the intervention of John McDonnell MP, they refused to reconsider their decision. Is this because, like the Refugee Council, the government contracts signed by RAP to administer asylum services including providing emergency housing stipulate that RAP must “co-operate with the deportation process?� So people are forced to choose between being sent back despite having a compelling case or left destitute.

In 2001 to 2002 RAP, which claims to be an independent charity received over £5m from central and local government. Now they look forward to even more government money as they step into the role vacated by the Refugee Council, who were publicly shamed into ending lucrative contracts with the government to run slum housing for asylum seekers.

Ms W is not alone, many of the 200 plus women asylum seekers who have come to the Centre where we are based for help since the Spring are homeless and destitute. At least one rape survivor was raped again because she was sleeping rough. The government claims to be concerned about violence against women but its brutal asylum policies leave victims of rape and violence more vulnerable. 

Since the High Court ruling in September that a man sleeping in Heathrow airport was not in need of housing and support, many asylum charities have adopted this brutal standard. The Medical Foundation claims to be the leading organisation helping victims of torture. It was ready to house Ms W when she was attacked whilst sleeping rough but withdrew this offer and said she was no longer an “emergency� and condoned RAP’s advice to Ms W to go to Heathrow airport or a train station to sleep. We wonder whether the people who donated £2.5m to the MF last year would agree that Ms W was no longer in need of emergency help.

In stark contrast to the millions of pounds received by the Refugee Arrivals Project and the Medical Foundation, Women Against Rape had our core funding cut by 100% last November. Labour members of the Association of London Government grants committee voted en-bloc to axe WAR’s funding, in an attempt to silence our independent voice. But WAR has continued, depending on volunteers, donations and jumble sales, benefits gigs, etc.