Resources

When women flee human rights abuses and seek protection in another country, they are dependent on an asylum process that may not take account of their experiences as women. This research, conducted by NatCen Social Research and Asylum Aid, seeks to address the evidence gap in terms of understanding the factors underpinning the overturn of women's asylum refusals on appeal. The study involved interviews with women and a range of stakeholders, including support organisations, legal representatives and First-Tier Tribunal judges. In addition, a range of case files were analysed. 

We are the Protection Gap Advocates.

We are women who have been through the asylum system.

We have made a video explaining some things you should know before your asylum interview.

This research project exploire the legal principle of internal relocation and assesses its application and impact on women asylum seekers who have experienced gender based persecution. This report discusses key issues regarding the use and application of internal relocation and women's access to international protection. The research analysed how legal representatives believe internal relocation is being applied to many women's asylum claims. 

The analysis hilighted worrying trends that legal representatives identified including: 

The research maps the number and profile of stateless persons in the UK and puts a human face on their situation. It also examines the UK’s legal obligations to stateless persons under international law and analyses the impact of current policy and practice. Based on these findings the report makes recommendations for improvement. While the work owes a debt to previous studies, this is the first time that this hidden issue has been subject to such comprehensive quantitative and qualitative research.

A leaflet created by the Protection Gap Advocates for legal representatives. 

As Protection Gap Advocates we are a diverse group of women who have all had our own experience of the asylum process.

We want to make a difference for other women seeking asylum and are working to improve the asylum experience for them. 

We believe that lawyers can help their women clients by giving them the following information. We are aware many lawyers already do this but we hope this will serve as a helpful reminder.

Asylum Aid is committed to ensuring that all children are not abused and that working practices minimise the risk of such abuse. The purpose of this policy statement is:

• To protect all children and young people, including the children of adults who use Asylum Aid's services, from harm.
• To provide staff and volunteers, as well as children, young people and their families, with the overarching principles that guide our approach to child protection.

Please see the full policy in the document below.

This is a collection of personal reflections from Deborah Singer MBE about the Women's Project at Asylum Aid. 

When the Women's Project suggested providing childcare during asylum interviews, the Home Office laughed. Now they provide childcare across the UK.

When we suggested female asylum seekers be automatically allocated female interviewers for their asylum interviews, the Home Office said this was operationally impossible. Now they tell us that their pilot in Glasgow proved very successful.