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Newszine
17 January Februay March 2000 |
Asylum from Rape for Women Refugees
The Asylum from Rape petition, launched in 1997, demands that rape
be recognised as persecution and therefore grounds for asylum, and
is a focus of resistance to the draconian policies of the latest Immigration
& Asylum Act. Groups around the country are circulating the petition
and thousands of individuals and organisations have signed it. The
majority of refugees world-wide are women and children, and it's estimated
that 50% of women asylum seekers are rape survivors, yet the persecution
of women is recognised neither by the UN Convention on Refugees, which
is binding on governments, nor by successive UK governments.
The government's economic and political ties with other countries
seem to determine how asylum seekers are treated. (Home Office figures
show that people from Eastern Europe are most likely, and people from
Nigeria and Sri Lanka least likely, to be awarded refugee status.)
Despite widespread agreement that rape is the most common weapon used
against women by military dictatorships and other repressive regimes,
women asylum-seekers raped by government agents because of their political
activity face hostility, disbelief and discrimination from British
officials.
Sharon Musoke, from Uganda, won refugee status 6 years after arriving,
going to the High Court before she got justice:
"The special adjudicator believed I had been raped, tortured,
detained and denied food but said that the mistreatment directed at
me was a consequence of me being there when my brother was shot by
government soldiers. Because I was a woman he did not take me seriously
. . . when my appeal was turned down my benefits were stopped. There
was no more Income Support and I was left to starve. . . I fled my
country because of torture only to be surprised to experience it in
another form here in Britain."
Women and children bear the brunt of economic policies imposed by
the World Trade Organisation, on behalf of multi-nationals and the
arms industry, which wreak death, disability, environmental destruction
and repression. When women flee this violence, they face brutality,
grinding poverty and destitution. Recent protests in Seattle show
growing international opposition to prioritising profits over human
life and security.
Hearings in the House of Commons jointly organised by Black Women's
Rape Action Project and Women Against Rape highlighted women's experience,
hidden in initial discussions on the Immigration & Asylum Bill.
Over 200 organisations signed their endorsement letter condemning
the Bill's impact on women and children fleeing violence.
When the Bill went to the Lords, several peers presented BWRAP and
WAR’s proposed amendments - to end detention of rape survivors,
for cash benefits, and for recognition of rape as persecution
Black, immigrant and refugee women can make visible our work of defending
ourselves and our families against immigration authorities and the
police in the Global Women's Strike on 8th March 2000. We are helping
co-ordinate the Strike with other women internationally.
BWWFH works with women and their children forced to survive on about
£50 per week, in dilapidated housing and in male-dominated hostels,
deprived of basic services. Women are entitled to these resources.
Long before coming to Britain as immigrants and asylum seekers, Black
and Third World women contributed to the welfare of Britain and Europe
generally. As we move into the new Millennium, we must ensure that
every life is valued, that everyone is entitled to protection from
rape and other torture and to claim the money and resources we need
which our work helped create.
For more information about the Asylum from Rape Petition and the Petition
Working Group, contact:
Black Women for Wages for Housework
Crossroads Women's Centre
230A Kentish Town Road, London NW5 2AB, Tel: 020 7482 2496; Fax: 0207
209 4761 |
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