On Wednesday, Refugee Women Connect’s Head of Policy and Advocacy Pip McKnight gave evidence to the Women and Equalities Committee enquiry alongside Annie and Roxanna from VOICES Network UK Priscilla Dudhia from Women for Refugee Women and Kathryn Cronin from Garden Court Chambers.

Together they called for better gender sensitivities in the asylum system and an end to the culture of disbelief that increases the trauma that so many women have already suffered.

 

Roxanna from VOICES Network UK describes the dehumanising experience of becoming an asylum seeker.

 

 
Priscilla from Women for Refugee Women calls for structural and cultural change to address the hostility experienced by women seeking sanctuary at the hands of the Home Office and Government contractors. 
 

  

Pip from RWC discusses the practical and structural barriers to healthcare that women in the asylum system face.

 

 

We thank the committee for hearing our evidence and in particular, for giving the Annie and Roxanna the space to tell their stories.  We ask that they act with urgency to prevent further harms to women and girls in the wake of the Anti Refugee Bill and prioritise safety in the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

 

The full hearing can be viewed here 

https://www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/769e8cc8-afa4-4005-81c8-6208cd4c2dcd