Home Office officials are preparing to translate guidance telling asylum seekers not to rape or beat women into multiple languages. The literature, signed off by Home Office ministers, will be translated to “ensure there are no barriers to comprehension”. The Government is refusing to say which dialects the guidance will be adapted into.
Political backlash
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch warned the guidance effectively confirms some arrivals pose a danger to women and girls. She said: “Anyone needing this leaflet does not belong in Britain. I’ve been warning for a long time that not all cultures are equal. Britain can be proudly multi-ethnic, but we should not be multicultural.”
Allies of Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood distanced her from the document, saying it “didn’t go anywhere near” her. But Home Office ministers did sign off the documents amid widespread fury.
Content of the guidance
In the booklet for asylum seekers, officials said: “Women do not need permission from a husband, father, brother or any other man to do any of these things. Men and women are treated equally by the law, by employers, by schools and by services like hospitals and the police. It is against the law to treat someone unfairly because of their gender.”
Migrants are told domestic abuse is illegal and that the age of consent in the UK is 16. Immigration chiefs warn: “Sex with someone under the age of 16 is a serious crime in the UK. There are no exceptions to this rule. Even if they say yes, it is still illegal. You could go to prison, lose your support and accommodation, and it will affect your asylum claim.” Migrants are also told not to deny children food, or “cut or harm a girl's genitals”.
The document details what rape is, insisting that “consent” is needed in every sexual situation. It states: “This means even if you are married or in a relationship with someone, they must consent to sex every time. If you have sex with someone without their consent, this is called rape. Rape is a serious crime in the UK. You could go to prison, lose your support and accommodation, and it will affect your asylum claim.”
Government and opposition responses
Prime Minister Andy Burnham defended the leaflet and posters, insisting it is right to make it “explicitly clear” what the UK’s societal norms and laws are. He said: “As a Government, we have a very clear principle: if you break UK law, you will be removed from the country and we have seen that in relation to immigration, where removals are significantly up. I’m currently working to ensure that foreign national offenders who can be removed from the prison system are removed from that system. So it follows that if we’re taking this approach, it’s made explicitly clear what the UK law is and what the societal norms of the UK are, and that’s why this approach is being taken.”
Shadow Home Office Minister Katie Lam said: “Despite telling the public that illegal migrants pose no risk to the public, it's beyond telling that the Home Office feels the need to release a leaflet telling illegal migrants that rape is wrong, that sex with children is wrong, and that men and women are equal. The fact that this has to be spelled out at all is a damning indictment of the kind of people that the Government is letting into this country. Rather than telling dangerous illegal migrants that crimes against women and girls may count against their asylum application, they must be detained and quickly removed to either their home country or a safe third country. That's the bare minimum required to keep the public, especially women and girls, safe.”
Reform’s Laila Cunningham said: “The first duty of government is to protect the people. Their latest crazy campaign proves that the Home Office knows the risks — yet they’re still letting hordes of illegal migrants into our country. Guides on how not to beat, rape or mutilate women and girls won’t cut it. Enough of the could-have, should-have, would-have. It’s time to act.”
Tory MP Ben Obese-Jecty said: “Aside from framing rape like stealing a bike, this incredible collection of documents from the Home Office lays bare the core issue that the Government simply doesn’t want to face. That men from cultures which are incompatible with ours are arriving who pose a danger to women, to children and to society in general. A leaflet isn’t going to curb these cultural behaviours, yet Andy Burnham is determined to spread this risk across the country, telling middle-class families they must “play their part”.”
Asylum statistics
Analysis of Government records show asylum seekers from Pakistan, Eritrea, Iran, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sudan, India, Somalia, Nigeria and Vietnam make up the top 10 nationalities seeking sanctuary in the UK. Britain's asylum crisis was laid bare by the Home Office as 93,525 sought sanctuary in the UK last year, down from 106,130 in the previous 12 months. An alarming 38,980 people applied after crossing the Channel on a dinghy, while 36,711 claimed refuge after arriving on a study, work or visitor visa. Of this group, 10,835 held a study visa, 13,994 arrived on a work visa, 7,048 used a visitor visa and 4,834 held other forms of leave.
