“No one should be locked up indefinitely in a place they aren’t safe”
BY ELLA GAUCI, IMAGE BY PEXELS/CANVA
33 MPs have collectively written to ask the new Minister of State for Border Security and Asylum, Alex Norris, to keep LGBTQIA+ people from harm in detention.
As part of the National Day of Solidarity to End Immigration Detention (18 Oct), MPs like Olivia Blake, Nadia Whittome and Zarah Sultana signed a public letter requesting that the government recognise the greater risk of harm immigration detention poses for LGBTQIA+ people as they review its Adults at Risk in Immigration Detention (AAR) policy.
The letter read: “In their joint report, Stonewall and Rainbow Migration found that LGBTQI+ people are routinely harassed and abused in detention centres, that many feel forced to hide their sexual orientation and gender identity because they do not feel safe, and evidence that detention staff displayed discriminatory attitudes towards LGBTQI+ people in detention and failed to protect them from abuse”.
Currently, the government is reviewing its AAR policy, which was introduced in 2016, to improve its effectiveness. The AAR Policy was created in response to the Shaw Review, which found significant human rights abuses in immigration detention and risks to vulnerable people. At the time, Rainbow Migration, a charity which supports LGBTQIA+ people seeking asylum, provided evidence to show the harm queer people face in detention.
Minesh Parekh, Policy and Public Affairs Manager at Rainbow Migration, said: “LGBTQI+ people are bullied and discriminated against by staff and others inside detention centres. Many feel forced back into the closet, and the whole experience can resemble the situations they have fled from, risking re-traumatising them.”
“No one should be locked up indefinitely in a place they aren’t safe. The government must act now and prevent further harm.”
Olivia Blake MP, Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Migration, added: “No one should be locked up simply for fleeing violence or persecution. Immigration detention is a stain on our values. It is cruel, unnecessary, and too often strips people of hope and dignity. We must have an immigration system that is fair, humane, and rooted in respect for every person’s rights.”
No Pride In Detention is a campaign calling for an end to LGBTQIA+ detention and a 28-day limit for all immigration detention. You can find out more here.
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