Women who have fled war are being forced into sex work in the UK because of the extreme poverty of their living conditions here, while almost half cannot afford sanitary products, according to research.
In a report looking at the impact of theHome Office’s near-total ban on employment for people seeking asylum, the charity Women for Refugee Women has found that 10% of women interviewed have been forced into sex work in order to survive, in many cases to feed their children, while 38% were forced into abusive relationships or situations. Almost half could not afford basics like sanitary products and about 80% could not afford clothes, public transport or phone credit.
It is the first research that specifically looks at the impact of the work ban on women.
Women make up about a fifth of adults seeking asylum in the UK, and at least two-thirds have experienced rape or other gender-based violence in their home countries.
The report, Safety and Survival: How the Work Ban Fuels Violence Against Women Seeking Asylum, interviewed 117 women from 33 different countries about the impact on them of the government’s ban on working, which affects most asylum seekers.
Ministers have resisted calls to allow people seeking asylum to work if their claims have not been processed within six months, for fears this would create a “pull factor” to the UK.
About 98% of interviewees said they wanted to work and contribute to society. Asylum support levels are now £49.18 a week for those in shared housing or £8.86 a week for people in hotels.
After claiming asylum one woman was made homeless, exploited and forced into sex work. “I became like a commercial sex worker, to have money,” she said, explaining that sometimes she provided sex in exchange for a place to sleep for the night.
A second woman who was desperate to provide food for her baby, who was lactose intolerant and could not drink hotel milk, signed up for a dating site in the hope of meeting a man who might help her. She was raped by a man she met on the site.
A third took an illegal job as a domestic cleaner. She was paid £1.50 an hour but felt she could not complain because of her immigration status. “I became like a slave to other people,” she said.
The charity is calling on Labour to give people seeking asylum the right to work after they have waited for six months for a decision on their asylum claim to reduce the risk of exploitation here due to having almost no money of their own.
The research team of seven women with experience of the UK’s asylum system, said: “As our report shows the ban on work has trapped women in abusive relationships or situations or forced them into sex work or other illicit work. We found that 85% of women felt anxious or depressed and 43% felt suicidal. This is a crisis.”
Andrea Vukovic, co-director of Women for Refugee Women, said: “As troubling as our findings are, it should come as no surprise to policymakers that vulnerable women, when forced into poverty and barred from working to support themselves, are pushed into exploitative and unsafe situations.”
A Home Office spokesperson said there are no plans to change existing rules about asylum seekers working.
“We are committed to delivering an asylum that is fair, efficient and sustainable – building on the wider government mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade,” they said.
“The Home Office provides asylum seekers with accommodation and support to meet their essential living needs if they would otherwise be destitute. We work carefully to ensure that the needs and vulnerabilities of those residing in asylum accommodation are identified and with partners on a range of initiatives, for example providing information about safeguarding and signposting to support services.”