International Women’s Day

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Miller, for putting the subject on the agenda and the noble Baroness, Lady Tonge, for mentioning the women in the rest of the world. I would like to talk about women from the rest of the world who are among us but not treated equally. I declare an interest as the patron of Solace and Refugee Action York. Both work with refugees; I work particularly with women. In this country, we are extremely fortunate to have recognised the differing needs of women in detention. The landmark decision piloted by the noble Baroness, Lady Corston, has allowed doorways to be opened for the differentiated treatment of women. Unfortunately, in the case of women detainees in detention centres, such rights are not recognised or respected. Many are detained without having committed or being guilty of anything, and without any criminal charges, while their destiny is being decided. The doors of their homes are broken open. They are dragged into prison-like conditions in detention centres, often accompanied by their children. Sometimes the children are on their own; according to Sir Al Aynsley-Green, then Children’s Commissioner, 2,000 children were detained in 2008, the last year for which we have data. Families are split up. One mother in Yarl’s Wood detention centre has been there for 11 months while her children—British citizens—are looked after by families. The facilities open to such women are appalling. They have been so bad that women went on hunger strike in February, 20 of them for three weeks. One of my colleagues contacted one of them; they were asking for fairer immigration hearings, for better access to bail for detainees and for the law to be put into practice to stop the forcible and degrading removal of women and families. Denise McNeil said of her conditions that there was no water in the tap and no flushing toilets. Because she was on suicide watch, her telephone conversations were being monitored. Her children are staying with families; one goes to school and the other does not. Verna Joseph, who is from St Lucia and was another striker, won her case with the Home Office. She cannot go back because of what happened to her; she had been kidnapped and raped. She has been in Yarl’s Wood for six months and says that she is illegally detained. She cannot walk around without being observed and her letters are opened. A third hunger striker tried to hang herself. She complained that lies were being told and said that, if she did one session of cleaning, she earned £1. One carton of orange juice costs £1.20 and there is a charge of 10p a day for a mobile phone. Even basic survival is difficult. Matters are not helped by the new detained fast track—DFT. Human Rights Watch suggests that women with complex asylum claims, often based on rape and violence, are rushed through. It is estimated that 70 per cent of the women in Yarl’s Wood are victims of violence. There are women such as Fatima, whose husband is powerful in his local area, who are subject to domestic violence. There are women such as Xiuxiu from China, who was trafficked into England. Once they are put on DFT, they are immediately taken to Yarl’s Wood and interviewed. If refused—in 2008, 96 per cent of claims were—they are allowed two days for appeal and then the appeal is heard within 11 days. From start to finish, the process takes two weeks. That is simply not enough time for vulnerable women who are not accustomed to talk to strangers about terrible things that have happened to them to get themselves together, let alone get their evidence together. Some cases being considered by the Home Affairs Committee in the other place were exacerbated by accusations of racial discrimination. Plainly, detention in a secure unit cannot be in the best interests of asylum-seeking women. The detention of women who are abused and cannot speak for themselves is unacceptable in a civilised society. We would not wish it to happen to our own women, so why do we inflict it on others? There are many humane and non-custodial alternatives and I hope that we move towards those.