Women for Refugee Women

20/08/2026

Yesterday, the Government released guidance on how people seeking asylum in the UK should behave.

The Guide:
❌Reinforces anti-migrant rhetoric
❌Scapegoats people seeking asylum
❌Distorts the reality of violence against women and girls
❌Distracts from its root causes
❌Impedes access to support and justice for survivors

We reject this scapegoating.

If the Government is serious about tackling violence against women and girls it must promote an evidence-based understanding of it and invest in specialist services.

All women deserve better than divisive narratives that trade on fear while doing little to address the realities of violence.

Read our full statement:

Our statement on the harmful "Understanding behaviours and expectations in the UK" guide released by the Home Office on 19 August 2026.

14/08/2026

🚨 Under the UK-France scheme:

❌ Over 100 children have been wrongly detained as adults
❌ People have been detained for over 6 months, despite 28-day guidance
❌ People needing hospital treatment were prepared for forcible deportation, instead of receiving care

This cruel trade in people’s lives must end now.

Failure to end the UK-France deal will inevitably result in further harm and trauma for people seeking safety in the UK.

As long as detention exists, we’ll continue to support women in detention with legal, pastoral and wellbeing support. 💜

Figures emerge in critical letter to Home Office from organisation appointed to scrutinise detention facilities

28/07/2026

75 years ago, the world made a promise.⁣

The Refugee Convention was created in the aftermath of war to ensure that people fleeing persecution could find protection, safety, and dignity.⁣

For 75 years, it has saved lives across the world.⁣

Today, this promise is under attack.⁣

Access to asylum is being restricted and refugee rights are being challenged. By hostile laws, by demonisation and scapegoating, and by a prioritisation of cruelty and division. ⁣

This anniversary is a call to action.⁣ 📣✊

We call on the Government to uphold the Convention, defend the right to seek asylum, and ensure people seeking asylum can rebuild their lives.⁣

The right to seek safety should never be up for debate.⁣

Today and every day: ⁣ 💜

27/07/2026

We're proud to join 200+ charities calling on the Prime Minister to change course from cruelty to compassion.

The PM must:

❌Scrap plans to house people in ex-military sites
❌Scrap the £10k refugee tax
❌Challenge harmful rhetoric
❌Scrap the Asylum and Immigration Bill
✅Reinstate family reunion
✅Increase safe routes
& much more.

🗣️"Our message to Andy Burnham is simple: you don’t have to keep doing this. It’s perfectly possible to build an asylum system with welcome at its heart that is both efficient and cost effective."

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/burnham-asylum-refugees-shabana-mahmood-37471833 Coordinated by Asylum Matters ✊

EXCLUSIVE: More than 200 charities have called on Andy Burnham to tear up large parts of Shabana Mahmood's asylum plans - including a £10,000 'refugee tax' and the use of military sites

23/07/2026

Our term has come to an end, and what a year it's been! 💜

To celebrate a year of community, resilience, and sisterhood, we came together for our summer party last week.

In the party, the women we support shared their experiences of being part of WRW - building community, forming lasting friendships, and finding strength in one another.

Their stories keep us going!

And of course, we had a blast with delicious food, games, dancing, and plenty of laughter!

We’re so grateful for the incredible community we've built together, and we can't wait to welcome more women in the year ahead. 🌸

21/07/2026

Another new Prime Minister.
Another Cabinet reshuffle.

What hasn't changed is decades of
⛔️ divisive rhetoric,
⛔️ the demonisation and scapegoating of people seeking safety for political gain,
⛔️ cruelty towards people fleeing persecution, and
⛔️ punitive policies targeting refugees.

We want change.

Change from harmful rhetoric to genuine protection.
Change from division to unity.
Change from hostility to hope.

We’ll keep fighting until that change comes ✊

20/07/2026

Hi Andy Burnham 👋

On your first day as Prime Minister, refugee women in our network have a short message for you. We hope you'll take a moment to hear directly from women who are rebuilding their lives here in the UK.


🗣️ ‘‘Hi Andy,
Congratulations on becoming the Prime Minister. Welcome!

The UK is a brilliant place of community, diversity, and freedom with a proud history of providing sanctuary to those in need.

But this tradition is now under attack.

By hostile narratives,
by divisive politics,
And by policies that undermine the right to seek safety.

Today, people like me no longer feel safe here.

We fear years spent in limbo.
We fear separation from our families.
We fear being pushed into poverty.
We fear a future with no certainty.
And we fear riots.

But you can change that.

Lead the way in Parliament and talk about people seeking safety with humanity.
Treat people seeking asylum with compassion.
Reject policies that will cause trauma and harm.
Make the UK a place where people seeking safety can truly feel safe again.

Together, we can build a future
where we are united,
where we choose kindness over fear,
and where we can all live happily, safely and with dignity.

We hope to work with you to make this happen.
It’s your time to make a real difference.’’

17/07/2026

🗣️"The question is no longer whether detention causes harm. The evidence is clear that it does. The question is what the Government is prepared to do about it."

Read our joint op-ed on the HMIP report on the detention of women, AVID Detention & Scottish Detainee Visitors.

Left Foot Forward

The HM Chief Inspector of Prisons' latest report confirms what women have been saying for years: immigration detention causes profound harm

16/07/2026

The new Immigration and Asylum Bill is cruel, performative, and will cause huge harm to people seeking safety.

The Bill proposes to:
❌ Introduce a debt of £10k for those granted refugee status;
❌ Introduce new sponsorship routes based on employment, education and community;
❌ Restrict protections for survivors of modern slavery and trafficking;
❌ Overhaul the appeals process.

In its second reading, MPs argued that the Bill would take away rights, treat people badly, make it harder for families to stay together, and undermine the independence of the judiciary.

We are thankful to all the MPs who spoke out powerfully yesterday.


As the Bill continues to progress, we will:
👀 Keep a close eye on developments
🗣️ Work with parliamentarians to challenge the Bill
📣 Amplify the experiences and voices of refugee women

This Bill will not go unchallenged!

14/07/2026

📣 Hundreds of people joined us today for a vital discussion on challenging the weaponisation of violence against women and girls.

We discussed tools, tips and tricks on how to have productive conversations with people in our lives about VAWG and immigration.

Find out more and read our guide, , here: https://www.refugeewomen.co.uk/not-in-our-name-a-practical-guide/

Thank you to everyone who attended!

We know this is difficult work, but together we can make a difference.

With huge thanks to our collaborators, End Violence Against Women Coalition, Southall Black Sisters, LAWRS - Latin American Women's Rights Service, Asylum Matters and Hibiscus.

Not In Our Name, our practical guide aims to equip you with the knowledge and tactics you need to communicate with the people in your life about immigration.