Source · Select Committees · Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 4
4
Not Addressed
Paragraph: 52
Review and publish an action plan for implementing gender-sensitive asylum interview guidance effectively.
Recommendation
The Home Office document, ‘Gender issues in the asylum claim’, includes very welcome guidance on gender sensitive asylum interview practice, including on meeting claimants’ requests for female interviewers, providing childcare where necessary and allowing female claimants to have a friend or other companion present to provide emotional or medical support. It is regrettable that awareness of 72 Equality and the UK asylum process these policies among asylum-seeking women appears to be low and that requests, when made, often go unmet. It is crucial that all asylum-seeking women are aware of the opportunity to make gender sensitive interview requests, and that such requests are met. We recommend that the Home Office immediately carries out, and publishes within three months, a review of the implementation of its gender sensitive interview guidance, including requests for female interviewers and interpreters, provision of childcare, and presence at substantive interviews of emotional and medical support companions. Alongside this review, it should publish an action plan to ensure all female asylum claimants are aware of these policies and requests made in accordance with the guidance are met.
Government Response Summary
The government describes its existing processes for informing asylum claimants about gender-sensitive interview options and for attempting to meet requests. However, it does not commit to carrying out the recommended review of implementation or publishing an action plan, noting it does not record request data in an aggregable way.
Paragraph Reference:
52
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
In relation to the recommendation at paragraph 52, women who claim asylum can request a female interviewing officer and interpreter if this would make them feel more able to disclose sensitive information. They can also request to bring a friend or companion with them to the interview to provide support if there are exceptional circumstances, assuming that it is not otherwise inappropriate for them to attend, for example because they are separately claiming asylum themselves. We do not expect claimants to disclose sensitive information in front of children and recognise the importance of childcare to give claimants the space they need to disclose relevant information. Asylum claimants are provided with an information booklet at screening, which includes information on the asylum process and the support available, including during the interview. They are asked at screening and in the invitation to interview letter if they have a gender preference for their interviewer and interpreter. Further, the invitation to interview letter provides answers to frequently asked questions, which includes information on requesting a male or female interviewer and interpreter, who can accompany claimants in the interview and information regarding childcare. We do not record the number of requests made by female asylum seekers to have a female interviewer in a way that can be easily aggregated so we cannot provide figures for this response. However, claimants are asked at the screening interview if they would like a male or female interviewer. They are also asked again in the invitation to interview letter and advised to telephone us if they have a preference; in cases when they have not advised us, we do our best to arrange this. When a request for a male or female interviewer or interpreter is made in advance of the interview, every effort is made to meet this requirement as far as operationally possible. If this requirement cannot be met on the scheduled day the interview is normally re-arranged.