‘This LGBT+ History Month, let’s demand an end to LGBTQI+ detention in the UK’
A trans man from Brazil recently contacted us at Rainbow Migration for support. He told us that he had been locked up in immigration detention, with no idea of when he would be set free.
He also said that he had been kept isolated in the psychiatric ward of the centre for weeks and that that was “destroying his mental health”. He had panic and anxiety attacks.
After repeatedly asking for mental health support, he got to see a doctor who treated him “like rubbish” and told him he couldn’t do anything for him.
Another gay man who contacted us from detention a few months ago said he had to hide his sexual orientation to stay safe, but was still worried because he feared he’d be targeted because of his feminine appearance. Struggling with hopelessness, he said he had been thinking about ending his life.
These stories are not isolated incidents but reflect a broader systemic issue and a harrowing reality in the UK. They are just two of many LGBTQI+ people seeking safety in the UK who have contacted us at Rainbow Migration for emotional, practical, and legal support from detention.
Imagine fleeing your home and being forced to leave everything behind, because a family member nearly killed you for being gay. You might have relatives or friends in the UK, and decide to seek safety here. Once you get here, rather than finding safety and understanding, you find yourself locked up. Instead of the care and compassion you hoped for, you face isolation, fear and further trauma.
Hundreds of LGBTQI+ people are put in prison-like conditions every year, while they try to navigate our asylum and immigration system. The government claims that detention is mostly used when a person is about to be removed from the country, but in 2023, 60% of people who were detained were eventually released back into the community.
Detention is harmful for everyone, but it has even more devastating effects on LGBTQI+ people. Research and evidence shows that inside, many are subjected to LGBTQI-phobic abuse and harassment from others detained there or even from staff. They are also isolated from community groups and networks and can be exposed to situations that resemble the experiences they fled.
It doesn’t have to be this way. The government could instead support people to live in communities and to access advice on their immigration status. This would be a compassionate approach that would give LGBTQI+ people the chance to live safely and with dignity while claiming asylum in the UK.
So what can we do about it? The government announced it is reviewing its policy on ‘Adults at Risk in Immigration Detention’ by the spring. This is a policy that aims to protect people who are at additional risk of harm from detention and can prevent them from being detained. Although the policy currently recognises the harms that trans and intersex people face in detention, it doesn’t include the rest of the LGBTQI+ community, and therefore doesn’t recognise them as being at high risk of harm if detained. Added to that, the existing safeguards were weakened after recent changes to official government guidance.
This government needs to use the review it is conducting right now to make sure the policy is more effective at safeguarding the people it is meant to protect, including trans and intersex people, and also add the rest of the LGBTQI+ community. By doing that, they could take huge steps towards ending the detention of LGBTQI+ people once and for all.
As we come together this LGBT History Month against the backdrop of a global pushback against LGBTQI+ rights, particularly trans rights, it is crucial to keep fighting for the rights of those who have been sidelined and kept out of the public eye.
Let’s raise our voices and urge this government to make history by ending the cruelty of past government policies and protect LGBTQI+ lives.
You can help by asking your MP to write to the Home Office today.
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