Worries are increasing for members of the LGBTQ+ community seeking asylum who are residing in lodging arranged by the Home Office, as the government intensifies its Operation Maximise efforts to “squeeze” more individuals into hotel accommodations.
An investigation by Guardian revealed instances such as a transgender individual who resorted to sleeping on a staircase out of fear for their safety, and a gay individual who avoided getting undressed due to the excessive amount of homophobic harassment they faced.
The Home Office’s initiative, known as Operation Maximise, was implemented by immigration minister Robert Jenrick in an effort to control the increasing expenses of accommodating asylum seekers. As a result, individuals have been placed in cramped living quarters.
Public health officials discovered a scabies outbreak at a hotel after implementing a policy where guests shared rooms. NGOs have also reported instances where children of uncertain age were made to share rooms with adults who were not related to them.
Sources from the Home Office stated that the policy of sharing rooms adheres to the appropriate laws regarding space requirements, and that strong backup plans are in place to handle any occurrences of contagious illnesses.
The transgender man reported that he was violently attacked and sexually assaulted in his native country. Upon arriving in the UK, the Home Office housed him in a dormitory where he woke up to find some of his male roommates forcibly removing his clothing.
According to the individual, the hotel personnel deactivated his room key because he did not want to share a room. He was unable to comply and ended up sleeping on the staircase outside of the room, where he spent the night crying. This was the worst night he had experienced since arriving in the UK. Eventually, the Home Office acknowledged that he did not have to share a room.
A homosexual female individual informed the Guardian that she was coerced into signing a document consenting to sharing a room and was extremely fearful of potential repercussions.
She stated that she will need to conceal her identity in her own room. Many of us are facing mental health challenges and working to heal from past trauma, but the document I signed prevents me from objecting to sharing a room.
Emma Birks, representing the non-profit organization Asylum Matters, stated: “The current government policy of maximizing hotel usage has resulted in traumatized individuals being crowded into hotel rooms and other temporary accommodations. These conditions are causing both physical and mental harm to vulnerable people who have come to the UK seeking safety. It is important for individuals to be housed in welcoming communities rather than being stored away in hotels.”
The Hounslow council recently released a public health report that focuses on the high number of asylum seekers staying in hotels in the UK. The report highlights the negative impact of the room-sharing policy on the mental health of these individuals and states that their experience in hotels has worsened due to the new policy of maximizing occupancy.
A spokesperson for the Welsh government stated that they are against the policy of asylum seekers sharing rooms and mentioned that the Home Office has yet to enforce this policy in Wales.
A representative from the Home Office stated that in order to decrease the need for hotels, asylum seekers will regularly be placed in shared rooms with at least one other person when appropriate. This helps to lessen the impact on local communities as we establish other accommodations.
Source: theguardian.com
