Home Office detaining sexual violence victims in breach of its own guidelines, finds report (The Independent) (1 November 2017)

Toufique Hossain, Director of Public Law and Immigration, is quoted in the Independent’s report on research conducted by charity Women for Refugee Women. The findings have revealed that out of those women detained 85% were victims of sexual assault or other gender related abuse. Toufique discusses the Home Office’s disregard for the mental health and well-being of woman detained in immigration detention centres that have experienced sexual or gender-based violence. This comes after a High Court ruling deemed the Home Office’s ‘Adults at Risk’ policy, on torture victims only qualifying as vulnerable adults if they have received torture from a state actor, to be unlawful. Toufique is quoted: "When confronted by survivors of sexual and gender-based violence the Secretary of State turns her face and detains them. It has long been established that such survivors should not be detained because they are particularly vulnerable and are at a higher risk of being re-traumatised in detention."