Resource

This collection of global research provides further evidence to the Helen Bamber Foundation’s recommendations that people seeking asylum in the UK should have access to quality, suitable housing in communities (not camps or hotels), and the use of immigration detention should be significantly reduced.

While we welcome the parts of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill that repeal the Safety of Rwanda Act 2024 and parts of the Illegal Migration Act 2023, the Bill does not go far enough to undo the harmful legislation that has been introduced in recent years. We are alarmed by the introduction of yet further criminal offences that could easily be applied to refugees as opposed to smugglers and traffickers.

This is the first research project to explore asylum-seekers' personal experiences and perceptions of undergoing a medico-legal reports (MLR). We interviewed six people to understand how asylum-seekers make sense of and experience undergoing an MLR, and specifically which parts may be distressing or potentially therapeutic.