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We don’t ask for a luxury life

The health, safety and well-being of babies and their mothers in dispersal asylum accommodation in the UK

Executive Summary

Recommendations

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Contacts

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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Background: The accommodation provided for parents and young children seeking asylum in the UK is widely reported to be inadequate and may put these children at increased risk of injury or death. This collaborative project between Amma and the Durham Infancy and Sleep Centre sought to investigate the experiences of mothers and babies allocated dispersal accommodation in Glasgow.

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Research Questions: This project sought to answer the following question:

How do the experiences of dispersal asylum accommodation in Glasgow affect the health, safety, and well-being of mothers and babies?

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Methods: Participants were recruited through the Amma network. Photo-elicitation methods were used, whereby participants took photos of their accommodation to illustrate issues of child safety or well-being. Focus groups were also utilised to gather more experiences of mothers who had cared for babies in dispersal accommodation.

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Discussion: Topics discussed in the interviews and focus group included experiences of living in unsafe and impractical accommodation and in poorly maintained flats that contained dangerously flimsy furniture, and difficulties in obtaining safe housing and keeping babies and toddlers safe. The topics highlighted three key themes: fear, fear-mongering, and unsafe situations; frustration, stress, hostility, and intimidation; and developing agency, asserting rights, and being punished.

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Recommendations: Recommendations to address the issues revealed are offered at the close of the report. These emphasise the importance of meeting the national requirements for the minimum standard of accommodation for families including babies and children, and ensuring that housing providers enact the principles of the Declaration of Human Rights in all interactions with the people in their care.

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RECOMMENDATIONS

  • Provide appropriate equipment for families with babies so they can follow safe sleep guidelines as standard practice. 
  • Ensure families with babies are allocated to accommodation where there is sufficient space for baby’s cot to be located in parents’ room. 
  • Ensure all accommodation for families with babies and small children is adequately baby-proofed with stair gates, cupboard locks, secured furniture etc. 
  • Do not house mothers and babies in accommodation where drug dealing and other anti-social behaviour is present.
  • Do not house mothers with babies/small children in flats above the first floor where there is no (working) lift. 
  • Implement a priority system to expedite urgent repairs to heating systems, electricity, refrigeration, hygiene facilities etc. for those with babies and small children. 
  • Set up tracking system for requests for repairs and equipment so residents’ requests are logged promptly, responded to efficiently, and everyone can see what is outstanding and when it will be actioned. 
  • Provide training for Housing Officers in appropriate communication skills and respect for residents’ privacy (including notice of visits). 
  • Make clear that use of intimidation and fear-based tactics are inappropriate ways of treating clients.
  • Ensure the national requirements for the minimum standard of accommodation are implemented for people seeking asylum with babies and children (paying attention to child safety, habitability, and being fit for purpose).
  • Involve those with lived experience in the asylum process in decision-making processes and strategy development, alongside relevant third-sector support organisations. 
  • Ensure that housing providers enact the principles of the Declaration of Human Rights in all interactions with the people in their care. 

Contacts

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Durham Infancy & Sleep Centre

Department of Anthropology

Durham University

Stockton Road, Durham

DH1 3BN

www.dur.ac.uk/DISC

infancy.sleep.centre@durham.ac.uk


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Amma Birth Companions

5th Floor, 1 Cadogan Square

51 Cadogan Street

Glasgow

G2 7HF

www.ammabirthcompanions.org

info@ammabirthcompanions.org