Concern over women's immigration detention facility in England

There have been increasing calls to close Derwentside, the only women's immigration detention facility in the UK. The most vulnerable women are housed in this infamous center.

 Where is Derwentside?  

One of England's eight immigration detention facilities, Derwentside was established in 2021 primarily to house immigrant women and asylum seekers, a practice known as pre-deportation detention that took the place of the notorious Earls Wood detention facility.

Concerns regarding the women detained in Derwentside during the British government's attempts to send migrants to other nations, including African nations, have been raised by the conditions of these women.

 A 70-million-pound contract for the transfer of internal administration with a multinational corporation with operations in 70 countries and 4.5 billion dollars in revenue was signed on September 1, 2023. Critics and human rights organizations claim that because the company wants to cut detention expenses, the conditions for those who are detained are harsher, which exacerbates the situation of migrants and asylum seekers detained in the Derwentside.

The latest statistics on immigrant women detained in England are from December 2023; at that time, 86 immigrant women and asylum seekers were detained in England.  

Most of the residents of Derwentside are women who are among the most affected people. They require special care to heal and resume their regular lives because they are primarily victims of sexual violence, human trafficking, abuse, exploitation, etc.

Some of the women formerly incarcerated in Derwentside talk about the experience of violating their rights in this center. These experiences are first-hand narratives of cruelty and injuries inflicted on them during detention. A report by England's prison watchdog found that one in five women on Derwentside felt suicidal, while more than two-thirds felt depressed.

 The terrible state of England's immigration detention facilities

According to an investigation, there are major legal violations at England's eight primary pre-deportation detention facilities. As one of the detention facilities prior to the deportation of immigrants, Harmondsworth is in a startling state, and roughly 500 of the inmates were extremely suicidal, according to the report written about the situation there. Numerous allegations of racism, excessive force, and physical abuse by Harmondsworth staff have also surfaced.

Another immigration detention facility, Earl's Wood, has also been deemed to be in a critical state. Numerous accounts exist of immigrants being held in this facility for longer than two and a half years. Although a significant portion of this detention facility is used to house male immigrants, it also houses female immigrants, which sparked ongoing, intense protests.

 Human rights abuses have been widely reported at another immigration detention facility in England, Brookhouse. There has been a startling increase in the use of force against the detainees in this facility.