The BBC’s claims do not reflect reality.

Our organisations see victim-survivors facing suspicion, delays and barriers to safety. Misuse is the exception, not the norm.

With 92 organisations, we reject this framing and call for evidence-led change ooted in lived experience.

We need to end the hostile environment, not create a moral panic against LGBT asylum seekers Government policies are creating the conditions through which unethical actors can profit

Want the facts about LGBTQIA+ people seeking asylum?
Here's a legal expert explaining the reality behind last week's narrow, misleading "investigation" by the BBC:
leftfootforward.org/2026/04/we-n...

Reform would review all asylum claims from the last five years The current Labour government has already announced major crackdowns on immigration, including disrupting gangs.

This is what happens when our leaders refuse to stand up for sanctuary.
This horrific idea would once have been unthinkable, but attacks on asylum rights under successive Governments have emboldened anti-migrant politicians.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A black young woman looking seriously at the camera. Text read - Olu, a lesbian from Nigeria: “The asylum process has been really heartbreaking for me. I was expecting to be welcomed, to be embraced, and that they [the government] would help me out, but they are adding more terror into my life.”

Today marks the start of Lesbian Visibility Week and we wanted to share these words from Olu.🏳️‍🌈❣️

We are happy to say that Olu was granted refugee status in 2024. You can read her story here: buff.ly/zh1EzcV

Families belong together! 🫂

Yet, in September last year, the Government suddenly suspended refugee family reunion.

Blessing – who was able to reunite with her children before this cruel suspension – shares her experience to demonstrate why family reunion is so important. 👇

1/🧵

Recent BBC articles highlight misconduct by a small number of unscrupulous advisers who charge thousands to fabricate asylum claims. This is fraud & must be stopped. But the coverage is selective, harmful & risks obscuring the wider reality of access to legal advice. 🧵

This week's BBC coverage about fraudulent 'immigration advisers' has sparked concern across the sector. Our full statement can be found on our website, but we've broken it down for you. 🧵

Great to see this guide launch on how to talk about about the weaponisation of #VAWG as part of the #NotInOurName campaign by @sbsisters.bsky.social & partners @evawuk.bsky.social @4refugeewomen.bsky.social @lawrsuk.bsky.social @imkaanuk.bsky.social @asylummatters.bsky.social & Hibiscus Initiatives👏

"False Domestic Abuse Claims": Exception, Not the Norm - Southall Black Sisters We are aware of the BBC’s investigation into allegations of individuals facilitating false domestic abuse claims via the Migrant Victims of

BBC’s claims on MVDAC-DVILR misuse do not reflect frontline reality. Misuse is the exception, not the norm.

With 92 organisations, we reject this framing and call for evidence-led debate rooted in lived experience.

Read the full statement: southallblacksisters.org.uk/news/false-d...

Behaviour by a small number of bad-faith actors does not reflect the reality of LGBTQI+ people seeking asylum - Rainbow Migration Almost 70 countries criminalise same-sex relations, some with the death penalty. The UK government itself recognises that in Pakistan consensual same-sex

We are aware of the BBC’s investigation into individuals allegedly helping people fabricate LGBTQI+ asylum claims. Read the full statement on our website:

Women and girls should be able to live a life free from violence. However, many people in power are using the issue of violence against women and girls as a way to spread misinformation and hatred, benefiting their own agendas. (1/4) 🧵

Not In Our Name: VAWG Weaponisation Guide - Southall Black Sisters Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is not a tool for political point-scoring. It is not a justification for racism, xenophobia,

Women and girls should be able to live a life free from violence. However, many people are using the issue of violence against women and girls as a way to spread misinformation and hatred, benefiting their own agendas. (1/4)

Read our guide: southallblacksisters.org.uk/news/not-in-...

Mahmood’s migration changes will deliver fraction of claimed savings, data suggests Exclusive: Analysis of government figures indicates public finances will gain £600m not £10bn if migrants’ access to benefits is reduced

The human arguments against Mahmood's earned settlement model are obvious. It will make families' lives far worse & hinder their ability to reach their potential in the UK.
But now the economic arguments are falling apart too.
The govt must scrap these plans now.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Read the full guide - and share it with anyone who might find it useful - at:
asylummatters.org/2026/04/14/c...

This guide aims to equip you with the knowledge and tactics you need to communicate about this issue persuasively.
That doesn’t mean watering down the hard truths about what’s going on – it’s about framing these truths in a way that maximises the chances they’ll be heard, considered, and acted on.

So we're proud to have worked with our friends at @evawuk.bsky.social @4refugeewomen.bsky.social @sbsisters.bsky.social @lawrsuk.bsky.social @imkaanuk.bsky.social and Hibiscus to produce a guide for anyone alarmed by how VAWG is being weaponised to stoke division.

How we talk about and respond to this issue matters. We need politicians, journalists and the people in our lives to understand the reality about VAWG, so we can do what's needed to end it, and so that more women and girls aren't put at risk of harm.

And it’s increasing the risk of harm and marginalisation of Black, minoritised and migrant victim-survivors.

Far from ‘protecting’ women and girls, it’s making all women and girls more unsafe.

This tactic is nothing new, and its impact is devastating.

It’s reinforcing the ‘stranger-danger’ myth, taking political and public attention away from the real causes of and solutions to violence against women and girls.

But some politicians and others are using arguments about VAWG to justify their anti-migrant stance. They blame people who've moved to the UK for everything that’s wrong in people’s lives - all for political gain.
And they use claims about violence against women as a powerful tool in this campaign.

Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is caused by inequality between men and women - and it's endemic to our society. In the UK, two women every week are murdered by a current or former partner.
It's a structural problem, which means it has a structural solution. We can, and must, end VAWG.

All women and girls should be able to live free from violence.
But you might have noticed more people using false or misleading claims about gendered violence to justify political attacks on people seeking sanctuary and other minoritised people.
Here's why that's a problem - and how to respond:
🧵 👇

Women for Refugee Women - Not In Our Name: A Practical Guide Not In Our Name, our practical guide aims to equip you with the knowledge and tactics you need to communicate with the people in your life about immigration.

🚨 Public figures, journalists, and even politicians are distorting violence against women and girls to further their anti-migrant and anti-women agendas.

This is #NotInOurName.

That's why we've created a practical guide to tackle this:
www.refugeewomen.co.uk/not-in-our-n... 1/🧵

Home Office to announce closure of 11 asylum hotels in next week Exclusive: closures are part of pledge by Labour to end all use of hotels for asylum seekers by end of this parliament

No one should be forced to live in squalid converted hotels. But closing hotels must mean housing people in real homes, in communities - NOT ex-military camps.
Real homes are safer, more dignified - and 5x cheaper per-night than camps.

#CommunitiesNotCamps

April 9th 2026 - At least four people are killed in the Channel - statement. — Humans for Rights Network At Least Four People Killed During Channel Crossing Attempt Joint Statement from Humans for Rights Network and Project Play | 9th April 2026 This morning, at least four people lost their lives whilst trying to board a small boat to cross the English Channel. Over 40 others were rescued. O

Yesterday morning at least four people were killed whilst attempting to cross the English Channel. Our thoughts are with their friends, family and loved ones - and with all those forced to risk their lives seeking safety.
Read the statement here - www.humansforrights.org/blog/2026/4/...

"All of these deaths are preventable through the creation of safe routes.

"We're sending hundreds of millions of pounds to France to fund the policing operation there, and this policing operation includes the snatching of life vests from people.

Four people die in Channel small-boat sinking At least 42 others rescued after incident in strong currents off coast of Boulogne

These tragic deaths come just over a week after two people died in the Channel.

Each death is a tragedy and completely avoidable.

Our thoughts are with their loved ones and all who were on the boat.

We urgently need safe routes.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Four people die in Channel small-boat sinking At least 42 others rescued after incident in strong currents off coast of Boulogne

Four people dead. 42 more people who've survived but now have to live with the trauma and terror of a near-death boat sinking.

All completely avoidable.

Our Government chose this. They can chose differently. Safe routes save lives.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Each life lost is a tragedy.

These children came to the UK for protection, and the Government failed them.

Then, the Government withheld information about their deaths. Horrifying.

#KnowTheirNames

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

More than 50 young asylum seekers have died in UK since 2015, data shows Figures gathered from children’s services and health trusts show 31 deaths were suicides, including six in under-18s

Utterly horrifying.

These young people sought safety here in the UK. Not only did our Government fail to protect them, it's still fighting not to release information about the deaths of people seeking sanctuary.

#KnowTheirNames
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...