The Nationality and Borders Bill 2021-22 that is currently passing through the House of Lords will see drastic changes in an already hostile environment for migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. In particular, there will be an increase of migrants with the No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) condition imposed on them. Ubuntu Women Shelter is a specialist by-and-for organisation based in Glasgow and the first dedicated shelter for women with NRPF in Scotland. Women who access our support are destitute, have been subject to various forms of gender-based violence and often have no clear immigration route or have been refused migration options. Our holistic interventions focus on recovery and structural transformation. We support a woman on her journey to safety and possibility. Our focus on mental health and wellbeing serves a wider purpose of alleviating emotional and psychological harm. Through our work close to the ground we have witnessed the wounds caused by borders and neo-colonial immigration and asylum policies.
We will be attending the Socio-Legal Studies Association (SLSA) Annual Conference in York on the 6-8th of April 2022 and presenting our poster and booklets. Our presentation will a) visibilize and evidence the psychological harm of the NRPF condition on migrant women - an intentional byproduct of immigration law, and b) map strategies of resistance and subversion developed by the women we support to disrupt and redirect extractive resource flows that defined slavery, colonisation and now the ‘hostile/compliant’ environment to care for themselves and their families.
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