'STATE SPONSORED CRUELTY' – Children in Immigration Detention
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‘State Sponsored Cruelty’ Children in immigration detention Jon Burnett, Judith Carter, Jon Evershed, Maya Bell Kohli, Claire Powell, and Gervase de Wilde Medical Justice seeking basic rights for detainees ‘State Sponsored Cruelty’ Children in immigration detention Jon Burnett, Judith Carter, Jon Evershed, Maya Bell Kohli, Claire Powell, and Gervase de Wilde Medical Justice Medical Justice is a network of doctors, lawyers, ex-detainees, and detention centre visitors. It is the only organisation dealing with the denial of adequate healthcare from immigration detainees in the UK. We believe that the harm being caused by immigration removal centres is so widespread that the only solution is to close them down. In the interim, we work to reform the institutions and to stand up for the rights of those incarcerated within them. Medical Justice currently handles approximately 1,000 cases a year. This core work consists of independent doctors assessing detainees, investigating inadequate healthcare provision, giving independent medical advice, challenging the denial of medication and care, and defending the rights of immigration detainees. Medical Justice also carries out research activities based on this case work, policy work in order secure reforms and changes, and litigation. Postal address: Medical Justice, 86 Durham Road, London, N7 7DT. Company Registration No. 6073571 Registered charity No. 1132072 General inquiries: [email protected] Phone: 020 7561 7498 Fax: 08450 529370 Website: http://www.medicaljustice.org.uk/ ‘State Sponsored Cruelty’: children in immigration detention is published in 2010 by Medical Justice. Copyright © Medical Justice 2010 ISBN Number: 978-0-9566784-0-9 Acknowledgements For editorial comments and advice we would like to thank (in no particular order) Harriet Wistrich, Dr Jonathan Fluxman, Professor Cornelius Katona, Dr Frank Arnold, Gill Butler, Christine Hogg, Dr Miriam Beeks, Dr Matthew Hodes, Dr Nick Lessof, Sheila Melzak, Puck de Raadt, Emma Ginn, and Theresa Schleicher. The Medical Justice working group on children in detention has been a consistent source of guidance, information, and expertise. We are indebted to all of those who have attended meetings, provided information, and offered recommendations. A special thank you must go to Emma Ginn and Theresa Schleicher of Medical Justice. Our biggest debt is to the detainees and ex-detainees whose cases are featured in this report. The illustrations for this report are provided by a girl who was detained in Yarl’s Wood in 2009. Her case is featured in this report and we would like to record our gratitude for allowing us to use these images. The illustrations on pages 26 and 46 are provided by Lucy Edkins. © Lucy Edkins Foreword It gives me no pleasure to write this foreword. It is almost has taken its title from Nick Clegg’s description of the inconceivable that in Britain, in 2010, a report should have detention of children as ‘state-sponsored cruelty’. Anyone to be written not merely about the detention of children, who reads this report will surely agree with him. but about the abuse and mistreatment these children have suffered or seen – allegedly carried out by individuals In producing this report, as well as in their previous directly employed by, or working on behalf of the British work, Medical Justice has performed an essential role government. in exposing the way in which human rights in the United Kingdom have been trampled underfoot over If you were to ask a person in the street about New the last decade. Their findings are shocking, and their Labour’s most disappointing policy decisions, you might recommendations compelling. Their work deserves as get a wide range of answers, many to do with civil liberties wide an audience as possible. For I am convinced that the and the disastrous invasion of Iraq. Less likely would more people read it, the less likely such a report will ever be an answer to do with the detention of children for be needed again. immigration purposes. Yet there is no clearer indication that New Labour – who started so brightly on human Julian Huppert MP rights – had lost their way. I am proud that this report The indefinite detention of children who have committed The findings of this report present a picture which, no crime is a source of national shame. Yet, as this report ultimately, suggests that in many cases children’s rights describes, it is exactly what has been happening. It makes are given less precedence than immigration control. for alarming reading, and reveals a catalogue of harm. This cannot be acceptable. There is more than enough Not only have children being mentally and physically evidence in what follows to support the recommendation damaged, they have been denied adequate medical care. that the detention of children for immigration purposes should end immediately. There is no need to continue a The exact total number of children who have been policy which causes untold suffering. It can stop, and it detained for immigration purposes is unknown. Accurate should do. figures are not available. Many of those who have been detained have been left severely traumatised. Some Jeremy Corbyn MP children have been hurt to such an extent that they have tried to end their own lives. In the House of Commons, in the corridor between ‘Would I volunteer to do this unpaid?’. The last is to the Central Lobby and the Gallery, is a plaque consider how I would feel if it happened to one of my commemorating the Kindertransport initiative - would family or to me. those 10,000 children be welcome today in similar circumstances? We now have an opportunity to stop, think, and apply these tests. No other children in the UK live with the threat The findings of this report suggest otherwise. of being taken from their home in early morning raids, and Approximately 1,000 children a year have been detained no other children live with the threat of being separated for immigration purposes. What follows shows that these from their parents so as to ensure they leave the country. children, who have committed no crime, have frequently Their detention is preventable, and as we abolish this been significantly and fundamentally damaged. indefinite imprisonment we have to ensure that this is not replaced by something equally as harmful. The first test of a policy can be: ‘If I had the professional duty to carry it out, how would I feel?’. The second is: Peter Bottomley MP ‘State Sponsored CRUELT Y ’ – Children in immigration detention 1 Contents Foreword . 1 Executive summary and recommendations. 5 About this report . .5 Key findings . 5 Recommendations. 6 Introduction . 8 The organisation and structure of the report . 9 Chapter One – The immigration detention and removal of children in the uk: Historical perspectives and current practices. 11 Introduction. 11 The number of detainees, and location and length of detention. 11 Figure 1(1) – the overall use of immigration detention. 11 Figure 1(2) – a brief history of the key institutions used to detain children and families. 12 Immigration detention: profits and politics. 13 Figure 1(3) – healthcare provision within the detention estate. 14 Reasons for detention. 15 Justifying immigration detention. 15 Chapter Two – The legal framework of detention. 16 Introduction. 16 Legal powers to detain. 16 Chapter Three – Constraints on the power to detain children and families. 17 Introduction. 17 United Nations instruments. 17 Figure 3(1) – key United Nations instruments constraining powers to detain children. 17 European international norms. 18 Figure 3(2) – European norms and standards constraining the power to detain children and families. 18 UK law and policy. 19 Chapter Four – The methodology used in this report. 20 Literature review. 20 Presentation and analysis of Medical Justice cases. 20 The sample of cases. 20 The use of data from Medical Justice cases. 21 Ethical considerations. 21 Informed consent. 22 Chapter Five – A demographic overview of the detainees in this report. 23 The years from which these cases are taken, age, place of birth, and gender of child detainees. 23 Figure 5(1) – Years when the children in this report were detained. 23 Figure 5(2) – The ages of the children in this report. 23 Figure 5(3) – The country of birth of children in this report. 24 Places of detention, lengths of time detained, and outcome of detention. 24 Figure 5(4) – Where children were detained. 24 Figure 5(5) – Other periods of detention prior to medical justice intervention. 24 Figure 5(6) – Length of time in the detention estate. 24 Figure 5(7) – Outcome of detention. 25 2 ‘State Sponsored CRUELT Y ’ – Children in immigration detention Chapter Six – Dawn raids. 26 Children’s experiences of dawn raids: fear, violence, and force. 26 Figure 6(1) – Dawn raids, fear, and violence. 27 Behavioural changes, trauma, and distress. 27 Figure 6(2) examples of behavioural changes noted after dawn raids had taken place. 28 Case Study 1 – The impact of dawn raids. 28 Chapter Seven – Conditions in immigration detention . 29 Nutrition and food standards. 29 Figure 7(1) – Concerns about food in the detention estate. 29 Education provisions. 30 Case Study 2 – Understandings of conditions within the detention estate. 31 Chapter Eight – Violence, assault, and witnessing violence . 32 Witnessing violence. 32 Figure 8(1) – children witnessing violence throughout the detention process. 32 Figure 8(2) – The June 2009 Yarl’s Wood family protest. 33 Experiencing violence. 34 Figure 8(3) – Children injured as a result of violence. 34 Violence against children perpetrated by detainees. 34 Violence against children perpetrated by officials acting on behalf of the government. 35 Case Study 3 – Witnessing and experiencing violence. 35 Chapter Nine – ‘Psychological violence’: depression, regression, and the trauma of immigration detention. 37 Psychological disturbances and mental health problems.