Ministers are under pressure to stop using hotels for migrants (Image: Getty)
Women in asylum hotels are being targeted by migrants and staff as they are subjected to sexual harassment, violence, exploitation and intimidation, a leading charity has warned.
Rape Crisis told MPs some women are so scared in Home Office-funded accommodation they form small groups to go to the toilets together to prevent men following them in.
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One woman, called Ola*, described how groups of young men would “drink together” and “smoke different things”, creating an intimidating atmosphere.
The young mother told how migrants would follow her around the hotel and leave notes in her child’s pram propositioning her.
One woman was allegedly sexually harassed so much - by a member of staff at a hotel - she chose to go back to Iran “and face the significant risk to her safety that had caused her to seek asylum in the UK”.
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The problem is so widespread that Rape Crisis said they felt “compelled” to write to the Home Affairs Select Committee, warning: “We heard deeply concerning stories of asylum-seeking women being subjected to sexual harassment, violence, exploitation and intimidation by some male residents and members of staff working in hotels and other Home Office provided accommodation.
“We have seen evidence of failings in vetting procedures and safeguarding training, as well as wholly inadequate complaints and misconduct processes, and a dearth of support for asylum-seeking women subjected to inappropriate behaviour and abuses of power by accommodation staff.
“This points to systemic issues of sexual violence and abuse, rather than isolated incidents.”
Detailing one case, the charity told the Home Affairs Select Committee: “When Ola entered the asylum system, she was pregnant and living in a mixed-sex hostel.
“She gave birth not long after and remained living in shared accommodation with her new-born for four months.”
Ola* told MPs, in a written submission: “So usually [women feel unsafe] because it’s a very mix. So many people mixed together.
“And the people, the young men who are single, they live four or five in one room. They drink together, they smoke different things.
“And they are just next to a room with a single woman who is pregnant or with baby in the room. They will go knock on [your] door and when you go to the toilet, they will follow you. It’s quite hard.
“I remember finding letters in my pram from guys asking me where your room is. Or men following me, things like this … Having a very small baby and each time you put the baby in [the] pram you’ll find something. That is not really what you’re interested [in], that will follow you till you leave the hotel, even after.”
More than 38,000 migrants are staying in hotel rooms, costing ￡5.5million a day.
A further 65,707 are in other accommodation.
Putting someone in a hotel room costs ￡145 per night, compared with ￡14 for accommodation such as houses, bedsits and flats, the National Audit Office said.
Rape Crisis revealed one woman was targeted by a member of staff working at a hotel, before she confided in a support worker - Azadeh.
They told MPs: “She had been sexually harassed by a member of staff working at the hotel.
“The man pursued Zarah over a period of time and eventually coerced her into a sexually abusive relationship.
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“Zarah confided in Azadeh that she feared the male member of staff would enter her room when she was sleeping.
“As a result, she could not sleep and would spend nights holding onto her children and trembling until the morning. Zarah told Azadeh that she thought she should be safe in the asylum accommodation provided to her, but she did not feel it.”
When Zarah, not her real name, reported it to the Home Office, she eventually received threatening messages from the accused.
Rape Crisis added: “Zarah was seemingly left with no further route to address her concerns. Azadeh told us that Zarah felt so unsafe that she chose to return to Iran and face the significant risk to her safety that had caused her to seek asylum in the UK in the first place.”
The Daily Express previously revealed how the Home Office has rejected “alternative housing solutions” because of their costs “despite being cheaper than current contingency hotels”.
Asylum accommodation provider Serco has put forward plans for a “range of alternative medium-sized accommodation sites”, including converting student accommodation, but the Home Office Property Board has rejected the majority of the proposals.
This is likely to undermine Labour’s plan to close down migrant hotels.
Home Office minister Angela Eagle said it is "pointless" to give a timeframe for when hotels will stop being used to house asylum seekers who have arrived in small boats.
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Ms Eagle said the Government wanted to improve asylum processing times, which would ensure they are moved on more quickly.
She said: "I want to get out of hotels as quickly as is feasible. I'm not going to name particular dates, because that is a pointless thing to do. The thing is that we've got to get through the appeals system, and the first asylum processing system so that we can move people through the system much more quickly.
"We also need to continue our work on returns. We've ramped those up so that there's been a huge increase in people returned. The highest figures for the last five years, and we intend to continue with that process."