What issues might someone raise and what can I do?
Below are some of the key areas of concern that people raise with visitors. Follow the links to other chapters for more detailed information on some of these concerns and how visitors can respond.
Isolation
Many people in detention, especially people picked up on arrival in the UK or shortly after, don’t have family or friends to visit them. Others may be detained a long way from their home in the UK, or from their partner or their children making family visits impossible. Phone calls and texts are no substitute for face to face contact.
Some people find the idea of their children visiting too upsetting, or don’t tell family or friends they are in detention for fear of how it will impact them.
As a visitor you can:
Listen empathetically
Provide people with money for phone credit or phone top ups - check with your co-ordinator first what your group or other solidarity groups can offer
Support people to tell their friends and family where they are
Stress, anxiety and depression
People in detention do not know how long they will be held, or what the final outcome of their immigration case will be. This uncertainty is an important factor in generating or escalating levels of stress and anxiety. They may feel desperate and anxious, or unable to gather the strength to continue their fight if they have had an appeal refused or a hearing adjourned, or if a bail application is refused.
Seeing others around them being moved, deported or struggling to cope exacerbates feelings of distress.
Some people in have pre-existing mental health problems such as anxiety, depression or PTSD which are exacerbated in detention.
Read more about safeguarding mechanisms in detention and what visitors can do to support people struggling with their health in Safeguards.
Self-harm and suicidal thoughts
People in detention may experience intense and sometimes unbearable emotions. It may be that during a visit they discloses thoughts of suicide, their intention to harm themselves, or may show you wounds from self-harming.
By listening and making space for people to share their overwhelming feelings, you can support someone to cope with them.
Samaritans provide detailed up-to-date guidance on supporting people who are suicidal, which visitors should be familiar with.
As a visitor you must also familiarise yourself with your groups’ safeguarding policies so that you know what to do if you are worried someone is at immediate risk of harm to themselves or others.
*Coming soon: How visitors can support those with suicidal thoughts*
Problems with legal advice and representation
People in detention regularly report that they cannot get a solicitor to help them, causing a huge amount of frustration and anxiety.
Eligibility for free legal support (via legal aid) is restrictive, and even when people are able to get a legal aid lawyer, people in detention often report long delays and poor communication.
Sometimes lawyers will only take on part of someone’s case (e.g. the fact of their detention but not their immigration case) but it is not always clear to people which part of their case has been taken on. Some people find themselves unsure of whether they are being represented at all.
Bail in principle and release to homelessness
Increasingly people are granted bail ‘in principle’ as they do not have an address to go to. Huge delays in the provision of asylum or emergency accommodation leave people stuck in detention until accommodation is confirmed. Others are granted bail without an address to go to and find themselves released to homelessness.
Deteriorating health
People’s physical and mental health frequently deteriorates in detention, with existing health problems exacerbated by interruptions in health care, insufficient treatment, and failing safeguards. Use of force, segregation and inhumane and degrading treatment have long lasting impacts.
Read more about what to do if you are Worried about someone’s deteriorating mental and physical health.
Poor quality and not enough food
Increasingly people report that food in detention is of poor quality, lacking in nutrition and culturally inappropriate. They also report being hungry and losing weight from not being able to access enough food. This has a big impact on people’s health, wellbeing and dignity.
As a visitor you can:
Provide money for people to buy items from the shop
Support people to raise a complaint to the Independent Monitoring Board
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