Steve Reed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2015-10-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the prevalence of sexual abuse of women in the Calais refugee camp; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure that women’s safety in that camp is protected.

James Brokenshire

The management of the migrant camps in Calais, including the involvement of any particular organisation, is the responsibility of the French Government. The UK has, however, provided specific financial assistance to fund a project aimed at protecting the most vulnerable people in the camps. This project was agreed by the Home Secretary and French Interior Minister in the UK-France Joint Declaration of August 2015. The project aims to increase observation in the camps to identify vulnerable migrants including those who may be victims of human trafficking; to provide medical help and protection where required; to put in place a system to transfer them briskly to places of safety; and to ensure they are offered the appropriate advice and support from the French system.