Social issues impacting upon refugees and asylum seekers and/or their experiences of crime and the

criminal justice system

Asylum seeker – someone who has applied for international protection

Refugees – people fleeing armed conflict or prosecution. They are defined and protected in
international law under the 1951 Refugee Convention

There is a growing number of asylum seekers and refugees in the UK and British Citizens always
create a negative image of them. They experience bad consequences of massive arrivals to the UK as
politicians treat them as a huge social problem. British government has become very strict and they
want to reduce number of refugees in order to get rid of this issue. This actions have negative impact
on asylum seekers lives because they cannot find a safe place in this country. Their financial support
is reduced to the minimum and they cannot work during the application process. Refugees
experience discrimination and British government wants to show them that they do not have the
same rights as other foreigners coming to the UK from Europe. The media presents asylum seekers
in a negative light saying that they steal people’s jobs and benefits. People also believe that refugees
are not allowed to take their housing and use public services. They often must face so many social
problems as they enter UK without any money and basic stuff that they need in everyday life. Most
refugees have little children which need to start education as soon as possible. These children might
also face some problems such as racism. Asylum seekers also have limited access to health centres
due to their lack of documentation (prove of address, identity, date of birth). Education is also
limited for them and most people might have a language barrier. Refugees also do not have any
knowledge about British government or British education system. 81% of asylum seeking women
experienced racial harassment. (Aspinal and Waters 2010). Asylum seekers do not also have any job
opportunities and they have limited access to welfare benefits. Scholars underline asylum seekers as
the risk of poverty, discrimination and social exclusion due to government policy. This is not only
issue in the UK but a huge European problem. Some of the countries close down the borders so
refugees have no access to enter the country.

https://writepass.com/journal/2016/11/asylum-seekers-and-refugees-as-a-social-problem-in-the-
uk/