Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that women seeking asylum in the UK are treated with justice and dignity.
We are committed to delivering an asylum process that is gender sensitive and have developed an asylum gender action plan to achieve this building on the wider Government strategy to tackle violence against women and girls.
All decision-makers receive extensive training on considering asylum claims and must follow published Home Office policy guidance, including specific guidance on gender issues, which covers specific forms of gender based persecution.
All available evidence is carefully and sensitively considered in light of published country information, which covers country specific issues relating to gender based harm, including female genital mutilation (FGM), sexual exploitation, violence in conflict and domestic violence.