Thank you to Olivia and Chris for sharing your experiences. We are lucky to have you.

To all our trustees - past and present - thank you! 🌟

Your leadership, expertise and guidance are so valued. We couldn't do it without you! 💜

7/7

Chris brings her experience from her decades long career in the voluntary sector to our Board.

🗣️ “The most rewarding aspect is seeing the women in our network grow in confidence and develop their skills to stand up for their rights. It’s a privilege to be able to support this work.”

6/🧵

Olivia offers advice to other refugee women who want to become trustees:

🗣️"It can be daunting and challenging... but it is also so rewarding. Be patient with yourself and believe in yourself. You belong in those spaces!"

And to Boards, "Be flexible, understanding and supportive."

5/🧵

🗣️ “My favourite part of being a Trustee is that I feel part of it all. Ensuring that things are running smoothly, that finances are robust, and that the staff team are well supported. That is very important to me.” – Olivia

4/🧵

Olivia joined our Board after being part of our network. She shared:

🗣️ "WRW is a charity that has supported me... I knew that I could bring my lived experience to the Board. It feels so good to know that I am part of ensuring they can continue to support more women like me."

3/🧵

Our trustees help to steer our mission and achieve our vision - often behind the scenes - through their guidance, expertise, and leadership.

We spoke with our trustees Chris and Olivia about their journey, insights, and what their favourite thing about being a trustee is. 👇

2/🧵

The Government must now choose humanity over hostility and uphold the right to seek asylum for all those who need it.

People's lives depend on it.

14/14

We will continue to support women who are directly affected by this deal through wellbeing and hardship support, and to access meaningful justice.

As ever, we stand in solidarity with refugee women who continue to show courage and resilience in the face of such hostility.

13/🧵

We urge the Government to:

👉 Expand safe routes for all people seeking asylum.
👉 End the use of immigration detention.
👉 Ensure access to legal advice and fair asylum procedures for all, regardless of how they arrive to the UK.
👉 Uphold the right to seek asylum.

12/🧵

This deal is not a meaningful alternative.

It won’t stop small-boat crossings. It won’t protect the majority of people seeking safety.

Instead, it risks pushing vulnerable individuals further into danger and exploitation.

11/🧵

We know - from working with women who have had to flee their homes to save their lives - that when the Government responds with harsh securitised measures, it only makes people’s journeys more dangerous.

10/🧵

The deal also works on narrow eligibility criteria.

As a result, the deal risks excluding many vulnerable groups - including unaccompanied children, LGBTQ+ individuals, and women fleeing sexual and gender-based violence - regardless of their need for protection.

9/🧵

The rushed and convoluted nature of the deal risks deporting more survivors with no due process, placing them at risk of further harm, exploitation and abuse.

8/🧵

We're also extremely concerned about difficulties in accessing legal advice and justice for those detained under this deal.

Already, there are concerns that individuals deported to France are potential survivors of modern slavery and trafficking.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

7/🧵

Any deal that relies so heavily on immigration detention cannot be considered humane.

Our decade’s worth of work supporting women who have been detained shows how harmful and retraumatising it is.

🗣️ Anika shared, “I am a different person. My physical and mental health have been destroyed.”

6/🧵

It risks a two-tier system where only a select few are eligible for protection, while others are criminalised and excluded.

Rather than doubling down on hostility, the Government must look at the root causes of why people seek safety - to escape war, persecution, torture and violence.

5/🧵

All those who have to flee their homes to save their lives must be able to apply for asylum in any country of their choosing.

They should not be penalised or punished for the method of travel they are forced to take to reach safety.

This deal undermines this very right.

4/🧵

While we recognise this represents a commitment by the Government to a safe route that could offer hope and safe passage to a small number of individuals, we remain deeply concerned.

One person’s safety should never be dependent on another’s dangerous journey.

3/🧵

❓What is the deal?

The cross-border deal creates a 'one in, one out' system where the UK and France can essentially trade in human lives.

For every person accepted to come to the UK from France, someone who has crossed the Channel and arrived in the UK will be forcibly returned to France.

2/🧵