Refugees across Britain face many challenges, particularly those who are survivors or those at risk of ‘honour’-based abuse (HBA) and harmful practices. Last week was Refugee Week so we’re highlighting how Savera UK helps clients with refugee status in the UK to find their ‘new beginning’.

With all HBA and harmful practice cases there can be barriers to help, which is increased  when that individual doesn’t have the same access to government resources due to immigration status. These added barriers can  include language barriers, limited access to additional funds when leaving an abusive situation, lack of awareness of possible help available or not understanding they can seek help at all.

Our specialist Direct Intervention team works closely with clients to combat these barriers.

If a client doesn’t speak English, for example, they can often experience feelings of isolation and may not be aware of the help available to them, so our team works with trusted external translators and interpreters who help us to communicate with them and inform them of their legal rights.   

Outreach work is also vital for networking with community members to educate and raise awareness of what HBA and harmful practices are and where to signpost should they come across these cases. Raising awareness and providing training for professionals through our training plans opens up more opportunities for refugees to receive appropriate help from specialists. 

Professionals are sometimes the only point of contact for survivors and those at risk and should follow the ‘One Chance Rule’. You may only have one chance to save a life. 

We work with many other specialist organisations who and work directly with refugees, so as we reflect on refugee week, we would like to thank Asylum Link Merseyside, Refugee Women Connect, Migrant Help, Merseyside Law Centre, Serco Housing, Brodie Jackson Centre, Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit and all our partners for helping us in our mission to end HBA and harmful practices for good.