UK gov't tells asylum seekers it's not OK to rape women, have sex with children
A former British lawmaker says the U.K. government must do more to protect women from violence perpetrated by migrants seeking asylum.
Miriam Cates, an Evangelical Christian and former Conservative Party MP representing Penistone and Stocksbridge in South Yorkshire (2019 to 2024), has argued that stronger action must be taken against immigration from cultures that do not respect the rights of women and leave them exposed to sexual crimes.
Cates made her public pronouncement in response to news that the government is expected to hand out pamphlets to asylum seekers informing them that sex without the consent of both parties is illegal in Britain.
Read CP's Op-Ed on the truth about things we can’t not know
The pamphlet appears to have been issued as a result of widely reported rapes and sex attacks carried out by asylum seekers and illegal immigrants against British women and girls.
Cates, writing for Conservative Home, argued that the creation of the pamphlet “proves that authorities know that some men from some countries and cultures simply have [no regard] for women’s rights or sexual consent.”
Pointing to Afghanistan, where some of the perpetrators have come from, Cates said the country had “no legal concept of consent” and that indeed this has even been used as a defense in rape cases involving Afghan men in Britain, who effectively claim ignorance of the law.
Cates argued that even though not every individual from such a culture commits sex crimes, the U.K. government has a duty to look at the overall picture for the good of the nation.
“When it comes to border control, the state can and must make assumptions based on known facts about countries, cultures and groups," she said.
While acknowledging compassion for those fleeing desperate situations, Cates stressed that the British government's first duty is to the British people and their safety.
“The prime minister is not responsible for the situation in Eritrea or Somalia; he is responsible for preventing the brutal rapes of British women and girls by men who could have been refused entry to our country," she said.
She added, “The failure to understand the importance of culture, and the conflation of compassion with responsibility are common mistakes of the liberal Left.”
Cates called upon Prime Minister Andy Burnham to restore “hope” to the British people by “restoring” Britain’s borders.
The nine-page booklet, titled Understanding behaviours and expectations in the UK: A guide for asylum seekers, tells asylum seekers not to make sexual remarks about someone, whistle at them or make "kissing sounds" toward them. They should also not follow them or "block their path." It also explains that in the U.K., consent means both people saying "yes" to sex.
Responding to its publication, Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: "Instead of trying to train these mainly young, male illegal immigrants to behave in a civilized way towards women, they should be deported."
Katie Lam, a conservative MP for Weald of Kent, said, "The Home Office's new 'behavior guide' tells asylum seekers that rape is a crime, that it's wrong to have sex with children, and that it's illegal to beat women. But if people don't already know those things, they shouldn't be allowed to come here in the first place."
This article was originally published at Christian Today
