Summary
Wilbourn & Querton, ‘When “Safe” is Anything But: “Safe Country” concepts and understanding their impact on women seeking asylum’, March 2026
The UK Government has been making increasing use of concepts such as ‘safe countries of origin’ or ‘safe third countries’. It has also indicated its commitment to their ongoing use in its recent ‘Restoring Order and Control’ asylum and returns policy. However, this has been done with little analysis of the impact of their use on women seeking asylum in the UK. In response, Women in Refugee Law (WiRL) network and Asylos brought together refugee women, scholars, practitioners and those supporting women seeking protection at a roundtable, kindly supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Impact Acceleration Account. Emily Wilbourn from Asylos and Christel Querton from WiRL set out the findings from their subsequent report.
