Ms Salome Mbugua:

While this is a Government policy, it was supposed to be that people would stay in direct provision for a short time. However, as I outlined in my presentation, it has been eight years for some people. Even if they are experiencing domestic violence within the direct-provision centre, they cannot leave because where do they go to from there? When one talks about even refugees and people who can take them, they are entitled to accommodate people because they are taking public funds, as asylum-seekers sending them out of the direct provision centres. The problem is the length of time and the conditions within those centres. While we appreciate it is a Government policy, it is a Government policy that has failed in some ways and needs to be looked into.

We had asked for a women-only centre. One can naturally imagine even trafficked women are also put into these direct-provision centres. They are not secure there and their needs are not very well met when they are in the direct-provision system.