IWD 2022: Disproportionate and Discriminatory Impact of the Nationality & Borders Bill on Women

The Nationality and Borders Bill will “disproportionately adversely disadvantage women and girls”. In a legal opinion prepared for the charity Women for Refugee Women, Stephanie Harrison QC, Emma Fitzsimons, Ubah Dirie and Hannah Lynes of Garden Court Chambers, state that a number of measures within the Bill are incompatible with existing UK policy, case law, and international standards on refugee protection and human rights law, and are, therefore, open to legal challenge as discriminatory. The Bill undermines legal protections against gender-based violence and domestic abuse. Read the legal opinion here.

Their legal opinion concludes: 

“It is clear that the Bill will have multiple adverse impacts and create additional obstacles to women and girls seeking international protection in the UK. These measures individually and cumulatively increase the risk of claims being wrongly rejected and the UK acting in breach of the Refugee and/or Human Rights Convention.”

Join us on International Women's Day 2022 to discuss the Bill and the disproportionate and discriminatory impact it will have on women.
 

Recording

Speakers Profiles

Stephanie Harrison QC, Joint Head of Chambers, Garden Court Chambers (Chair)
Described as a "brilliant advocate", Stephanie is a leading public law practitioner who has appeared at all court levels. Her multi-disciplinary practice spans the breadth of public law and civil liberties. Stephanie's cases include those arising from unlawful detention, national security, official misconduct, abuse of power, child sexual exploitation, equality and discrimination, minority rights, education law and civil rights protest and injunctions. 

Stephanie is regularly involved in test case litigation and has been instrumental in winning some of the most important cases within her areas of specialism in recent times. Much of her work is high profile and receives media coverage. She is passionate about upholding and advancing the rights of vulnerable, minority groups and children. Stephanie was appointed as legal counsel to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) in 2015 and is head of the Garden Court Public Law team. Stephanie is ranked for Administrative and Public Law, Civil Liberties and Human Rights and Immigration in both the Legal 500 and Chambers UK Bar Guide. Stephanie was shortlisted for Civil Liberties & Human Rights Silk of the Year at Legal 500 UK Awards 2020 and for Human Rights and Public Law Silk of the Year at the Chambers Bar Awards 2019.

Emma Fitzsimons, Barrister, Garden Court Chambers
Emma Fitzsimons is an immigration and public law barrister, practising in immigration and asylum, unlawful detention, trafficking, age assessments and community care. Emma regularly appears on behalf of unaccompanied minors, trafficking victims and vulnerable adults in the First-tier Tribunal, Upper Tribunal and Administrative Court. She also has experience of fresh claim and certification judicial review challenges, as well as urgent removal cases. She has experience acting for age disputed asylum-seeking children and has acted in judicial review proceedings seeking appropriate bail accommodation for vulnerable detainees.

Emma, together with Henry Blaxland QC and Stephen Clark of Garden Court Chambers, acted in the case VCL v UK, representing VCL in his application to the European Court of Human Rights. She appears pro bono in bail applications on behalf of Bail for Immigration Detainees. She is a contributing author to the leading immigration practitioner text, Macdonald's Immigration Law and Practice. She is also a contributing author to Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery Law and Practice (2nd edition). 

Ubah Dirie, Barrister, Garden Court Chambers
Ubah Dirie is recognised as a tenacious and client-focused advocate who specialises in advice, representation and advocacy in all areas of immigration, asylum, nationality, EU free movement, deportation and detention. She is frequently instructed to represent vulnerable individuals including victims of trafficking, unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and those with complex mental health issues or without capacity. Ubah also has a particular interest in immigration matters involving EEA nationals and their family members. She has gained extensive experience in representing third-country nationals in retained rights appeals and sham marriage cases. 

Ubah has developed a reputation as a practitioner who has the ability to explain complex points of law in a simple and straightforward way. Ubah is fluent in Somali and has a particular interest in providing advice and representation in Somali cases. She is regularly instructed in complex asylum appeals, notably soon after the completion of her pupillage, she was instructed as junior counsel in the Country Guidance case OO Algeria (CG) [2016] UT UKUT 65.

Priscilla Dudhia, Policy and Advocacy Coordinator, Women for Refugee Women
Priscilla is the Policy and Advocacy Coordinator at Women for Refugee Women - a London-based charity that supports refugee women to tell their own stories and advocate for a humane asylum system in the UK. She focuses on influencing government policy and is currently leading the organisation’s campaign against the Nationality and Borders Bill.

Before joining Women for Refugee Women, Priscilla worked in a policy role at St Andrew's Refugee Services in Egypt, and prior to that as Senior Legal Officer for the organisation, supporting claimants from across Africa and the Middle East in accessing refugee protection.