Having NRPF can lead vulnerable people to sex work
Case study from ‘Making Change Happen: The impact of national policies on our clients’ lives… A report by Lewisham Refugee and Migrant Network (LRMN)’, published March 2018
'Kaleisha* is a 25 year old woman from Barbados*. Kaleisha came to LRMN in 2016 asking for advice as she has NRPF and four children she struggles to support. When she came to us, Kaleisha had stopped working as her accommodation was one hour and a half from her work, and childcare expenses became unaffordable. As a result she accrued debts of thousands of pounds. She received no support from friends, and on a rare occasions borrowed money from her family. She also heavily relies on foodbanks such as LRMN to feed herself and her children. Kaleisha previously had access to Public Funds, but recently the Home Office decided to revoke that access in her most recent grant of leave and she must now quickly find a way to provide for her family. Kaleisha spoke to her adviser about having to resort to sex work in order to repay loans from her family, which added to her anxiety and mental health deterioration. Her dyslexia also means that she struggles to keep track of her finances and struggles to read documents provided by support agencies and GPs. Cases like Kaleisha’s highlight the need for more support for people with NRPF in reaching independence and meet their basic needs. Lack of a strong support network can lead vulnerable women to look elsewhere for money, and this can sometimes mean turning to prostitution.
*Client's name and nationality have been changed to protect their identity'
