Dear John,

It is a fact that most asylum seekers arriving in the UK are men. In 2022, of the 89,398 people who applied for asylum in the UK, two thirds were males aged 18 to 49. But that fact, brandished by right-wing politicians, commentators and journalists as proof that the UK needs a more restrictive policy on refugees, is in reality evidence of the inherent dangers of our broken asylum system. 

Gender should not dictate your right to safety. No human being is illegal, and seeking asylum is a human right. This International Men's Day, we're breaking down the myths around male asylum seekers, and exploring why the UK's asylum system is unfit for purpose.

Asylum seekers do not migrate by choice. They flee persecution and life-threatening situations, seeking safety and protection. There is an oft-quoted line from Somali-British writer Warsan Shire on seeking asylum - she says that no one puts their child in a boat unless the water is safer than the land. And no one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark.

Official statistics support this. The total number of asylum seekers in the UK is lower than many believe, and the vast majority of applications for protection are granted as people are found to be in genuine need.

• In the year ending June 2023, 71% of asylum applicants were granted protection in the UK. 
• In the same period, 44,460 people arrived by small boats - which accounts for just 3.7% of the total 1.2 million people who immigrated to the UK during that year. 
• Since 2018, over 90% of small boat arrivals in the UK have sought asylum, and approximately 75% of their claims have been approved.
• Of the top 10 nationalities applying for asylum, half have a grant rate above 80% (Afghanistan 98%, Syria 99%, Eritrea 99%, Sudan 99% and Iran 84%).

Just 1% of the refugees who have been displaced across the world make the UK their home. They make up around 0.6% of the UK population. And, based on the number of asylum applications per capita, the UK currently ranks 20th in Europe.

The campaign group Care4Calais say, in a document on their website, "The young men you see on these boats are doing their best to protect their families. Their mothers, grandmothers, sisters, babies, daughters. How often does a father say they'd die for their daughter, and a husband say they'd die for their wife? Well, these guys are putting it into practice". This International Men's Day, it's time to recognise male asylum seekers as equally deserving of protection as women and children. Every human deserves equal access to human rights. And no asylum seeker is illegal, no matter their gender.

Help us stop the toxic debate around male asylum seekers this International Men's Day, and share our myth-busting article on your social media accounts.

Thank you for joining this fight with me. Together, we can help stop the spread of disinformation about asylum seekers, and build a better, more tolerant Britain.

Best wishes,

Julia Meadon
Director of Digital
Best for Britain