Vulnerable women in an immigration detention centre are being housed with violent sex criminals.
An inspection report has revealed concerns that females in Dungavel, Lanarkashire, are being held beside “several men with a history of sexual violence against women”.
Inspectors found women had to be escorted in the site to make sure they were safe from some of the male detainees.
Before the pandemic, the men were in a separate unit with controlled access to common parts of the centre.
But due to Covid “arrangements”, this was no longer considered possible and women had to be accompanied on site to keep them safe.
Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, said: “Some detainees with a history of violence against women were held during the pandemic, which meant detained women had to be escorted around the site.”
Prison inspectors have now told the Home Office “detainees who pose risks to women should not be held in a centre with a mixed population”.
Some of the men are illegal immigrants convicted of rape and sexual assault in the UK who have been released from prison and are awaiting deportation.
Campaigners have called the situation “horrifying” for women at the centre. Human rights campaigner Pinar Aksu, 29, said this was another example of why Dungavel must be closed.
She added: “It’s horrifying that women seeking asylum are exposed to that unsafe environment. It’s inhumane that women who may have experienced torture and violence should be subjected to further trauma.”
Sandy Brindley, of Rape Crisis Scotland, said the housing of sex offenders threatened the safety of women, adding: “This exposes a clear lack of regard for women’s safety, but it also speaks to a...system that’s incompatible with... human rights.”
The report said the centre’s safer detention policy had improved with regards to care of women compared to the last inspection in 2018. But it said there were no liaison officers for women and female safety was “not discussed substantively”.
A Home Office spokesman said: “Despite significant pressures brought about by the pandemic, women were always accommodated in a separate unit and additional safeguards were put in place in communal areas, including staff escorting women.”
