Image courtesy of Scottish Detainee Visitors and illustration by @carcazan With a declining occupancy in Dungavel, the only Scottish detention centre, Kate Alexander, director of the Scottish Detainee Visitors (SDV) is imagining what Scotland would look like post-detention and what it would mean for the visitors who have a well established and effective strategy. At a recent visit to Dungavel, my [...]
To close this year’s Unlocking Detention by a ‘visit’ to Dungavel and reflect on what’s next, we have asked volunteer visitors of Scottish Detainee Visitors, ordinary people doing extraordinary job of witnessing what’s happening to people locked up in Dungavel, to share their experiences. Carol (not her real name) I had heard about Scottish Detainee Visitors from my daughter (who used [...]
During week 8, the final full week of Unlocking Detention 2018, we visited Dungavel IRC, in Scotland. Dungavel is very isolated: more than 30 miles from Glasgow, 14 miles from the nearest train station, 6 miles from the closest town (Strathaven) and no local bus route. It was originally a 19th century hunting lodge and summer retreat for the Duke of [...]
#Unlocked18 marked the 5th year of Unlocking Detention, our virtual 'tour' of the UK's immigration detention estate. Whether you followed the tour from the beginning or you're just joining us now, we hope you find something to whet your appetite for learning more about detention and how to challenge it. Here's a guide to the contributions featured in #Unlocked18, with highlights [...]
Content warning: torture. Image by @Carcazan This blog comes from Beatrice Grasso, Detention Outreach Manager with JRS UK, who recently published a report on the indefinite detention of trafficking survivors. While JRS’s research draws on case studies from Harmondsworth and Colnbrook immigration removal centres (IRCs), this issue affects people detained across the UK. The campaign #DucMakesGlasgow highlighted the plight of Duc, a trafficking [...]
This blog comes from Kate Alexander, Director of Scottish Detainee Visitors, who support people detained in Dungavel immigration removal centre (IRC) and tweet at @SDVisitors The latest inspection report on Dungavel IRC, published on 16 November, makes interesting reading. Dungavel usually receives positive reports from inspectors, in stark contrast to other detention centres and this one follows that pattern to a [...]
Content warning: torture. Image by @Carcazan This contribution comes from the Life After Detention group (LAD) based in Glasgow and facilitated by Scottish Detainee Visitors. Between them, members of LAD have lost 4 years and 8 months of their lives to detention. The first part, ‘Because of Detention’, reflects on the ongoing devastation caused by indefinite detention. The second, 'In spite of [...]
We have listed all the blogs that were published during #Unlocked17 on this webpage for easy reference. Did you have any particular favourite? If so, let us know!
In the ninth and final visit of #Unlocked17, the focus was on Dungavel, Scotland's only detention centre.
Images courtesy of Scottish Detainee Visitors / Life After Detention The harm caused by detention does not end once a person is released. For many, the trauma of detention, and the struggles with uncertainty, continue. This is the subject of 'Life After Detention', a new film made in collaboration with the Life After Detention group from Scottish Detainee Visitors. The group filmed [...]
