Due to high demand, we are now over-booked and no new bookings can be made - apologies.
Befriender Training & Supervision Days, Bedford.
Saturday 27th March and Saturday 8th MayThe purpose of the Befriender Training and Supervision programme ;
1. Help befrienders offer effective support to vulnerable women detainees.
2. Reduce befriender burn-out by giving guidance and support.
All photos by Andy Lee at Medical Justice Befriender training and supervision days.
The Befriender Training and Supervision programme is a three year project, kindly funded by Comic Relief to Yarl’s Wood Befrienders. The programme is initially focused on Yarl's Wood Befrienders but is being opened up to other befrienders in other groups visiting women detainees. There will be two Training Days and two Supervision Days a year for each of the three years. In addition, there will be on-going Supervision by means of email and phone access to Medical Justice individuals, and on-line “tool kits” on the Medical Justice website.
Saturday 27th March Programme
10.30 – 11.00 Registration, Introduction - Emma Ginn + Heather Jones11.00 – 11.05 Importance of a befriender - Ms SO
11.05 – 11.35 Legal process overview - Jan Doerfel
11.35 – 11.40 Pregnancy - Dr Miriam Beeks
11.40 – 11.50 Anti-malarials - Dr Miriam Beeks + Theresa Schleicher
11.50 – 12.00 Tea-break
12.00 – 12.10 HIV - Dr Miriam Beeks
12.10 – 12.20 BHIVA guidelines - Theresa Schleicher
12.20 – 12.25 Denial of (other) medication - Dr Miriam Beeks
12.25 – 12.30 Access to Hospital - Dr Miriam Beeks
12.30 – 12.35 Conditions in Hospital - Dr Miriam Beeks
12.35 – 1.00 Children in detention - Dr Miriam Beeks
1.00 – 2.00 Lunch (provided)
2.00 – 2.15 Medical Justice referrals - Theresa Schleicher
2.15 – 3.00 Questions & Answers - All
3.00 - 3.15 Tea-break
3.15 – 4.45 Supervision sessions – Dr Miriam Beeks / Jan Doerfel
4.45 – 5.00 Wrap-up / feedback - All + Heather Jones
Saturday 8th May Programme
10.30 – 11.00 Registration, Introduction - Emma Ginn + Heather Jones
11.00 – 11.05 Importance of a befriender - Ms SO Sophie
11.05 – 11.20 Gender-based Persecution - Juiane Heider
11.20 – 11.40 Torture Survivors - Dr Frank Arnold
11.40 – 11.50 Rule 35 - Dr Frank Arnold
11.50 – 12.00 Tea-break
12.00 – 12.10 Hunger-Strikes - Dr Frank Arnold
12.10 – 12.45 Mental Health - Dr Ben Robinson
12.45 – 12.50 Assaults - Theresa Schleicher / Emma Ginn
12.50 – 1.00 Accessing support - Theresa Schleicher / Heather Jones
1.00 – 2.00 Lunch (provided)
2.00 – 2.15 Medical Justice referrals - Theresa Schleicher
2.15 – 3.00 Questions & Answers - All
3.00 - 3.15 Tea-break
3.15 – 4.45 Supervision surgeries – Dr Ben Robinson / Dr Frank Arnold
4.45 – 5.00 Wrap-up / feedback - All + Heather Jones
Sessions lead by ;
Heather Jones – Co-ordinator, Yarl’s Wood Befrienders
Emma Ginn – Co-ordinator, Medical Justice
Ms SO – mother, ex Yarl’s Wood detainee
Jan Doerfel – barrister, Lamb Building
Dr Miriam Beeks – GP, Hackney
Theresa Schleicher – Referrals Manager, Medical Justice
Juiane Heider – visitor, SOAS Detainee Support Group
Dr Frank Arnold – surgeon ad scars specialist
Dr Ben Robinson – neuroscientist and PTSD researcher
Importance of a befriender Tortured in her country, Ms SO fled to the UK where she was detained - again indefinitely, without trialand without being accused of any crime. Ms SO was on hungerstrike for 38 days, became mute and suffered a complete mental breakdown during 8 months of detention. Years later she was granted refugee status and won her civil action claim against the Hone Office.
Legal process overview
Where / how people are detained and a background to detainees’ state of well being prior to reaching the detention centre. Information about those detained on arrival in the UK and issues regarding the destitution and criminalisation of asylum seekers. Overview of the asylum determination process, fast-track, Non Suspensive Appeals, Judicial Reviews, fresh claims, and other routes to safety including being a dependent of an EU citizen, etc.
Denial of medication
Denial of medication and what can be done about it, how one knows when access to hospital is necessary.
Access to Hospital
How to help the detainee get access to hospital and what should happen with children being detained with a hospitalized parent.
Conditions in Hospital
Including issues of privacy, confidentiality, handcuffing, re-feeding hunger-strikers including medical effects, and what visitors’ advice is appropriate.
Anti-malarials
The UKBA policy, what anti-malarials are appropriate, contraindications, dosage, and what to do when appropriate anti-malarials ae not offered.
Torture Survivors
What torture is, what scars to look for, how a medico-legal report may or may not help and advice to visitors on how most appropriately to ask detainees about torture.
Pregnancy
Including pregnancy complications and fitness to fly.
Gender-based Persecution and Trafficking
Including rape survivors, honor killing, female genital mutilation, domestic violence, what specialist groups are available for support, and advice on how a visitor can most appropriately ask detainees about gender based persecution. Also Including what trafficking is, who does / does not identify themselves as a trafficking victim, and what specialist groups exist for support.
Mental Health
Including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, psychosis, sectioning, how mental health should be considered in asylum / human rights cases, medico-legal reports and visitor’s mental health assessment tools.
HIV
Including denial of medication in detention, denial of HIV testing and/or test results, children with HIV or with an HIV+ parent, and treatment available “back home”.
BHIVA guidelines
What the BHIVA guidelines are ad how to challenge breaches.
Children in detention
Including children’s health issues, who are the responsible authorities and for what, social services, child protection teams, unaccompanied minors and sources of help.
Assaults
Including the what is “reasonable” force and circumstances surrounding its legitimate use, collating evidence of an assault, potential legal remedies, and reporting an assault to the Home Office, it’s contractors and the police.
Rule 35
Including what Rule 35 is, what the Home Office policy is and how to ensure its implementation.
Medical Justice referrals
The Medical Justice referrals process and how to make an effective referral.
Accessing support
Including access to support within Medical Justice, and accessing outside specialist groups.
Questions & Answers session
This is an open group session for befrienders to share their experiences, talk about their concerns, and ask advice from the GPs, the psychiatrist, the lawyers and experienced befrienders.
Supervision Surgeries
These will be one-to-one “supervision surgeries” in separate rooms ; befrienders can seek supervision guidance on providing support to specific vulnerable women detainees they are visiting.
Feedback / Wrap-upSession
The feedback session will discuss the benefits of the day, suggestions for the format of the next Supervision Day and suggested additions to the Training Manual.
You must book a place for the Supervision and Training Days
We encourage you to book a place for both days. To book your place, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Costs : no cost. Asylum seekers’ travel expenses : to be reimbursed on provision of a receipt.
Download the Befrienders Training Manual
Feedback from a previous Question & Answer session at a befriender training day ;
“I found it most helpful to have one question and then develop that through more questions in the big forum as various experiences get pulled together. It was a good number of people for this kind of open forum. Good balance and interaction between legal and medical issues. Fantastic get-together, exchange, discussions, putting face to name, networking day. Thank you !”
feedback from last training day
feedback from last supervision day