Male detainees at an immigration centre have been caught looking into women’s bedrooms, while female migrants are unable to move freely without staff escorts, a new report has revealed.
The Chief Inspector of Prisons, Charlie Taylor, highlighted this concerning disparity at Dungavel immigration removal centre in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, where men reportedly have free movement.
His report warned that female asylum seekers are being put at risk of harm, with 43% of women at the centre feeling unsafe in outside areas due to these conditions.
Home Office figures indicate that as of December 2025, 119 women were being held in immigration removal centres and residential short-term holding facilities.
Inspectors at Dungavel – which holds both men and women in separate units – witnessed male detainees looking through women’s bedroom windows and a group of men approached to ask why they could not “mix with female detainees”, the report said.
The centre also held a man assessed to pose a risk of harm to women at the time of the inspection, and another with impending prosecutions for sexual offences had been held there for over a year until shortly before, the report added.
“Some women said they never left the female unit unless absolutely necessary, while others were reluctant even when escorted,” Mr Taylor’s report said.
One woman told inspectors: “We can(not) go outside because of the males and our time to do things are quick because of them.”
Concerns were first raised about Dungavel in 2021 when Mr Taylor warned that female detainees were being forced to mix with men with a history of sexual violence because of Covid restrictions.
Elsewhere in his report on women’s experience of immigration detention, Mr Taylor criticised staff for moving women across the country late at night.
In some cases, women who were pregnant, physically unwell or at risk of self-harm or suicide, were transferred with “little regard for their health or the appropriateness of the transfer”, the report said.
“These journeys could be disruptive and exhausting and could further exacerbate existing health conditions.
“One woman described the process of being transferred as psychological torture.”
Inspectors also found “concerning practices” around the use of handcuffs, including the handcuffing of a pregnant woman.
Mr Taylor said of his report: “Far fewer women than men are held in immigration detention in the UK, and, as a result, their experiences are still largely shaped by policies designed for men.
“This report outlines where current processes fall short for women, but also what is working well. In the facilities we visited for this review, we found compassionate and committed staff working hard to support a complex population.
“We hope our findings will help the Home Office and its contractors continue to improve the support for these very vulnerable detainees.”
