S5E10 Female asylum seekers: Healthcare, housing, and the hostile environment

Join us for the Media Storm LIVE SHOW with special guests Natasha Devon and Milo Edwards - Tuesday 20th May 7pm @ the Business Design Centre in Islington. Tickets are available HERE!

Kim, an asylum seeker from Zimbabwe, lives on £7-a-day while supporting a newborn in cockroach-infested accommodation… HOW is she supposed to pay the £10,000 NHS bill she received after giving birth?

This week, Kim shares her story, and the Media Storm team unpack the mainstream media myths that feed the wider healthcare, migration and gender injustices behind it.

Myths like:

‘Why are all asylum seekers MEN?!’

Don’t they come for free healthcare?’

‘Illegal migrants are living in luxury hotels’

‘The asylum backlog is out of control!’


We pick apart some current, culpable headlines, and compare the stories they tell with the first-hand experiences of the people living it.

Also joining us in the studio is Judith Dennis, head of policy at Maternity Action, which works for the rights of pregnant women and new parents irrespective of migration status, and is campaigning for changes alongside the National Childbirth Trust.

The episode is hosted and produced by Mathilda Mallinson (@mathildamall) and Helena Wadia (@helenawadia)

The music is by @soundofsamfire

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