Women fleeing persecution and sexual violence are being left destitute and impoverished in Britain without access to housing, financial support or the right to work, according to a new report.

The report by NGO Women for Refugee Women says of the asylum-seeking women becoming destitute in Britain, three-quarters ended up in that situation after their asylum claim was rejected.

The group researched how asylum-seeking women survive in Britain after being made destitute.

The report says many are hungry, homeless, and some deal with mental health issues.

A third of the women surveyed said they had been raped or sexually abused in their country of origin, and – for some – it happened again when they became destitute in Britain.

“There is a high prevalence of sexual violence or being caught in abusive relationships and women struggle to health care and period products like pads and tampons,” the report says.

“And although there is good research on asylum, and migrant destitution more generally, the specific experiences of refugee women aren’t properly understood,” it says.

One of the report’s authors Heike Langbein works with various charities to counsel asylum-seeking women, including those whose claim has been rejected and who have nowhere to return.  

Ms Langbein says one of the main challenges are to get those destitute women back into the system so that they can get access to support.

“There’s a lack of good quality legal advice,” Ms Langbein said.

“A lot of the legal aid solicitors are completely overstretched and wouldn’t really be taking on fresh claims. When women are destitute and they’re struggling to meet their day-to-day living needs, when they’re really unwell, have mental health issues, or other physical health conditions, it’s very difficult for them as well to focus on getting the evidence together to launch a fresh claim,” she said.

The research was conducted in four English cities, and two cities in Wales. One hundred six women were interviewed from 29 countries, with a quarter coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

There are no statistics available on the total number of asylum-seekers living destitute in Britain.