Male refugees settling in Britain need to be formally taught how to treat women to prevent cases of assault and sexual harassment, a senior Labour MP has said.
Thangam Debbonaire, chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Refugees, has called for a “refugee integration strategy” so that men “understand what is expected of them.”
She said it could help prevent sexual harassment against women and tackle issues “including genital mutilation.”
Ms Debbonaire said this would be to help refugees who have a legal right to remain in the UK to become part of the communities they settle in.
This strategy would include help preparing for jobs and training, but should also include help adjusting to different ways of life, including expectations of behaviour, particularly between men and women.
She said that the approach would help tackle “fears” in the UK that there could be sexual attacks similar to those carried out against hundreds of women in Germany last New Year’s Eve.
It came as Ms Debbonaire launched a cross-party inquiry into the experiences of new refugees once they’ve arrived in the UK earlier this week.
The inquiry will look at the level of support available to those who are accommodating refugees and what could be done to support local communities who may be impacted by their arrival.
Ms Debbonaire told the Telegraph: “What I don’t want is for the British people to respond to a case of assault or sexual harassment by saying ‘no’ to more refugees, which seemed to be what the public’s response to Germany was in danger of becoming.
“We need to think about how we have those men understand what is expected of them without pretending we ourselves are perfect.”
“It would need to be sensitivity worked out and could be part of a nation wide campaign to help men and boys in general to look at gender equality in a different way”, she said.
“I’m not saying there’s a little ticket you can give incoming men. But I do believe we need compulsory PHSE classes in schools for all young people and an appropriate version for new arrivals.
“It shouldn’t surprise us if those from cultures, where gender inequality is an extreme struggle, to get here to understand social norms and expectations.
“All men need this education, our indigenous population is not a haven of gender equality and you could have a situation where boys who have settled, just arrived, or been born here, would all get the same information on how they should interact with women.”
Last month Nigel Farage was accused of “outrageous scaremongering” by a fellow Brexit campaigner after warning women could be at risk of sex attacks from migrants.
The UK Independence Party leader said he fears “big cultural issues” will result from the failure to control migration from Europe and North Africa, putting the safety of women in danger.
However, Andrea Leadsom, a leading Brexit campaigner, described his comments were “outright blatant scaremongering.”
Michael Gove, the former Justice Secretary, also refused to associate himself with Mr Farage’s comments.
Ms Debbonaire’s intervention comes as families and local churches have been urged to house Syrian refugees by the Archbishop of Canterbury who said they are “treasured human beings made in the image of God” who deserve the “opportunity to flourish”.
The Most Reverend Justin Welby launched the new scheme for community groups to support refugees at Lambeth Palace alongside Amber Rudd, who used her first public appearance as Home Secretary to back the move.
Lambeth Palace, the Archbishop’s London residence, has officially become the first community group to take advantage of the scheme with a Syrian family now living in a cottage on the grounds.
“Refugees, like all people, are treasured human beings, made in the image of God, who deserve safety, freedom and the opportunity to flourish,” he said.
Ms Rudd dismissed fears about the security consequences of taking in the refugees, saying everyone being resettled in Britain was double-vetted by the United Nations and the Home Office.
Britain is to take in 3,000 vulnerable child refugees and their carers in one of the biggest resettlement programmes in the World from the war-torn Syria region.
They will be resettled in the UK over the next four years and come on top of the 20,000 refugees that the Government has already committed to granting asylum.