By Lucretia Hughes Klucken
LONDON — The British government has published a guide for asylum seekers explaining that women have equal rights, rape is a serious crime, children cannot consent to sex and domestic abuse is illegal.
Yes, government officials apparently concluded that adult newcomers needed a nine-page booklet explaining conduct that should never require an instruction manual.
The United Kingdom’s Home Office published “Understanding Behaviours and Expectations in the UK” on Wednesday. The document covers gender equality, domestic abuse, sexual consent and acceptable behavior in public.
It tells asylum seekers that women may earn their own money, attend school, travel freely, choose whom they marry and make decisions without receiving permission from a husband, father or brother.
The guidance explains that sex without consent is rape and warns recipients that committing the crime could result in prison, the loss of government support or housing and consequences for an asylum claim.
It also instructs asylum seekers not to follow someone, block another person’s path, make sexual comments, whistle or direct kissing noises at people in public.
Britain says these rules apply to everyone, not only asylum seekers. The guide was reportedly created because laws and cultural expectations may differ from those in the countries from which some newcomers arrived.
Government officials have urged the public not to generalize about all asylum seekers. That is fair. No honest person should label an entire group of people as criminals because of the actions of individuals.
It is also important to describe the recipients accurately. The official guidance is for asylum seekers, a category that includes people whose protection claims are awaiting decisions. Some may have entered through irregular or unlawful routes, but “asylum seeker” and “illegal migrant” are not automatically interchangeable terms.
However, the need for such a document raises serious questions that the government cannot dismiss as prejudice.
If officials believe newcomers must be explicitly told that women are equal, rape is illegal and sex with children is a crime, then the public has every right to ask how those individuals were screened and why they were admitted before demonstrating an understanding of the nation’s most basic laws.
A pamphlet is not a security policy.
A man who respects women does not need a government brochure telling him not to rape. A predator will not be stopped by reading one. Education may help people understand unfamiliar customs, but it cannot replace background checks, enforcement, prosecution and removal when a noncitizen commits a serious crime.
The complete British document is available on the United Kingdom government’s website.
The controversy should also serve as a warning for the United States.
Could something similar come to a Democratic-run city near you?
There is currently no verified evidence that American cities are preparing to distribute this particular British guide. However, sanctuary policies and large-scale migrant resettlement have already forced communities to confront questions involving housing, public safety, cultural integration and the enforcement of immigration law.
Cities cannot invite or accommodate thousands of newcomers while treating every question about vetting, crime or cultural differences as hateful.
The United States welcomes people from across the world, but entering this country does not give anyone permission to import beliefs that deny women equality, excuse domestic violence or reject American law.
Our rights are not optional. Our daughters are not test subjects for failed integration policies.
Local leaders must clearly communicate American laws, but education must be backed by consequences. Anyone—citizen or noncitizen—who rapes, assaults or abuses another person should be arrested and prosecuted. Noncitizens convicted of serious violent crimes should also face removal as permitted under federal law after completing the appropriate criminal process.
Women should not be ordered to change how they dress, where they walk or how they live to accommodate men who refuse to respect them.
The responsibility belongs to the person entering the country to obey its laws and respect the rights of the people already living there.
Britain’s booklet may be intended as practical guidance, but it is also an admission that integration cannot be assumed. Governments that bring large numbers of people from vastly different cultures into their communities have a duty to protect the public and establish clear expectations.
A government guide can explain the law.
Only firm enforcement can prove that the law still means something.
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