The UK Home Office has published a new series of guides and posters for asylum seekers spelling out that having sex without consent is rape, that the age of consent is 16 with no exceptions, that women do not need a man’s permission to work or travel and that whistling or making kissing noises at people in public is unacceptable.
The nine-page booklet, titled Understanding behaviours and expectations in the UK: a guide for asylum seekers and released on August 19, states: “If you have sex with someone without their consent, this is called rape. Rape is a serious crime in the UK. You could go to prison, lose your support and accommodation, and it will affect your asylum claim.”
On children it is equally direct: “Sex with someone under the age of 16 is a serious crime in the UK. There are no exceptions to this rule. Even if they say yes, it is still illegal.”
Separate sections stress gender equality (“Women do not need permission from a husband, father, brother or any other man”), ban domestic abuse and prohibit public sexual comments, following someone or taking sexual images without consent.
The materials note that “laws and customs here may be different from your home country”.
Accompanying posters cover consent, child abuse, age of consent, domestic abuse, harassment and gender equality. The resources form part of a wider collection on the government website aimed at those seeking asylum.
The publication has triggered sharp criticism.
Reform UK home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf called it “one of the most insane things I have ever seen”, arguing the government is effectively admitting the scale of the cultural mismatch by issuing induction packs on basic prohibitions against rape and child sexual abuse.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said on X that the Home Office should be deporting the mainly young male arrivals rather than trying to train them.
A Home Office spokesperson said everyone who comes to the UK is expected to abide by British law and that those who do not “will face consequences, including the refusal of their asylum claim and removal from the UK”.
Education Secretary Lucy Powell, defending the guidance on LBC, said it was right that people understood “the expectations and the consequences if they break the law”.
The Home Office has spent your money to produce these posters for illegal migrants.
Why are we letting these people into our country? https://t.co/dB7fOp9A6Y
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) August 19, 2026
