During her first four days at Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre, Jasmine* rarely left her room, only occasionally going to the canteen to eat.
“I was always crying,” she told openDemocracy. “I felt trapped. When I opened my door, there were officers staring at me. When I opened the window, it would only open an inch. We were under lock and key, being controlled.”
Jasmine found this lack of freedom particularly distressing, having previously been a victim of modern slavery – a fact that staff at the Home Office-operated detention centre were aware of.
