Rainbow Migration

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by Rainbow Migration

Statement: We stand in solidarity with the trans community

by Rainbow Migration

How to support LGBTQI+ Ukrainians

We are deeply concerned by the situation in Ukraine and have joined other UK charities in urging the Government to protect those fleeing any violence in the region.

At the moment, we are actively campaigning against the Nationality and Borders Bill which, if passed in its current form, will be harmful to LGBTQI+ Ukrainians and anyone fleeing life-threatening countries seeking safety here.

We are also working with partner LGBTQI+ organisations here in the UK, signposting LGBTQI+ Ukrainians to trusted LGBTQI+ support services.

Here is a list of ways in which you can help LGBTQI+ Ukrainians:

• If you live in an urban area, have a spare room and are willing to host for a minimum of 3-6 months, you can sign up with Refugees at Home.
• If you don’t meet the above criteria, you can sign up with The No Accommodation Network.
• You can also volunteer as a Qualified Home Visitor for Refugees at Home – you will need to be a professional who does home visits as part of your day job. By volunteering, you’ll help Refugees at Home to assess more hosts and offer safe homes to more refugees, including LGBTQ+ Ukrainians.
• For LGBTQI+ people leaving Ukraine who want to find a host in the UK, you can email ukraine@stonewall.org.uk.
• ILGA Europe have put together a list of direct ways in which you can donate to support LGBTIQ+ people in Ukraine, and help LGBTQI+ organisations in neighbouring countries welcoming Ukrainian people.
• You can add your name to this petition that we have co-signed, urging the government to help Ukrainian refugees right now.

by Rainbow Migration

We are hiring: Communications and Campaigns Assistant

***This position has now closed***

Want to kick-start your career in social media and campaigning at a leading LGBTQI+ asylum and immigration rights charity?

Rainbow Migration, the leading UK charity dedicated to supporting LGBTQI+ people through the asylum and immigration system, is recruiting for a Communications and Campaigns Assistant who is keen to gain experience in digital communications, campaigning and supporting the involvement of people with lived experience in our work. You will also gain experience of fundraising.

Rainbow Migration has been campaigning for the rights of LGBTQI+ people since 1993 and have stepped up this work since 2021. We now have an opportunity for a Communications and Campaigns Assistant to join us and provide vital support across campaigning and influencing work, fundraising and communications.

This would be an ideal position for a creative, digital-savvy individual and a passion for LGBTQI+ and/or immigration/asylum campaigning.

This role will receive full training and support as required to deliver your responsibilities:

• Create and schedule social media posts
• Create graphic, audio and video content
• Help to set-up, test and promote online campaign actions
• Support the planning and delivery of online and in-person events
• Interview service users and write up their stories
• Help to support the involvement of LGBTQI+ people with lived experience of the asylum system in our work
• Help keep our fundraising database up-to-date and draft correspondence for our individual donors

Rainbow Migration’s vision is a world where there is equality, dignity, respect and safety for all people in the expression of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Our values are:

• Safety: We believe everyone should be safe from persecution and safe to be themselves. We strive to create a safe workplace culture, and we place importance on the wellbeing of everyone involved with Rainbow Migration.
• Integrity: We are thorough and honest in everything we do, and we take responsibility for our actions. We want to be accountable to our communities and those who support us.
• Belonging: We welcome and include all LGBTQI+ people, and we celebrate and value their range of experience in terms of gender, religion, race, age, disability status and class. We try to remove obstacles to participation, champion equality and promote a sense of family or home through our services.
• Respect: We believe that every person is equal and deserves the same level of courtesy, care, and attention. We respect the rights, wishes and feelings of our service users, and campaign for their rights to be respected as they go through the asylum and immigration system.

At Rainbow Migration, we don’t just accept difference – we celebrate it, we support it, and we thrive on it. We’re proud to be an equal opportunity employer and we value diversity. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, gender identity sexual orientation, age, marital status, or disability status – simple, we consider all qualified applicants, consistent with any legal requirements.

We welcome applications from candidates with lived experience of going through the UK asylum or immigration system or who have been subject to immigration control, and also people of colour who are currently underrepresented among our staff. We offer a guaranteed interview scheme for anyone considered as disabled under the Equality Act 2010 (physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ effect on your ability to do normal daily activities), providing such candidates meet the essential criteria. If you wish to qualify under this scheme, please make this clear when applying.

CONTRACT TYPE: Permanent

HOURS: 35 hours per week. We will consider part-time or job share. When applying, please state what hours you are looking to work. Very occasional evening work is required, and possibly at weekends, but with plenty of notice (meetings and events will be held virtually until the office space is open again).

SALARY: Starting at £20,096 with potential annual step increases up to £21,319 (pro rata if working part-time), plus statutory employer’s pension contribution. In addition to an annual step increase, the trustees consider giving a separate inflationary increase every April and it has already been agreed that from 1 April this year the starting salary will rise to £21,101.

LOCATION: Rainbow Migration’s offices are based in Borough, Central London, and this role would normally be office-based. At the time of posting this advert, all Rainbow Migration staff are working from home due to Covid-19. A mix of working at home and/or the office is likely for the foreseeable future. There might also be occasional travel outside London with plenty of notice.

ANNUAL LEAVE: 25 days per year rising after 24 months by 1 day after each year of service to maximum of 28 days per year (pro rata if working part-time).

CLOSING DATE: 11pm, 3 April.

INTERVIEWS: Between 7 – 12 April

HOW TO APPLY: Please read the job description and person specification. If you have any questions about the role or would like to find out more before applying, then you can contact the line manager via recruitment@rainbowmigration.org.uk.

Please email your CV, covering statement, and optional monitoring form to recruitment@rainbowmigration.org.uk. When writing your covering statement, please give examples of how you meet the person specification. In addition to what is on your CV, we want to hear about any relevant skills and experience that demonstrate you meet the necessary criteria for the role, and if you meet any of the advantageous criteria. Skills and experience could be from , training, volunteering, interests and life experience. Please make your statement no longer than two A4 pages.

Please also confirm in your statement if you wished to be considered under the guaranteed interview scheme for anyone considered as disabled under the Equality Act 2010 (physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ effect on your ability to do normal daily activities).

By submitting an application, you:

1. Confirm that you have the right to work in the UK and will produce the necessary documentation if you are offered this post.
2. Declare that to the best of your knowledge and belief, the information provided with your application is true and correct and that you understand that any false information or statement given will justify the dismissal from Rainbow Migration if appointed.

Privacy Notice: Your privacy and data protection

In order to recruit and manage staff, Rainbow Migration needs to store personal information (data) about all applicants. Rainbow Migration is registered as a “controller of personal data” under the Data Protection Act 2018 with the Information Commissioner. By applying for this role, you agree that we will keep the information on your CV and covering statement. Monitoring information is kept separately and is pseudonymised to avoid identification of applicants. Monitoring information is amalgamated for statistical purposes and the original data then destroyed. Rainbow Migration keeps all personal information safely and securely, and does not share your information with anyone outside Rainbow Migration or any other organisation without your consent. Information is kept for the minimum period necessary which for CVs and covering statements for unsuccessful applicants is 12 months after the conclusion of the recruitment campaign.

by Rainbow Migration

LGBTHM: The beginnings of Rainbow Migration

This year, we wanted to share the beginnings of Rainbow Migration and the first big immigration rights achievement that we were able to celebrate back in 1997, while also reminding everyone that a cruel #AntiRefugeeBill is being passed through Parliament at the moment. If it becomes law, more LGBTQI+ people will be refused sanctuary here and sent back to countries where they will be persecuted and their lives will be at risk. Learn more about the dangerous Bill and how you can take action today.

The creation of Rainbow Migration, 1993

Rainbow Migration was created in 1993 as the Stonewall Immigration Group by same sex couples and their lawyers to share information, campaign for change and support lesbians and gay men wanting to remain together in the UK on the basis of their relationships.

Organised more effectively as a group, more and more people made applications for a partner to be granted leave to remain in the United Kingdom.

The effort and resilience of couples prepared to fight difficult legal battles, together with lawyers who used every available legal and political method to pursue their clients’ cases resulted in a number of significant successes.

A decisive moment in 1994

In 1994, the Immigration Appeal Tribunal decided that a parallel should be drawn between the way in which unmarried opposite-sex partners and unmarried same-sex partners were treated. From that moment on, despite resistance, there were several more successful applications by same-sex couples.

Campaigning for change: 1994 – 1997

Rainbow Migration campaigned in the run up to the May 1997 general election, successfully obtaining the commitment of the Shadow Home Secretary that if elected, a Labour government would recognise same-sex relationships for immigration purposes.

In 1997, same-sex partners are recognised for the first time in British law

In October 1997, the Unmarried Partners Concession was announced. It was the very first positive legal recognition of same sex relationships in British law. The concession made it possible for same-sex couples to make an application for the foreign partner to remain in the United Kingdom if they had lived together for four years.

Equal immigration rights, 2000

In October 2000, the unmarried partners concession became an Immigration Rule, which is of far more legal significance than a concession.

Civil Partnership Act, 2004

Finally, in November 2004 the Civil Partnership Act was passed. Once this legislation came into effect in December 2005, it ensured equal immigration rights for same-sex couples.

Expanding our area of work

After this victory, at Rainbow Migration we expanded our area of work to support all LGBTQI+ people who wanted to stay in the UK because they were afraid of persecution in their home countries.

If you’d like to find our more about us, you can learn more about the work that we do or the ways in which we support LGBTQI+ people seeking asylum.

by Rainbow Migration