A poll commissioned by the Women's Policy Centre has found that nearly three-quarters of Britons would support banning asylum seekers from countries where women are not treated equally or are unsafe from sexual violence. The survey follows several high-profile cases in which asylum seekers were convicted of serious sexual offences against women and girls in the UK, and reflects broader public anxiety about the link between immigration and rising rates of reported sexual offences.

The poll, conducted by Whitestone Insight among 2,093 UK adults between 21 and 23 August 2026, found 73% would vote against admitting men from countries where rape, child abuse and domestic violence are widespread, with only 13% opposed to such a ban. Two-thirds (66%) believed immigration from countries with fewer rights for women had contributed to a rise in sexual offences, a view held most strongly by older respondents (77% of over-65s versus 58% of 18-24-year-olds), though support for a ban was high across all age groups. Police recorded 209,079 sexual offences in England and Wales in the year to March 2025, up 11% on the previous year, while recent convictions included two men from Egypt and Iran for a rape in Brighton and an Afghan asylum seeker for raping a 12-year-old girl in Nuneaton.