Sabia Kamali says the real threat isn’t migrants- its misplaced fear and far right racists
When sexual crimes hit headlines, migrants are often cast as the perpetrators, even though data shows that foreign nationals account for only a fraction of convictions. The majority of sexual offences occur within the existing communities, yet political and media narratives amplify fear about the asylum seekers. This scapegoating misdirects public attention from systematic problems of under-resourced surviving services, legal barriers and structural inequality while it undermines efforts to make society genuinely safer.
Sexual violence is not confined to one country, one race, or one faith. It is a global problem rooted in income inequality and power, present in every society. Yet asylum seekers and migrants are disproportionately cast as threats to women’s safety. This framing is politically convenient for the far-right to push for harsher immigration controls and for media outlets chasing outrage. However, it is dishonest, and it hides the structural issues that perpetuate violence.
In Germany, for example, after the 2015 New Year’s Eve assault in Cologne, a moral panic erupted around “migrant men.” But later investigations found no evidence of a broader surge in sexual violence linked to refugees. In Britain, figures showing that “foreign nationals” make up a proportion of convictions for sexual offences are presented as proof of a crisis, but the category includes students, seasonal workers, long-term residents, and asylum seekers alike. Arrests reflect policing priorities more than patterns of offending, and convictions capture only a fraction of actual violence, since most survivors never report crimes at all. Numbers are stripped of context and weaponised for political ends.
The dynamics of scapegoating are clear. It can redirect public concern away from the deeper challenge that underpins violence. While media narratives often emphasise the risk posed by migrant men, conviction rates for rape in England and Wales remain at a historically low level of just over 3%. At the same time, many local support services for survivors struggled to meet demand due to funding pressures. Public debate frequently highlights “foreign criminals”, yet much less attention is paid to how abuse is addressed within powerful institutions such as politics, business, and sport. In this way, migrants can become a symbolic focus for wider fears, while the structural drivers of violence, including misogyny, inequality and resource gaps, risk being left unaddressed.
For asylum seekers, the consequences are stark: many flee violence only to be branded as abusers. For survivors, the “migrant predator” myth is a dangerous distraction. It doesn’t make women feel safer; it fuels fear and division while leaving systematic misogyny untouched.
Justice must be individual, not collective. Perpetrators should be held accountable, but whole communities cannot be punished for the actions of a few. Scapegoating collapses this distinction, turning isolated crimes into the basis of collective suspicion.
A safer society demands investment in survivors’ services, safe housing, legal support and gender-sensitive asylum processes. It means tackling misogyny and racism together, rather than letting one excuse the other. The “migrant predator” narrative corrodes trust, fuels xenophobia, and leaves real perpetrators untouched. Rejecting it is not just fair, it is essential to building a society where women’s safety and migrant dignity are part of the same struggle for justice.
True safety is built on justice, not fear, and it protects everyone, regardless of where they come from.