Why is it mostly men on the boats?

[LinedOverLatte]

Inspired by a different thread relating to yesterday’s march.

Many of the comments on the thread about the march are rude about men, suggesting these ‘gammons’ are violent thugs who’ve told their women to stay at home.

They are men looking for a fight apparently.

One quote - “the fact that it’s only men should raise questions...”

So, my question is “it is mostly men coming in on the boats - shouldn’t that ALSO raise questions…?”

And yet thats where a large minority of asylum claims come from. Go figure.

Even the Guardian gets it.
”In the year to June 2025, 43,600 people seeking asylum arrived on a small boat – 39% of all asylum claims, according to Home Office data. Another 41,100 asylum claims came from people who entered legally with a visa, with the largest group among visa holders being students – 16,000 last year, nearly six times as many as in 2020.”

So would you like to stop the boats, or stop the migration?

What if you don’t have a passport because your house was burned, your papers taken by police? What if the government banned you from leaving due to your beliefs- or things you posted on social media? What if you had less than 24hrs notice that the police were coming to your town to round up every male over 24?

Then id probably run to the first safe place i could reach, and then send for my vulnerable family.

What if you were on record on TikTok throwing your papers over the side of the dinghy is probably a more likely scenario.

The people arriving on boats are coming from France though....

Imagine a family, wife, kids, parents, husband especially in a culture where the male is the leader/provider, responsible for the family of course that is who goes first to either set everything up or to work and send money home.

HNRTFT, but I've been on a few of the migrant threads so I am acquainted with the arguments and logic.

@stayathomer , there were many women and families at the march. If you only watch certain media you will only see what they want you to see.

There were many women and families at the march. If you only watch certain media you will only see what they want you to see.

Come on now! In the main they're not desparate people fleeing war and persecution, they're economic migrants looking for a better life.
They know from all their buddies that have already arrived that the UK roll out the red carpet, give asylum to anyone who asks, invites the rest of the family and never makes you leave.
So they trek across half or Europe (all of which is safe and in which they could claim asylum if they were genuine), borrow a few grand from a criminal gang (who will want that back by some nefarious means) and rock up on our shores with their hand out.
They don't bring the women and children because they are perfectly safe where they are, and will get a free ride over in due course.
You can't blame them, I'd be on the first dinghy too.

So they can come here, earn a living in the hope to legitimately have their wives and children over? Or
so they can come here, earn a living and support their poverty stricken families back home.

At one point the largest number of people entering the country were Albanian males. They don’t face any of the challenges you’ve described so it would have been very easy to enter the country safely and claim asylum, they don’t want to do it the proper way because they know they’ll get refused.

If their countries werent bombed to oblivion, robbed and pillaged, would they come here?
doubt it very much.

to not start something if you can’t face the consequences?

also it’s shocking the by number of people who can’t do simple maths. Who think the country is on its knees because of boat people and not because of those at the top. It’s happened. We have become like the Americans we used to make fun of , of not being able to see the blindingly obvious.

And they aren’t normally granted asylum- they are returned

Would you send your daughter thousands of miles on a dangerous journey? Exactly.

What proper way?

If they’re going to get refused asylum, they’ll get refused it however they arrive.

Around 75% of asylum seekers are young men according to Eurostat statistics. Many leave mainland Europe to get to the UK due to greater economic growth (thus making them economic migrants), and the relative ease of finding illegal undocumented work, the latter being due to the application of habeas corpus preventing the checking of migrants' identification. I think it's disingenuous to expect us to believe that the majority of these young men are sending money home to wives and children or indeed that they have any. It also seems to be conveniently overlooked that all of them who arrive in the UK are "fleeing" France, Germany or Italy and not war-torn countries.

So basically women refugees do escape their home countries too, often in groups with men but a lot more women than men don’t make it across the smuggling routes alive or safely.
Just as one example, one route goes through Libya which is now controlled by a variety of warlords.
Women on that smuggling route are usually taken captive as sex slaves. Actually quite a lot of men are enslaved also.
But it’s not widely known about in their home countries so they keep leaving (often having no choice). It’s awful.

OP theres a lot more I could say but I suggest you do some research into the subject yourself for example look up the charity ‘Care for Calais’ it’s a real eye opener what they have to say.

So how does the rest of the family support themselves for several years while he’s away? Or forever, if he doesnt make it?

That does indeed sound awful. But France is a safe country.

So you think that France should shoulder the burden of the refugees? And we help none?
I hate this stupid gotcha of people having to stay in the first safe country they arrive in. How convenient that is for us.

This.

There is a lot more information here as to why some try to reach the UK instead of staying in France.

www.against-inhumanity.org/2023/05/05/asylum-seekers-crossing-the-english-channel-why-dont-they-stay-in-france-by-marie-leveille/

That’s not how work visas work, firstly. You think the Taliban or Iranian or Eritrean regimes will allow work visa applications? Come on. You need to get smuggled out of the country and that leaves you at the mercy of where smugglers will take you.