Asylum seekers in Britain were given guidance on avoiding sexual relationships with underage girls during a consent lesson that has prompted a backlash, with the teacher warning that “young men” had previously been caught out.
Footage posted online appears to show a teacher from asylum-support charity the Mamacita Foundation advising migrants to ask young people for identification when approaching them.
The instructor also cautioned attendees not to rely on a teenager’s appearance, saying some British young people may look younger or older than their actual age.
In the video, she asks: “For you to have a girlfriend, a boyfriend, you see a 12-year-old, a 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, before they turn 18 or 19 and you see someone, what is the right age for a young person to be before you can approach them for anything sexual, intimacy?”
“Please, this is very, very essential because we’ve had young men fall for these things that could be preventable,” she says.
She then tells the group: “So guys, we’ve got our answer. It’s 16 years old for both England and Scotland. I thought it was 18 for England so we’re all learning.”
“So please, if you see a young person, ask for their age. In fact, ask for their ID card,” the teacher adds.
“Don’t be deceived, we have young persons growing bigger than their age,” she says.
The footage appears to show a teacher warning migrants not to judge British teenagers’ ages by their appearance.
In the video, the teacher advises migrants to request identification if they believe someone could be under 18.
“In fact, 14 years, 12 years, are taller than myself, so don’t be deceived by the size,” she says.
The Mamacita Foundation, the charity associated with the consent session, supports asylum seekers in Britain.
Based in Aberdeen, the organisation offers drop-in sessions, food assistance, CV and employment workshops, youth programmes, and dance and fitness activities aimed at wellbeing.
The charity has faced strong criticism over the clip, with Reform UK describing the workshop as “disgusting”.
The controversy follows the publication last month of an official government guide for asylum seekers that included warnings against raping or assaulting women.
Sharing the footage online on Saturday, a Reform UK spokesman repeated the teacher’s words: “We’ve had young men, you know, fall for these things.”
“These are the words of a charity worker teaching newly arrived migrants about the age of consent,” the spokesman said.
He called the lesson “a disgusting way of describing the numerous assaults young British girls suffer at the hands of fighting-age illegal migrant males”.
The criticism comes after asylum seekers were warned in an official government guide not to rape or assault women last month. Pictured: a page from the new guidebook.
“Reform UK will detain and deport them. Enough is enough,” the spokesman added.
Meanwhile, Reform MSP Mark Simpson described the footage as ‘deeply concerning’.
In a letter to trustees, he accused the Mamacita Foundation of admitting the organisation ‘believes some of the men it works with do not understand that children are off limits’, in reference to the comments made by the charity worker.
Mr Simpson said: ‘The recording is deeply troubling. The organiser first gets the age of consent wrong for England.
‘A participant then states that it ‘can be 14’. The age of consent across the United Kingdom is 16.
‘Two points stand out as particularly concerning: An organisation that cannot provide clear guidance on such a vital issue should not be permitted to carry out this role; Grown men should not need a publicly funded workshop to be told not to have sex with children. If they do, that is a policing and immigration control issue.’
A spokesman for the Mamacita Foundation told GB News: ‘We received Mark Simpson MSP’s email and attached letter on Friday 18 September 2026 at 8:31pm.
‘He subsequently published a social media post before we had a reasonable opportunity to respond.
‘We would have welcomed the opportunity to clarify these matters directly before conclusions were shared publicly.
‘We are concerned that volunteers have expressed fears for their safety following the online attention.
‘We welcome fair scrutiny and respectful discussion, and ask everyone to consider the effect of their words on volunteers and people accessing community support.
‘Our dedicated volunteers make our work possible, and we are grateful for their kindness and commitment to the people of Aberdeen.
‘We remain willing to work constructively with elected representatives, public bodies, and specialist organisations to strengthen community understanding and safeguarding.’
The Daily Mail has approached the charity and also the Home Office for further comment.
The incident comes after migrants were last month warned in an official government guidebook not to rape or beat women.
The Home Office publication setting out the ‘rules and expectations’ of living in Britain will be handed to asylum seekers as part of an education campaign.
It warned: ‘If you have sex with someone without their consent, this is called rape. Rape is a serious crime in the UK.’
The seven-page booklet, published in the wake of a series of horrific rapes and sex attacks by asylum seekers, also warns new arrivals not to ‘follow someone or block their path’, or ‘make rude or offensive gestures’.
Asylum seekers are told never to ‘make sexual comments to someone, even if you think it is a compliment’ or ‘whistle or make kissing noises at someone’.
It sets out that it is illegal to have sex with someone under the age of 16, adding: ‘There are no exceptions to this rule. Even if they say yes, it is still illegal.’
The pamphlet, entitled ‘Understanding behaviours and expectations in the UK: A guide for asylum seekers’, is expected to be made available in a range of foreign languages.
It also outlines how physical violence, threats and controlling behaviour are forms of domestic abuse and amount to a serious crime.
It says: ‘We understand that coming to a new country can be difficult, and that laws and customs here may be different from your home country.
‘This booklet will help you understand what is expected of you when living in the UK.’
It adds: ‘These rules and expectations are not just for people seeking asylum, they apply to everyone living here.’
The booklet goes on to explain that men and women in the UK have equal rights and that women are allowed to ‘work and earn their own money’, study, travel freely, and ‘make their own decisions about their lives’, including whether to marry.
It adds that a husband, father or brother should never stop a woman from working or studying; control what she wears or where she goes; stop her seeing family or friends; or make decisions for her without her agreement.
The document also warns that it is a crime to take sexual images of someone without their consent.
It contains advice and helpline numbers for anyone who has suffered sexual or other abuse.
A separate document, ‘Keeping children safe in the UK’, sets out that ‘babies and toddlers must never be left alone’.
Children should not be ‘hit, smacked, shaken or hurt’ and that ‘not giving a child enough food, clean clothes, healthcare, or a safe place to live’ amounts to neglect.
The material has also been reproduced as a series of posters featuring comic-style illustrations, presumably to be displayed in asylum hotels and other types of migrant accommodation.
Last year there were 41,472 arrivals by small boat – most of whom went on to claim asylum – and of those 34,201 were male.
The largest nationalities among Channel migrant arrivals last year were Eritreans with just over 7,600, Afghans (4,800), Iranians (4,400), Sudanese (4,400) and Somalis (3,800).
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