Domestic violence victims relieved of immigration pressure
01 November 2002
On 26 November 2002 the Home Office announced changes to a concession which permits victims of domestic violence who have an insecure immigration status, often linked to their spouse, to remain in the country on showing certain evidence of their plight. Women who suffer abuse by their husbands are often locked in violent relationships because leaving would entail the withdrawal of their residency permit and place them under threat of deportation. The west London campaigning group Southall Black Sisters commented that in the case of a deportation of a victim of domestic violence, the women often risk abuse on their return due to prevailing attitudes towards female divorcees.
Margaret Moran, Labour MP and chairwoman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Domestic Violence said that "women were being forced to leave a terrible situation in this country, only to be subjected to disgrace, humiliation and ostracism by their own families for something that was not their fault." Moran played a central part in initiating an Internet project in September 1999, to enable survivors of domestic violence to contribute evidence and information about their experiences and thereby gather evidence about their needs and identify key issues in providing effective responses. Amongst other things, the women involved in the project were asked to consider the impact of immigration status on women's ability to gain help in escaping domestic violence. Over 80% of the contributors agreed that women with an uncertain immigration status who are experiencing domestic violence face many more barriers preventing them from accessing help. The project found that:
Lack of information on the rights of women with uncertain immigration status can make women fearful of approaching agencies for help. They also have difficulty in accessing public funds (such as income support and housing benefit). Local refuge providers find it difficult to offer space to women with uncertain immigration status because refuges rely on rent income from housing benefit to run the safe houses.
Although the Government originally introduced the domestic violence concession in immigration cases on 16 June 1999 it did not have the desired impact as the types of evidence to be produced were too restrictive. The recent changes allow a man or woman in a marriage or partnership to remain in the UK if they produce two of the following pieces of evidence:
- a medical report by a hospital doctor confirming injuries consistent with domestic violence,
- a letter from a GP with the same information as above,
- a court order disallowing the spouse contact with the victim,
- a police report confirming a visit at the home of the victim,
- a letter from social services or a letter of support from a women's refuge.
The Times 27.11.02; See also http://www.womensaid.org.uk/policy/ briefings/womenspeak.htm for information on the Internet project for victims of domestic violence.