Domestic Abuse Bill fails migrant women whose perpetrators use immigration status as a ‘weapon to abuse'

'The bill barely tinkers at the edges of what is necessary to ensure migrant women are treated fairly,' says Director of Amnesty UK

While guidance is already in place for police forces to support victims the police often share data with the Home Office and domestic violence victims are treated as suspects by immigration enforcement (iStock)

Migrant women whose immigration status is being used as a “weapon to abuse” them will not be protected under new legislation being proposed by the government, campaigners have warned.

The landmark Domestic Abuse Bill introduces the first ever statutory definition of domestic abuse to include economic abuse and controlling and manipulative behaviour that is not physical.

But Amnesty International UK and a host of other charities and organisations have warned that the legislation fails to offer migrant women the protections they need.

Many of the protections the bill provides will continue to stay out of reach for some of the most vulnerable women in society, said Amnesty UK's director Kate Allen.

“Migrant women in abusive relationships are currently trapped and further victimised by their immigration status - excluded from financial support which often makes them reliant on their abuser and threatened with deportation should they seek support from the police,” she said.

“In its current form, the bill barely tinkers at the edges of what is necessary to ensure migrant women are treated fairly. To truly be ground-breaking, the bill must ensure all women can access housing and welfare support and report abuse without fear of immigration enforcement. Otherwise perpetrators will continue to use the immigration status of their victims as a weapon to control and abuse their victims.”

While guidance is already in place for police forces to support domestic violence victims, they often share data with the Home Office. As a result the victims can be treated as suspects by immigration officials - something the new legisliation fails to address by ensuring they could access support services like refuges.

Instead, the government suggests some victims of domestic abuse “may be best served by returning to their country of origin and, where it is available, to the support of their family and friends”.

Lucila Granada, Director of the Latin American Women’s Rights Service, said it was “particularly alarming” that the legislation acknowledges the substantial vulnerability of migrant victims who fear deportation due to coming forward but fails to actually offer them support.

“Every day we support women who are unable to trust that the police and the law will prioritise their lives and their safety simply because they are migrants,” she said. “Deterring migrant women from reporting crimes gives impunity to perpetrators.”

She also called for safe reporting pathways, appropriate support, and a fair chance for migrant women to be able to escape domestic violence.

Campaigners also warned that the needs of children affected by domestic abuse are not enshrined in the bill.

Patrick Ryan, of Hestia, a charity which supports adults and children across London in times of crisis, said 55 per cent of children who witness abuse in the family home will go on to experience domestic abuse as an adult.

He said that 825,000 children lived in a home where domestic abuse takes place, "yet they are not entitled to specialist support".

As a result, he said the charity was calling for the bill "to include protected waiting list status for all children affected by domestic abuse to ensure they get the support they need.”

The economic and social costs of domestic abuse was £66bn in 2016/17, according to a recent Home Office report.

The vast majority of this cost – £47bn – was found to be the result of the physical and emotional harm of domestic abuse. But it also included other factors like the cost to health services, police and victim services.

Once enacted, the new legislation will lead to the creation of a domestic abuse commissioner. It will also introduce new protection notices and orders, designed to shield victims from their abusers and restrict the actions of offenders.

Perpetrators will also be prevented from directly cross-examining their victims in family courts. Among a raft of other measures, it also pledges £8m of Home Office funding to support children affected by domestic abuse.

A Home Office spokesperson said the government is committed to ensuring that all victims of crime are treated first and foremost as victims, regardless of their immigration status.

“In our domestic abuse consultation response published on Monday, we have committed £500,000 of funding to help organisations combatting domestic abuse strengthen their expertise about immigration rights and improve our understanding of the number of migrant women needing crisis support," they said.

“In addition, Immigration Enforcement is currently engaged with the National Police Chiefs Council lead on domestic abuse to ensure that police and immigration work collaboratively to quickly recognise victims and work to ensure immigration status is not used by perpetrators to control vulnerable migrants.”