Domestic abusers ‘using immigration status to coerce and control’, new report warns

The report, Safety Before Status, draws on research by the Angelou Centre, as well as a review of Home Office evidence by the University of Suffolk
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Domestic abusers are using victims’ immigration status as a tool of coercion and control a new report has warned.

The Domestic Abuse Commissioner said some migrant victims are being forced to stay with their abusers or face destitution because they cannot access public funds to escape, and that the term “immigration abuse” should be recognised in national guidance.

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Nicole Jacobs said victims whose status means they have no recourse to public funds (NRPF) are reluctant to report abuse over fears that the police will pass their information on to immigration enforcement.

Ms Jacobs said these fears are then being exploited by perpetrators who are threatening victims that they will be deported if they come forward, as well as destroying or withholding their immigration documents.

The report, Safety Before Status, draws on research by the Angelou Centre, as well as a review of Home Office evidence by the University of Suffolk.

Ms Jacobs is calling for the term “immigration abuse” to be included in the national definition of domestic abuse and recognised in policy and guidance, and also wants an immediate firewall between agencies so that victims can come forward without fear that their immigration details will be passed on.

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She said the passage of the Domestic Abuse Act this year was a “critical step forwards”, but those with NRPF will be “left out of this vital provision”.

She also said the Government should also give local authorities £18.7 million over three years so those with NRPF can seek refuge, as well as a further £262.9 million over three years to fund specialist services, including those for black and minority victims.

She said “Having spent over 20 years working on the front line, I have sat with victims and survivors and their children as they desperately seek a place of safety, only to be told that their immigration status means there is nowhere to go.

“This cannot be allowed to continue.”

One organisation told researchers: “We have to tell women who have risked everything and their lives to seek help ‘I’m sorry but we can’t guarantee that your data won’t be shared or that you won’t be deported’.

“How can we expect any women who are at risk of death to come forward?

“This is another reason why so many women remain in abuse.”

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