Our recommendations to protect migrant victims of domestic abuse

Rights of Women supports hundreds of migrant victims of domestic abuse each year. Through this work we learn about the unique problems that migrant victims face and have developed an understanding from women of what needs to be done to address them.

We are calling on the new Government to prioritise protecting migrant victims of domestic abuse, learning from the expertise that organisations like ours can bring to developing migration policy to protect victims of domestic abuse.

We have asked the new Government to start the work of improving protections for migrant victims now and have set out our top 10 recommendations for meaningful change.

We have called on Government to:

1. Expand the scope of existing immigration policies protecting migrant victims of domestic abuse. The immigration policies of Appendix Victim of Domestic Abuse (VDA) and the Migrant Victims of Domestic Abuse Concession (MVDAC) only benefit a defined group of migrant victims with certain types of partner visa. These policies need to be expanded to benefit all migrant victims of domestic abuse.
2. Reinstate the right of appeal against refusal of an immigration application for indefinite leave as a victim of domestic abuse.
3. Decide alternative grounds to remain in the UK, including human rights grounds, prior to refusal of a domestic abuse application.
4. Remove the reservation to Article 59 of the Istanbul Convention and take measures to implement its provisions.
5. End the practice of cancelling leave where there has been domestic abuse.
6. Give victims of domestic abuse immediate settlement under the EU Settlement Scheme.
7. Give migrant victims access to public funds.
8. Expand the scope of legal aid to all migrant victims.
9. End data sharing between the police and other public services with immigration enforcement.
10. Listen and learn from migrant victims and the specialist organisations supporting them.

We have written to the new Government outlining why change is needed and how implementing our top ten recommendations would make a difference.

We recognise some change can take time, but work should and can begin now.

On one issue we are clear that nothing less than urgent change is needed. We have asked Government to immediately reverse a cruel policy change introduced by the last Government at the start of this year that is harming the children of migrant victims of domestic abuse. The primary route of protection for migrant victims of domestic abuse to secure indefinite leave after fleeing abuse has been undermined by policies that require their children to be supported without access to public funds, and for children who reach 18 to pass English and Life in the UK tests without which they are denied status under the domestic abuse route. These requirements have never previously applied to the domestic abuse immigration policy because they fundamentally undermine the purpose of the policy to protect victims. These irrational and harmful policy changes risk leaving child victims of domestic abuse undocumented and row back on years of effective protections for victims of domestic abuse under the Immigration Rules. We have called for them to be scrapped in the next set of changes to the Immigration Rules.

Rights of Women will continue campaigning for change, alongside organisations in the VAWG and migrant rights sectors, to ensure law and policy meets the needs of migrant victims of domestic abuse and women’s voices are heard.