Women ‘fear deportation’ if they report abuse
WOMEN are being forced to suffer domestic abuse in silence because they fear being deported, a Birmingham MP claims.
Jess Phillips, Labour MP for Yardley, said: “We are leaving violent rapists and dangerous, violent men in our community able to hurt people again and again.”
She was speaking in the House of Commons, where MPs were debating new legislation called the Domestic Abuse Bill.
It contains a range of measures, including setting out a clear legal definition of domestic abuse, in an attempt to make it easier to prosecute offenders.
The Bill outlaws so-called “revenge porn” by making it an offence to share or threaten to share a private sexual photograph or film. It also creates a new offence of “non-fatal strangulation”, making it a crime to strangle someone without their consent, or with their consent if it leads to “serious harm”.
While the measures in the Bill are generally supported by MPs from all parties, Labour and the Government have disagreed over how the law affects some immigrants.
The House of Lords has attempted to amend the legislation to ensure that the personal data of anyone who makes a complaint about domestic abuse cannot be used for immigration control purposes.
In other words, they want to make sure a domestic abuse victim who may not have a legal right to remain in the UK cannot be deported if they go to the police.
And the Lords passed measures designed to ensure every victim is eligible for protection and support. This is significant because some immigrants are classed as having “no recourse to public funds”, which means they cannot claim certain benefits and cannot get help from their local council if they become homeless. It means they are not offered accommodation if they need to leave their home to escape abuse. However, although these changes were approved by the House of Lords, they are set to be removed from the legislation by the House of Commons.
They are opposed by the Government, although Ministers say a range of measures in the Bill will apply to everyone equally, regardless of immigration status.
Ms Phillips was speaking in the House of Commons in her role as Labour’s Shadow Minister for Domestic Violence and Safeguarding. She said: “These amendments mean that migrant victims would be able to access support and protection just like everybody else.
“Without them, victims will be left trapped in an abusive household. It is as simple as that.”
She warned: “Perpetrators know at the moment that they can use immigration status as a weapon against vulnerable, frightened victims. If you tell the police, you’ll get deported and you’ll never see the kids again. If you tell the police they’ll lock you up in a detention centre.”
Perpetrators know they can use immigration status as a weapon against vulnerable victims
Jess Phillips MP