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Pippa xx



Rt. Hon. (Name of MP) MP (Your Address)
House of Commons
London SW1A 0AA

Date

Dear Rt. Hon. ( name of MP) MP

I/we are writing to you to draw your attention to
the inhuman plight of
approximately 500-600 women every year - women who
suffer domestic violence
whilst in the UK as immigrants and asylum seekers.
These women have a stark
choice: to risk their lives, and that of their
children by staying in
abusive relationships or face destitution and
removal from the UK. While the
Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Bill, currently
making its way through
Parliament, aims to improve protection and provision
for women experiencing
violence in the home, the Government has chosen to
disregard the needs of
this small but extremely vulnerable group of women.
You have a historic
opportunity to improve this appalling situation by
supporting the amendments
proposed by Southall Black Sisters to the Bill,
which is due to debated in
the House of Commons from May 2004 onwards.

Most of the women are married to or have
relationships with UK citizens or
men who have indefinite leave to remain in the UK. A
minority have come here
as fiancées, or dependants of students and workers
or are here temporarily
in their own right. Many of them have children who
are British citizens.
What they all share in common is they have no right
to public funds; that is
benefits and housing under the Housing Act 1996.
This means that they are
not even able to seek safety in a refuge, as the
rent for the refuge space
is usually funded by housing benefit. Most of them
are only allowed to stay
in the UK if they remain with their abuser. At a
time when the Government is
trying to hold perpetrators accountable for their
criminal actions, these
women are being unable to pursue prosecutions as
they remain economically
dependent on a violent spouse/partner and/or fear
removal from the country.

The Government has acknowledged that benefits and
support are "life saving
and critical" if victims of domestic violence are to
leave abuse. Why do
these women and their children not have the same
right to protection and
life as other victims in the UK? The Government says
that they cannot help
these women as this would undermine the integrity of
the immigration and
benefits rules. This is discriminatory and a breach
of the UK Government's
human rights obligations.

In 1999, the Government introduced a concession for
victims of domestic
violence, allowing them to remain in the UK
permanently, but this was
limited to only those who entered or stayed in the
UK on the basis of
marriage or relationship to a person who is a
British national or settled in
the country, and subject to a probationary period.
In 2002, the Government
incorporated this concession into the Immigration
Rules. However, even
victims entitled to remain under this "Domestic
Violence Immigration Rule"
are not allowed to have recourse to public funds,
preventing many from
leaving abusive situations for fear of destitution
and thus rendering the
Domestic Violence Rule ineffective.

Southall Black Sisters proposes that:

* all victims of domestic violence who are subject
to
immigration control should receive benefits and
housing under the Housing
Act 1996
* that the Government should retrieve these funds
from
sponsors provided there is no further risk of harm
to the victim or her
family
* that the Domestic Violence Immigration Rule
should be
extended to all victims of domestic violence subject
to immigration control
* that the types of evidence that are required to
prove
domestic violence under the Domestic Violence
Immigration Rule should be
extended, and include: adjudicator and other legal
decisions, victim and
witness testimonies and reports and letters from
voluntary and statutory
sector agencies

Amendments based upon these proposals relating to
access to public funds and
extending the Domestic Violence Immigration Rule
were tabled by Peers from
all three parties to Section 25 of the Domestic
Violence Bill. The
amendments were debated in Grand Committee and
Report Stage in the House of
Lords. These amendments may now be re-tabled after
the 2nd reading of the
Bill in the House of Commons.

These amendments are supported by a number of
organisations including the
Women's National Commission, Women's Aid, the Law
Society, Imkaan, Amnesty
International UK, the Greater London Domestic
Violence Project, Respect,
Rights of Women and many refuges.

I/we urge you to support these reforms by contacting
the Home Office
Ministers, Baroness Scotland and Paul Goggin MP, and
the Home Secretary,
David Blunkett MP. Also, please lend your support to
Early Day Motions
(including the current EDM 820 placed by Diane
Abbott MP) or future
amendments to the Domestic Violence Bill based on
these reforms.

Yours sincerely

(Your signature)

(Printed Name)



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"Speak your mind, even if your voice shakes"
Maggie Kuhn
http://incurable-hippie.blogspot.com