Neither safety nor justice: the UK government response to domestic violence against immigrant women

Abstract

Based on research findings, this article examines the extent to which Labour government's policy towards immigrant women experiencing domestic violence responds to their needs. The research itself was conducted in 2007 and included qualitative interviews with 30 South Asian women with no recourse to public funds due to their status as recent marriage migrants, who were living in the North West and Yorkshire regions of England. The working of a key concession within the Immigration Rules (2002) which theoretically offers an opportunity of exit to immigrant women facing domestic violence – the Domestic Violence Rule – is examined in light of the reality of South Asian women's experiences, including the nature of domestic violence they face, their patterns of help‐seeking, pathways out of the abusive relationship and their experience of service provision. The central thesis of this paper is that the effectiveness of this legislation is severely hampered by a failure to take into account the multiple dimensions of disadvantage that recent marriage migrants face.