Over the past few months CARIS has received requests for support and referrals of women who are suffering from domestic violence and have ‘no recourse to public funds’.
Women with insecure immigration status combined with ‘no recourse to public funds’, equates to the inability to obtain state benefits, which makes them even more vulnerable to the controls exercised by their husbands, partners, families and communities. They feel totally dependent making it more difficult to leave the abusive relationship. This affects the lives of the children caught in this web who often find themselves being the victim of physical abuse. Witnessing the violence can be damaging and can lead to them copying this violent behaviour or resulting in several behaviour issues. Children can also develop stress-related illnesses, it can cause loss of confidence, and they can become afraid and angry, and blame themselves for what is happening.
There are different categories of immigration status which women who are experiencing domestic violence fall under. It must be noted that due to the complexity of the nationality and immigration law, family law, children’s acts, human rights etc there is a need to assess these cases on a case by case merit. However, all of these women can obtain injunctions to protect themselves and their children by being “litigant in person”. Some are also able to access health care, benefits, housing, apply for indefinite leave to remain and get legal assistance though this list is not exhaustive.
These women experiences of domestic violence are often further exacerbated by their experiences of institutional racism making them much more vulnerable and at greater risks. When approaching public services for assistance they are often ignored and told that they can’t be assisted due to their immigration status or because of the label ‘no recourse to public funds’. Often their rights are not exercised properly and they are provided with incorrect advice.
As an overall view, although there seems to be a lot of rights available for this vulnerable client group, it must be noted that accessing these rights is a rigorous task and most women state that,” it is the hardest thing they will have undergone”. Some of the issues that these women face are, cost implications i.e. if they have ‘no recourse to public funds’ it can be virtually impossible to obtain legal help and representation due to the cost implications; therefore a lot of these women end up been “litigant in person” and need proper legal advice and support to ensure they understand the procedure involved and to ensure that they obtain the result needed.
If you need further information regarding the issues mentioned above, you have a client that is experiencing domestic violence or it is you experiencing domestic violence a list of specialist advisor’s dealing with family law and immigration law can be found at
www.communitylegaladvice.org.uk
www.nationaldomesticviolencehelpline.org.uk
Indira Kartallozi
Senior Advice & Outreach Worker
Posted by Indira Kartallozi 
