Coronavirus: Migrant domestic abuse victims 'blocked from shelters and deterred from accessing healthcare'

Migrant women subjected to domestic abuse are bearing the brunt of the coronavirus crisis due to being blocked from entering shelters and deterred from accessing healthcare, frontline service providers warned.

Domestic abuse services and human rights organisations urged the Home Secretary to introduce emergency measures to help migrant women forced to self-isolate with their abusers in an open letter seen by The Independent.

Warnings come after police reported there has already been a rise in domestic abuse incidents directly linked to the coronavirus crisis and the national domestic abuse helpline has recieved more calls.

The letter, spearheaded by Amnesty International UK and the Latin American Women’s Rights Service, said refuges and counselling services for domestic abuse victims are “at full capacity and are falling apart at the seams” with most services “already having to close doors to protect staff and the people we support”.

Campaigners, who raised concerns social distancing measures would lead to a surge in domestic abuse, warned women who have insecure immigration status are at grave risk due to being barred from “the safety and support” they desperately need because of not having access to public funds.

Domestic abuse survivors who do not have access to public funds are refused help by the authorities which means they are denied support to leave their partners and refused refuge space.

Four in five migrant women are blocked from entering shelters for domestic abuse victims – as well as routinely being too frightened to access the NHS for healthcare.

The letter, which is signed by 22 organisations, says: “They are reluctant to go to the doctor or hospital if they are worried about their health because they are scared they will be reported to immigration enforcement.

"At the same time, migrant women are prevented from reporting domestic abuse to the police or other statutory services since perpetrators use immigration status as a tool of coercive control threatening them with detention, deportation, destitution or separation from their children.

“Over the next few months, the situation is only going to get worse. Evidence from China and Italy is emerging that the Covid-19 crisis will exacerbate domestic abuse. We are worried that the vulnerability of migrant women may increase since specialist BME and migrant services are experiencing shrinking capacity due to the lack of face-to-face support as a consequence of the virus outbreak. Domestic abuse affects roughly two million people a year in the UK, the majority of whom are women.”

The letter notes that while the home is often viewed as a sanctuary, for many it is actually a “place of hostility, violence and danger” – adding: “At a time when safety and healthcare is what we all need, migrant women victims of domestic abuse are denied these fundamental lifelines”.

The letter, which was organised by the Step Up Migrant Women campaign, a coalition of more than 40 black minority ethnic (BME) and migrant organisations, called for the government to “protect the many victims of this horrendous crime” irrespective of their immigration status.

Campaigners called for all NHS charging that blocks or puts people off accessing healthcare in the wake of the pandemic to be scrapped - as well as demanding data sharing between statutory services such as the police and health services and the Home Office to be axed.

China saw a threefold increase in cases of domestic abuse reported to police stations in February in comparison with the year before in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We are committed to ensuring that migrants who are victims of domestic abuse can access the specialist support they need regardless of their immigration status.

“Advice and support is available to all victims of domestic abuse, including through the National Domestic Abuse Helpline, which is staffed by experts 24 hours a day, every day of the year – and the government has announced a £1.6 billion COVID-19 fund for local authorities to support the most vulnerable.”

Anyone who requires help or support can contact the National Domestic Abuse Helpline which is open 24/7 365 days per year on 0808 2000 247 or via their website https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/