Domestic Violence Bill should cover immigrants, say activists

Campaigners Southall Black Sisters are calling for the government
to allow overseas brides who have to prove their marriage is
working for the first two years to have access to benefits and
housing.

Speaking at Community Care LIVE, co-ordinator Meena Patel
said: “Thousands of women who marry British citizens are trapped in
violent relationships because they have no access to
services.”

Suicide among these black and Asian women is up to three times the
national average, Patel said.

She called on the Domestic Violence, Crime and Disorder Bill now
going through parliament to cover immigrants.

At present, non-British brides have to prove their marriage is
happy or risk deportation. They cannot go into refuges or have
access to doctors, and their passports can be confiscated for the
two-year period.