Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

New law must protect migrant women and children too: Activists

By Nadeem Badshah

NEW laws to tackle domestic violence do not go far enough to help victims who are children and migrant women, campaigners have cautioned.


They welcomed the domestic abuse bill in addressing tech abuse – where perpetrators use fitness trackers and “smart” home devices attached to heating, lights and video doorbells to spy on, stalk and control current and former partners.

However, activists have raised concerns about BAME communities, as people with an “insecure” immigration status often do not seek help from police for fear of being reported to the Home Office.

And some suspected victims from countries such as India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are barred from refuges as they seek to escape their abusers because they do not have access to public funds.

Dr Ravi K Thiara, an associate professor at the University of Warwick, told Eastern Eye: “Since technology is changing how abuse is being perpetrated, it is positive that the bill encompasses this form of abuse.

“But, while recognising the varied forms of abuse within domestic abuse, the bill falls short in recognising the multiple forms of violence and abuse that women and girls are subjected to.

“It also doesn’t treat every victim of abuse equally, so migrant women with an insecure immigration status are left unprotected, [something] which clearly needs to be addressed.”

She added: “Under austerity, women’s support services have suffered from closures and insecurity, with specialist services for black and minority women being decimated.

“An assurance is needed that legislative measures will be accompanied by a financial commitment to sustaining and strengthening life-saving services for those subjected to violence and abuse.”

Dr Thiara was part of new research on sexual violence and minority women, the first national study of its kind. The findings, Reclaiming Voice: Minoritised Women and Sexual Violence, published this month, found that BAME women could suffer overlapping forms of violence and abuse, including rape in marriage, child sex abuse, sexual exploitation and trafficking which they endure for up to 15 years before seeking help.

Researchers also said the women were often “silenced” by family and community members when they tried to speak out.

The domestic abuse bill was unveiled in the Commons for its first reading earlier this month.

The government has also started a review into what support could be provided to migrant victims of domestic abuse.

Mandy Sanghera, one of the founders of the government’s Forced Marriage Unit, praised the new laws, but also urged better support for children.

She told Eastern Eye: “The domestic abuse bill is a monumental step to empower victims and survivors, provide protection and bring perpetrators to justice

“Many women have stayed in abusive relationships for far too long because of fear and shame. We need the community to not ignore abuse.

“From giving courts greater powers through new prevention orders to barring abusers from cross-examining their victims in family courts, we are giving victims power back. We are delivering a justice system more resilient than ever to tackle domestic abuse.

“[But] I still feel there isn’t enough awareness of the impact of abuse on children, especially in the Asian community, as women are still fighting for equality within the home.”

One in six refuges has closed since 2010, with council spending cut from £31.2 million in 2010 to £23.9m in 2017. A recent report by the Action for Children charity found that many specialist BAME support services have suffered severe budget cuts, with young people and families with English as a second language and specific cultural needs “often not provided with the right support”.

Action for Children estimates tens of thousands of young people have been at risk of domestic abuse since the general election.

The charity’s director of policy and campaigns, Imran Hussain, said it was vital the bill recognised a child as an “innocent victim and not just a witness”.

Meanwhile, survivors of sexual violence and abuse would be given a legal right to specialist support under a new bill tabled by the Liberal Democrats.

Lib Dem MP Munira Wilson said: “Support services for victims of sexual and domestic abuse should be a right, not a privilege. It’s unbelievable that survivors face shamefully long waiting lists.”

She added the bill she presented to parliament would “ensure proper face-toface specialist support for victims of sexual or domestic abuse”.

A Home Office spokesman said: “The [domestic abuse] bill has been designed to be futureproof from any new ways perpetrators try to control their victims.”

More For You

Modi set for UK visit to sign free trade agreement

FILE PHOTO: Keir Starmer (L) with Narendra Modi. (Photo: Getty Images)

Modi set for UK visit to sign free trade agreement

INDIA's prime minister Narendra Modi is likely to travel to the UK by the end of this month for a visit that could see both sides formally sign the landmark India-UK free trade agreement and explore ways to expand bilateral ties in the defence and security sphere, diplomatic sources said.

Both sides are in the process of finalising the dates for Modi's visit to the country by the end of July or the first part of August, they said.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rishi Sunak returns to Goldman Sachs, will donate salary to charity

Rishi Sunak. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

Rishi Sunak returns to Goldman Sachs, will donate salary to charity

FORMER prime minister Rishi Sunak has returned to the banking world as senior adviser at Goldman Sachs group, with plans to donate his salary to the education charity he recently established with his wife Akshata Murty.

The US-headquartered multinational investment bank, where Sunak worked before entering politics, made the announcement on Tuesday (8) after the requisite 12-month period elapsed since the British Indian leader's ministerial term concluded following defeat in the general election on July 4 last year.

Keep ReadingShow less
 Post Office Horizon

A Post Office van parked outside the venue for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry at Aldwych House on January 11, 2024 in London.

Getty Images

Post Office scandal linked to 13 suicides, says inquiry

Highlights:

 
     
  • Public inquiry finds up to 13 suicides linked to wrongful Post Office prosecutions.
  •  
  • Horizon IT system faults led to false accusations, financial ruin, and imprisonment.
  •  
  • Sir Wyn Williams says Post Office maintained a “fiction” of accurate data despite known faults.

A PUBLIC inquiry has found that up to 13 people may have taken their own lives after being wrongly accused of financial misconduct by the Post Office, in what is now described as one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK ramps up drought response following driest spring

The EA has begun conducting more compliance checks on high-usage industries

Getty Images

UK ramps up drought response following driest spring since 1893

Key points

  • Spring 2025 was England’s driest and warmest in over 130 years
  • Reservoirs across England only 77% full, compared to 93% average
  • Environment Agency increases monitoring and drought planning
  • North-west England officially declared in drought

Water conservation measures stepped up ahead of summer

The UK government has increased efforts to manage water resources after confirming that England experienced its driest and warmest spring since 1893. The Environment Agency (EA) reported that reservoirs were on average only 77% full, significantly lower than the usual 93% for this time of year.

The announcement came after a National Drought Group meeting on Thursday, which reviewed the impact of continued dry weather on crops, canal navigation, and river flows. Poor grass growth and dry soil conditions were noted as threats to food production and livestock feed.

Keep ReadingShow less
Norman Tebbit

Following Thatcher’s third general election victory in 1987, Tebbit stepped back from frontline politics to care for his wife. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Former minister, Thatcher ally Norman Tebbit dies at 94

Norman Tebbit, a close ally of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher and a former Conservative Party cabinet minister, has died at the age of 94. His son William confirmed the news on Tuesday.

"At 11:15 pm on 7th July, 2025, Lord Tebbit died peacefully at home aged 94," William Tebbit said in a statement.

Keep ReadingShow less