La política de entorno hostil hace que las mujeres maltratadas teman buscar ayuda por riesgo de deportación, advierten los grupos
La política de entorno hostil hace que las mujeres maltratadas teman buscar ayuda por riesgo de deportación, advierten los grupos
Karen McVeigh
La política de inmigración de "entorno hostil" de Theresa May, que estuvo en el centro del escándalo Windrush, está siendo utilizada por hombres abusivos y violentos para amenazar y controlar a sus parejas, afirma una coalición de grupos de mujeres.
Las mujeres con un estatus migratorio inseguro o que dependen de un visado conyugal están empezando a temer tanto la deportación que no denuncian a la policía los delitos de violencia doméstica o sexual, o buscan apoyo para escapar, afirman los grupos.
The groups, including Latin American Women’s Rights Service (LAWRS), Southall Black Sisters, and others supporting black and ethnic minority women at risk of violence, cite cases where rape victims have been arrested and domestic violence survivors denied refuge and forced to return to their abusers or deported.
Last year, a case emerged of a woman who reported being kidnapped and rapedand who was arrested by police as she sought care in a care centre in London.
Rachel Krys, co-director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition (Evaw), said: “The public are rightly outraged by the devastating impact the hostile environment immigration policy has had on the lives of the Windrush generation. The same policy is also leaving many women at risk of violence and exploitation, scaring them away from seeking help and making it harder for them to access life-saving services.
"Los maltratadores están instrumentalizando la política, utilizando ese miedo, diciendo: 'si me dejas, si vas a pedir ayuda, si llamas la atención, te deportarán'".
Las mujeres migrantes corren un riesgo desproporcionado de sufrir violencia de género, tanto doméstica como sexual, así como violencia "basada en el honor", matrimonio forzado, trata de personas y mutilación genital femenina.
"Es un miedo tanto real como percibido", afirma Krys. "Pueden ver que ocurre a su alrededor".
The Istanbul Convention On Ending Violence Against Women, which the government has committed to ratify, states that all women should be protected from violence, regardless of their immigration status.
In a briefing paper to be launched on Wednesday at a meeting in parliament hosted by the Labour MP Rupa Huq, the group Evaw said the immigration policy had reduced the safe spaces where women could get help from public bodies, and led to an erosion of access to justice, because immigration control took precedence over reporting crimes.
“In one case a woman had gone to the police to report a rape and the first people they called were immigration officers,” said Krys. “We’ve had another case, reported by LAWRS and Women for Refugee Women, where a woman at risk of violence was deported. And we’ve had women being told by local authorities and the police if they are abused but have insecure immigration status they can’t get help.”
Many migrant women, including victims of trafficking, as well as asylum seekers and those with work visas, student visas or visas connected to their spouse, also have no recourse to public funds so are prevented from using refuges, she said. According to Women’s Aid, 7% of women with no recourse to public funds were accommodated in shelters in 2017 due to their immigration status.
In 2013, May, as home secretary, launched plans to create a “hostile environment” for illegal migrants to Britain, requiring the NHS, banks and private landlords to carry out immigration checks.
In parliament, women’s groups will ask MPs to support new measures to protect migrant women at risk of abuse, to be placed in the proposed domestic abuse bill. The bill is aimed at enhancing protection and support for victims of domestic abuse.
Las recomendaciones de Evaw piden que se dé prioridad a la protección y el apoyo a las víctimas frente a la aplicación de las leyes de inmigración, que se establezca un "cortafuegos" entre los servicios públicos y el control de la inmigración, y que se amplíe la "concesión por violencia doméstica en la indigencia" (medida temporal para ayudar a las mujeres sin fondos públicos) a todas las supervivientes de violencia doméstica durante al menos seis meses. También quieren que se revise toda la legislación sobre inmigración por su posible impacto en las mujeres que sufren violencia de género.
Fuente: The Guardian – 04/05/18