Women’s equality in the UK – A health check

9.43
9.44
9.45
from the police or other public agencies is not an option due to fear and lack of information.
Not all women are aware of their rights or are willing to report crimes. 97 They are scared of being
deported or losing their children.
Undocumented women can also experience violence and discrimination in the workplace.
Working in low-wage sectors where violations are more likely to occur, their gender, foreign status,
fears about immigration control and isolation can make them more exposed to violence and
abuse by employers or supervisors. However, very few women are willing to lodge a complaint
against an employer because they fear losing their jobs and being arrested or deported. 98
Case Study: 99
Maria from Bolivia arrived in the UK with a tourism visa that she overstayed trying to
find economic security and a way to send money to her children back in Bolivia where
the family was very poor. She rented a room, sharing a house with the landlord. She was
raped and when she attempted to denounce the crime, the landlord warm her against
it saying that if she reported him, she was going to be deported. Maria stayed silent and
changed accommodation.
Recommendations:
• The Government through its immigration enforcement procedures must never
undermine human dignity and human rights, or put women at an increased risk
of violence and abuse. Service providers should not have to turn away women in
need because they lack a residence permit
• Prevention, protection and investigation of violence against women should take
precedence over any proceedings concerning the immigration status of the
victim. The Government must take steps to protect victims when they report
violence and also, facilitate the prosecution of perpetrators regardless of the
status of their victim
Foreign national prisoners
The Government’s treatment of foreign national prisoners has no gender component at all. Yet
denial of Home Detention Curfew may unlawfully keep women prisoners in prison, enforcing
continued separation from their children. 100 Because of the loss of legal aid, many women
foreign national prisoners will fail in challenging deportation (automatic or conducive) on
meritorious Article 8 ECHR and/or ‘best interests of the child’ grounds. (For the same reason,
the potentially meritorious cases of many male foreign national prisoners may fail, which will
have an impact on their partners left looking after their children in the UK without them. 101 )
A high percentage of foreign female prisoners include women charged with offences such as
deception and fraud in relation to their immigration status and related offences of use of false
documentation to access work or benefits, or to pass through customs on entry or exit from the
UK. Many of these women are victims of trafficking. 102 (See Article 6)
97. McIlwaine, C. (2011) No Longer Invisible: The Latin American community in London. Queen Mary University of London, Latin American
Women’s Rights Service and Trust for London. http://www.trustforlondon.org.uk/No%20Longer%20Invisible%20report.pdf
98. Geddie, E. and LeVoy, M. (2012) Strategies to End Double Violence Against Undocumented Women: Protecting Rights and Ensuring Justice.
PICUM: Brussels http://picum.org/picum.org/uploads/publication/Double%20Violence%20Against%20Undocumented%20Women%20
-%20Protecting%20Rights%20and%20Ensuring%20Justice.pdf
99. From Latin American Women’s Rights Service http://www.lawrs.org.uk/ Accessed: 22/03/13
100. Francis, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for Justice & Anor [2011] EWHC 1271 (Admin)
101. Sanade and others (British children - Zambrano – Dereci) [2012] UKUT 00048 (IAC)
102. Hales, L. and Gelsthorpe, L. (2012) The criminalisation of migrant women. Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge http://www.
crim.cam.ac.uk/people/academic_research/loraine_gelsthorpe/criminalreport29july12.pdf
82 Women’s equality in the UK: CEDAW shadow report 2013