Just before Christmas, the government announced new changes to the immigration rules in their attempts to curb the number of people coming to live in the UK. They want to stop care workers coming from overseas from bringing their families with them. They want to raise the income threshold for those coming on skilled worker and family visas. They want to stop the 20% salary discount for those jobs in short supply. 

While the government has made a couple of U-turns since then, the women's sector was, and is, extremely concerned that some of the new rules will make it even harder for women with insecure immigration statuses to leave violent and abusive relationships, and that the general tendency to create an even more hostile environment will give perpetrators more power. 

Southall Black Sisters penned this open letter to the Home Secretary, which was signed by many women's organisations, including WRC. Policies like these have such a life-changing impact on people's lives. Why does the government think it is okay to introduce them without first thinking about and mitigating the impacts on vulnerable women and children? Let's hope the collective voice and ongoing campaigns of the women's sector will make a difference.

In some good news though, there has been a recent court judgement that states that the right to claim indefinite leave to remain as a victim of domestic violence is afforded to women who are abandoned in countries outside of the UK. You can read more about that here. 

Photo by Philip Robins on Unsplash