Domestic violence and ethnic minority Women living in the UK with “no recourse to public funds”

Domestic violence and ethnic minority Women living in the UK with “no recourse to public funds”

The focus of this study is to discuss the impact of domestic violence on black ethnic minority women living in the UK. To discuss intervention support services available and limitations faced in accessing statutory and voluntary organisations services. The topic has been chosen following a successful volunteering placement within an area of domestic violence.

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Volunteering at Coventry Haven as a domestic violence advocate/support worker meant being confronted daily by black ethnic minority Women living in the UK with “no recourse to public funds” needing support. The “no recourse to public funds” rule means that women with unsettled status cannot access public provision including refuges, and social welfare (Sen. 2007:13)

The organisation delivers services from a feminist perspective, taking a critical position of women in question and argues that issues of masculinity power are the ultimate root of intimate violence (Dobash and Dobash 1979).

This feminist theoretical framework also argues that violence must be located within gendered perspective of men’s and women’s lives (Letherby 2003:42).

The literature based study will adopt a feminist perspective and framework which understands domestic violence as a gendered occurrence to provide an analysis of current and relevant literature on the issues of domestic violence on black ethnic minority women in the UK.

This study will also discuss effects of domestic violence on health and well-being of the black ethnic minority women in UK. Moreover, it will explore the support services available to victims and discuss the limitations faced in accessing state services. Research will discuss the implication of findings for practice and will suggest a number of various recommendations towards current support services.

From my own personal perceptions as a woman brought up in Africa, now living in the UK. Many women continue to occupy a less important position in family organisations with many African men still possibly viewing domestic violence as the only way to solve family disputes. Women’s Aid (2007) argue that although there is no legal definition of domestic violence, recommendation from the Home Office states that: “Domestic violence includes any incident of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse (physically, psychological, sexual, financial or emotional between adults who are or have been intimate partners or family members in spite of of gender or sexuality” (Women’s Aid, 2007).

Until most recently, the relationship between the perpetrator and the victim was defined as that of partners, ex-partners or intimate family members, but following critiques by black ethnic minority women organisation like the Women’s Aid, Southhall Black Sisters, the definition now includes all forms of abuse including cultural specific forms of violence like forced marriage, honour killing and do…………………..