40 years supporting the Latin American community

It has been four decades since a group of Latin American women decided to organise and LAWRS began its work, little knowing that all these years later we would occupy a key place in the heart of the Latin American community in the UK. 

When in the 1970s, due to the political dictatorships in our continent, many people were forced to migrate, the newly formed community in the UK found that the country was not prepared to respond to their needs in an adequate way. Adapting to a new country with such a complex system required the development of specific services for our community. This need was even more evident in the case of Latin American women, who required the creation of a feminist space that would provide them with support and access to information in a safe way.

LAWRS was thus created as a space where the needs of women in our community were heard and supported, where bonds of friendship, community and mutual support were formed, opening up opportunities to feel at home while being away from home. 

Since then, the community has continued to grow, and LAWRS along with it, offering new services and reaching out to the most vulnerable people in the community, while engaging in political processes, with the intention of improving the living and working conditions of Latin American women in the long term. 

Today, we remain firmly committed to our mission to  for all Latin American and migrant women in the UK. Many people have been part of this long journey and have left their mark on our organisation. To all of them we pay tribute and express our gratitude, in the hope that we will continue to grow, transform and be a safe space for all Latin American women who need us. 

If you haven't yet seen our video celebrating 40 years of LAWRS, you can watch it here: 

https://youtu.be/6ObYpar2N_U

by lawrsuk

What does volunteering at Latin American Women’s Rights Service (LAWRS) mean to me?

By Alejandra Uribe Cardenas (She/her)

To write about what volunteering for LAWRS means to me, I must begin by reflecting on my own story. One of the only constants in my life has been being a migrant. My family moved from Colombia to Spain when I was around 6 years old, and at the age of 18, I moved to the UK.

I have precious memories from my childhood in Madrid, and most of them are with my family. My mum and my aunts have played a crucial role in my life. They are very strong women that left a life behind just so the new generation could have better opportunities, and as single mothers, the weight of providing to us fell solely on their shoulders for many years. However, I am very fortunate because regardless of the challenges my family might have faced, we have always had each other. It was not until I migrated as an adult that I realized that having a support system is an immense privilege that very few migrants have.

In the summer of 2022, I got the opportunity to become a volunteer at LAWRS. My role at LAWRS involves supporting the Helpline Team by receiving calls from Latin American women who require support across different issues, including Housing, Welfare and Benefits, Immigration, Employment Rights, and Violence Against Women and Girls. What makes LAWRS so unique is that it is an organization for Latin American Women run by Latin American Women. They have created a safe space for Latinas where they can find the support they need in their mother tongue. Through volunteering at the helpline, I have experienced first-hand the difference this makes, as many of the service users that call us do not speak English. For example, there was a time I had to call 999 on behalf of a service user, and even though it was an emergency, I felt somehow relieved that LAWRS was there to be able to help in such a circumstance.

Overall, my experience as a volunteer has been incredibly valuable. I particularly appreciated that at the beginning of my volunteering journey, I discussed my development objectives with LAWRS’ Volunteers Coordinator, and we designed a plan with my areas of focus. I have gained transferable skills such as working professionally in both English and Spanish, enhancing my communication in both languages. I have also improved my interpersonal and problem-solving skills by engaging with a wide range of service users and sometimes dealing with challenging situations. In addition to the professional benefits of volunteering, I have been able to contribute to my community and connect with other Latinas. Some personal highlights include running my first-ever marathon and fundraising for LAWRS as well as the International Women’s Day march. For the latter, LAWRS organized an event to create banners and practice the chants for the march. The whole experience was energizing, and I loved how there was so much joy, dancing, and sisterhood.

At the helpline, I have listened to all sorts of stories, some more complex than others, but if there is something that I have learned during my time at LAWRS is that behind every Latin American migrant woman, there is a story of resilience and every woman deserves to be listened to. Hence, why the work that LAWRS do it’s so important because they listen to the needs of women in the community, and they amplify the voices of those that tend to be invisible to the system.

All in all, LAWRS to me means community, belonging, and support.

by lawrsuk

Joy as political resistance

By Carolina Cal (She/her)

When you think about self-care, what are the first images that come to mind? Perhaps face masks, spa day and mindfulness sessions are some of the most popularised ideas of self-care. Unfortunately for the Latin American community in the UK, these are far from being an affordable reality. Bearing this in mind, LAWRS created and delivered an online and in-person, Activism & Wellbeing programme tailored to the specific needs of the women from our community. 

In 1988, after being diagnosed with cancer for a second time, Audre Lorde in the publication A Burst of Light said that “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” As a queer, Black woman who had given much of her life and self to civil rights activism in the United States, Lorde reflects on the importance of self-care as as form of political resistance, bringing a radical approach to care, not driven by capitalism or selfishness, very different from the whitewashed idea of self-care we often see on instagram posts. 

Conceição Evaristo, a black female Brazilian writer, said: ‘they agreed to kill us, but we agreed not to die’. By ‘they’ Evaristo means the State and ‘we’, the Black Brazilian community. In both contexts, Lorde and Evaristo indicate a governmental structure that dismisses and kills the Black community in their respective countries, and opposing these oppressive racist structures, they suggest the importance of community organising and care. 

At LAWRS, we believe that community care is about using our power and bandwidth to support and provide for our communities when the systems we exist in don’t. As a led by and for Black and minoritised and migrant women’s organisation we also understand that our experiences in the diaspora are very much in survival mode and that we have little time to reflect on our own self and trajectories. Based on the idea of self-care proposed by Lorde, LAWRS created and delivered the Activism & Wellbeing programme from May to August this year.

The programme intended to re-connect Latin American women to their body, mind and cultural essence and ‘hold their hands’ through the journey of questioning who they are as individuals and community, what our role in society is and what we can do to change the system we live in. It included yoga, mindfulness, online talks about period poverty, racial microagression, queerness, artivism and more, as well as a series of ‘painting with your body’ workshop and sessions on the importance of documenting and archiving Latin American stories. All delivered by and for Latin American women.

The pivotal activity of the programme was the series of four workshops Bodies, colours and songs, in which participants were invited to use their own bodies and non-conventional painting tools, to paint large white canvases while listening to their selected favorite Latin American songs. The workshops were created and delivered by Gandaia in partnership with Migrants in Action (MinA) and LAWRS among others, funded by Arts Council England and supported by Comic Relief. The project provided participants with transport fees, creche and snacks and sessions engaged over thirty Portuguese and Spanish speaking women. As a single mother survivor of gender-based violence, a El Salvatorian participant highlighted the importance of having not only a space to share, but her needs to be able to participate also considered: ‘I wouldn’t be able to attend these workshops if it wasn’t for the creche provided.’

When asked about her favourite moment, an Ecuatorian participant described ‘the moment we all danced together, and I felt the music in my soul; I danced so happily, ​​as I haven't danced for a long time.’ The power of communal celebrations goes beyond the energy they create at that moment. I began to realize it in the second session when participants would mention, in our initial check-ins, that they felt more positive about life since our last meeting.

Isolation, financial insecurity exacerbated by the current cost of living crisis, and lack of social mobility came up as common factors in the participant's migration process and feelings. As a Brazilian woman described, ‘my joy is placed in past memories back in Latin America rather than in my life in the UK’.

As Lorde suggests, joy is an energy for change and adds that oppressive systems want to thieve the right to joy and grow fear in its place. Celebrations are an important element for us in Latin America. Historically, it has been a way that specially Indigenous Peoples and African people have been organising themselves to survive oppression in the Americas. It smooths tensions, breaks down barriers, connects people to themselves and to a purpose, and as another participant described the painting activity: ‘(it) allows me to live the present moment and forget about all my issues.’ Moments of joy can energise, restore hope and be a lever for social and collective change. 

The Bodies, colours and songs project brought LAWRS some reflections. The first was the importance of creating safe spaces like these, as well as the need to work with funders to ensure they understand the relevance of them. The second was that there is a need to reflect internally at LAWRS on how we can actively look for radical communal spaces of self-care as members of staff and wider community, especially for the most marginalised within our own. 

As the government advances on bills that discriminate against migrant women, we need to step back and ask ourselves what we can do politically, socially and in our relationships to offset the harm our governments and its institutions are already doing to us and to our communities. 

by lawrsuk

What does volunteering at Latin American Women's Rights Service (LAWRS) mean to me?

By Vittor Vilela Cogorno (They/Them)

My journey at the Latin American Rights Service (LAWRS) began in March 2021. A year had passed since the pandemic first hit and returning to the past seemed so far away. I felt the need to connect with my communities more than ever and find new ways of working collaboratively and symbiotically. I specifically wanted to connect with the Latin American diaspora here in London and provide support and resources to my community in that time of drastic change. I wanted to put my time into volunteering for an organisation that specifically protected the rights of migrants, children, women and LGBTQ+ people.

Having been raised in the UK (in a small town just outside of London), I quickly learnt that speaking in Spanish was something private and irrelevant, something that should only be reserved for when I’m around my family at home. Apart from my family, there weren't many people of Latin American descent at my schools. Looking back now, I can see how isolated I felt at the time and how I didn't feel a part of any type of community. My experience growing up as someone within the Peruvian diaspora was filled with questions of ‘what if’-s. What if my family hadn’t moved to the UK? What would that version of me be like? What If I don’t actively engage with the Spanish language and my Peruvian roots outside of my family? Does that make me less Peruvian, less Latin American? Over the pandemic, I began to question these things again, but this time with a different perspective: How can I help my community?  How can I use my experience to help better the lives of others? How can I put my Spanish-speaking ability to use? Shortly after this, I began volunteering for LAWRS.

At LAWRS, my role is to answer calls from Latin American womxn seeking support with issues such as Immigration, Welfare and Benefits, Housing, Debt and Employment rights. Being a migrant in the UK that does not understand or speak English can be a very stressful and emotionally defeating experience. Everyone wants to be understood and seen, and everyone deserves the right to voice their needs and seek protection. What I really value at LAWRS is being able to give womxn the time and space to speak in their native language about sensitive things that they might not have been able to express with professionals in the past. Working at LAWRS has improved my Spanish immensely and allowed me to personally connect and relate with migrant womxn here in London. 

When I first started volunteering for the LAWRS helpline, I was honestly terrified. Not only had I never worked within the charity sector, but I would be providing information and advice in Spanish! I must confess at the beginning. I was definitely too hard on myself, and I felt the need to prove to others that I could do this job seamlessly without fail. Little did I know that I had to fail and make mistakes to learn more about myself and my work. I had to step out of my comfort zone and trust the process of trial and error for my skills to develop. And yes, I did cry a couple of times, and yes, change can be very scary, but I am so grateful for the support and words of encouragement I received from my colleagues at LAWRS; without them, my experience wouldn’t have been the same. 

When I began working at LAWRS, things were still very restrictive in terms of social distancing and physical meetings. One year into volunteering, in March 2022, LAWRS hosted an intimate meeting to celebrate International Women's Day at their community space and office in Old Street. It was a real honour to finally meet my teammates in person and be able to thank each other for the work that we do. Meeting womxn, I had worked with directly on the helpline was an experience I will never forget. It was really affirming to hear how LAWRS had helped them change their lives, and it served as a reminder of the importance of solidarity in our fight for equal rights. Throughout the day, we came together to dance, eat and enjoy the company of one another. It was a memorable day filled with laughter, joy and love, a space where I felt appreciated and seen by those around me. LAWRS has created a beautiful, trusting, intimate community that I am honoured to be a part of for this, I would like to thank all those who have supported me on my journey, and I want to thank the thousands of women who put their trust in us every single day. 

by lawrsuk

Herstory

by lawrsuk

We are 'Sin Fronteras' standing for the rights of ALL women and girls.

Sin Fronteras, the project for girls and young women of the Latin American Women’s Right Service (LAWRS) is launching its latest video: We are Sin Fronteras standing for the rights of ALL women and girls.

 The video was collectively created by the young women members of the group within the framework of the feminist activism workshop “We are, we create”. This workshop had a duration of eight weeks, was virtually held and facilitated by illustrator Ximena Ruiz Del Río as a space for learning and dialogue to enable the young ones to express their opinions, experiences and reflect on their intersected identities as young, women, Latin American migrants living in the UK.

 With this video, the young women want to share their message of equality and promote social change. For this purpose, the video gathers their feminist manifesto, celebrates our Latin American roots, highlights our sorority and resilience, and invites you to join the activism for the upholding of the rights of all women and girls.

 You can watch the video here:

Our feminist message

We are Sin Fronteras, a group of young Latin American migrant women in London, and we join the feminist call to fight for a fairer society.·

We believe in equality between women and men. In having the same rights and the same opportunities to achieve our goals.

· We seek to break gender stereotypes because we believe that there should be no rules that define us and prevent us from being ourselves.

· We want to feel free and be able to walk on the streets without fear.

· We stand for diversity. we are migrants and we believe that our differences do not divide us but strengthen us and are a cause for celebration.

· We dream of more recognition for migrant women and girls, including Latin American women and girls like us, and more representation, so our voices can be heard.

· We are activists. We are creative and we use art to help to change the world. We believe that activism takes shapes in many forms, and that small acts that promote equality in our daily lives are a way to contribute to social change.

· We are part of a generation that will not remain silent, a generation that has the determination and courage to fight for change.
What about you? Join the movement and let's stand together in defending the rights of ALL women and girls.

Sin Fronteras’ members

Migration stories

In addition to the video, and also as a result of the collective work in the feminist activism workshop, some of the participants’ migration stories were illustrated. The collection of stories can be viewed here. This collection reflects the courage of those who dared to put words to their migratory experience. The stories show that each individual story is at the same time so different and so similar to those of the others, that migrating is a learning process that we live alone and with our families, and that it is a source of learning and wisdom that gains strength. by putting them together, because together we are stronger!

Join our group

If you are a young Latin American woman, between the ages of 14 and 24 years, you live in the United Kingdom and you want to participate in our Sin Fronteras group, register in our form, contact us by WhatsApp at 07802 645001 or on our Instagram account.

by lawrsuk

The hostile environment: 10 years of resistance

For many years now, we’ve seen the strengthening of borders used as a popular political tool worldwide, both in discourse and practice. Within this discourse, immigration is constructed as a problem to be solved, an issue to urgently address in order to protect those who are citizens, those “who belong”. Politicians around the world have justified the curtailment of migrants’ rights and entitlements with narratives such as ‘migrant crisis’ or ‘migrants exploiting the welfare system’.

This has even been done at the expense of international obligations in the case of people seeking asylum or who are entitled to support as victims of trafficking and exploitation, with countries coming up with absurd and inhumane policies to limit the access to these rights, and creating a false dichotomy of the deserving and undeserving migrant. 

In the UK, the situation is not different but, to a certain extent, more explicit. Ten years ago, in 2012, Theresa May, as Home Secretary, declared the intention to create a ‘really hostile environment’ for migrants without status. Since then, a set of policies and legislation have enshrined restrictions to access basic public services, such as healthcare and welfare support, as well as everyday needs like working, opening a bank account or renting suitable accommodation. It has also meant that many have not been able to report crime to the police safely, access life-saving support such as refuge accommodation for victims of gender-based abuse, or access justice. These policies have affected not only migrants but people from marginalised communities exposed to intersecting inequalities. 

For migrant women, embedding immigration controls at the heart of their everyday lives has meant an increased risk of destitution, abuse and exploitation with significant impact on their mental and physical health. Over these ten years, we have witnessed how the hostile environment made migrants, particularly those of colour and with insecure legal status, more vulnerable to becoming victims of crime, susceptible to being over-surveilled, prone to becoming victims of racist attacks and to being discriminated against when in urgent need of support. We often see how state violence in the form of overspread immigration controls forces them to the margins with no options or alternatives to be safe. 

There is a wealth of evidence showing that these restrictive policies had not only broken equalities law and breached the UK’s legal duties to safeguard children, but they did not even accomplish their objective to reduce irregular migration. In contrast, during these years, LAWRS have witnessed the devastating human cost of the hostile environment and its dehumanising effects on women who are seen as undeserving of rights because of their immigration status. 

Ten years on, organisations such as LAWRS continue to resist and fight the hostile environment, envisioning a future in which migrants and marginalised communities will no longer be targeted and excluded, but able to have their human rights fulfilled.

Photo by: Ana Veintimilla
@anivinti

by lawrsuk

“No one is safe until everyone is safe”              

Why we reject the Immigration Enforcement Migrant Victims’ Protocol

By LAWRS and FLEX

How we got here

In December 2018, Liberty and Southall Black Sisters brought the first ever super-complaint in UK history.^[1] The super-complaint was submitted against both the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) and the Home Office and challenged the harmful practice whereby police share victim and witness data with the Home Office for immigration enforcement purposes. This complaint was grounded in a long-recognised concern that prioritising immigration enforcement over safeguarding puts victims and witnesses at risk, causes serious distress and is wholly counterproductive to the prevention of crime.

In response to the super-complaint, the investigative ‘Safe to Share?’ report was published by a group of police watchdogs in December 2020. The report reaffirmed that Home Office and police practice was causing victims and witnesses of crime with insecure or uncertain immigration status to be fearful of coming forward, worsening the risk of abuse and exploitation. Further, it concluded that significant harm is being caused to the public interest and that there is no evidence that data sharing arrangements safeguard victims of domestic abuse. The independent report asked the Home Office to produce a review of this practice and its legal framework.

The Review - failing victims

The Government laid its review of data sharing on migrant victims and witnesses of crime (the Review) before Parliament at the close of 2021. While recognising that data sharing for immigration enforcement can be a contributing factor to victims not reporting crime, and that exploiters and perpetrators ‘often use the victim’s immigration status to exert fear or control’ the Home Office failed to implement the changes that could prevent this. Instead, disregarding the evidence put forward by victims/survivors, by the anti-trafficking sector, and the ending violence against women and girls (VAWG) sector, the Home Office proposed an Immigration Enforcement Migrant Victims’ Protocol (the Protocol).  The Protocol, which is yet to be implemented, will prevent immigration enforcement action against victims only while criminal investigations and proceedings are ongoing, and while the victims are being supported. It is unclear how victim status will be determined and there is no process for people who are witness to crime. As said by the Latin American Women's Rights Service and Southhall Black Sisters, the Protocol demonstrates the Home Office’s ‘unwillingness to soften, let alone dispense with, the harmful and discriminatory impact that its immigration policies have on those who are most in need of protection.’ 

Why we reject the Immigration Enforcement Migrant Victim’s Protocol

The Protocol fails to address the key concerns of victims with insecure migration status. Immigration enforcement will always be at odds with victim support and protection. Delaying immigration enforcement action until the post-investigation and proceeding period does not remove the victims’ and witnesses’ fears but merely defers the point at which the harms are triggered in some cases. Nevertheless, the Home Office insists that Immigration Enforcement holds a safeguarding function, going against the findings of the ‘Safe to Share?’ report in relation to domestic abuse victims, and the consistent position of the anti-trafficking and VAWG sectors and victims alike. Prioritising immigration enforcement undermines safeguarding and leaves victims vulnerable to continued exploitation and abuse by dissuading them from seeking help.

The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights’ 2019 research on eight countries including the UK, found that migrant workers rank their insecure status as the main reason they chose not to report exploitation. In this sense, the Home Office’s approach plays into the hands of exploiters who target those with insecure immigration status with impunity. The active involvement of immigration enforcement will have a detrimental effect on victims and witnesses with insecure or uncertain immigration status, leaving them unprotected.

Standing in solidarity with our colleagues supporting migrants and victims in the UK, we reject the Protocol - which only serves to worsen the Government’s hostile environment. As the Home Office is currently approaching organisations to add a fig-leaf of legitimacy to the Protocol despite its known flaws, we join the call to refuse to engage with the Home Office in the development of the Protocol or the campaign to raise awareness around it. No one is safe until everyone is safe.

Secure Reporting Now

The anti-trafficking and ending VAWG sectors recognise the need to establish secure reporting policies and procedures so that individuals with insecure immigration status feel able to engage with authorities in the first instance. In doing so law enforcement and labour market enforcement authorities must end the practice of sharing data on victims’ and witnesses’ migration status with immigration enforcement. As demonstrated by practice and guidance around the world, this is a workable and realistic solution.

Where secure reporting practices are in place, labour market enforcement authority and police referrals would also enable victims to access vital culturally and linguistically appropriate support from specialist organisations. Moreover, it would help them to receive legal advice to regularise their status and access the holistic support they need from those who can provide safe spaces and have expertise in safeguarding. As recognised by the Home Office, victims must be ‘treated first and foremost as victims’^[2] regardless of their immigration status.

Where secure reporting pathways do not exist for victims, the provision of support and protection will be limited by increased distrust of authorities, victims not coming forward to report crimes, reduced identification of victims and perpetrators, and ultimately, the continued empowerment of exploiters who have an additional weapon in their arsenal to coerce victims. As set out in the explanatory report to the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings 2005 (ECAT), ‘the greater victims’ confidence that their rights and interests are protected, the better the information they will give.’^[3]

[1] The police super-complaints system allows designated organisations to raise issues on behalf of the public about harmful patterns or trends in policing.

[2] Home Office, (2021) ‘Guidance - Review of data sharing: migrant victims and witnesses of crime,’ para. 18.

[3] Explanatory Report to the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings – CETS 197 – Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, para. 181.

by lawrsuk

New publication: 'Preventing and Addressing Abuse and Exploitation: A Guide for Police and Labour Inspectors Working with Migrants'

As the Nationality and Borders Bill is making its way through the House of Lords, organisations in the migrants and refugees’, women’s and anti-trafficking sectors remain concerned about the harm that many of the proposals within the Bill would cause to migrant victims of serious crime. The Bill provides an opportunity to enshrine in legislation safeguarding provisions for those victims with insecure immigration status at the point of reporting a crime or accessing support.

In this context, two amendments (140 and 124A) were tabled by the Lord Bishop of London and Lord Coaker supported by the Latin American Women’s Rights Service  (LAWRS) and Focus on Labour Exploitation (FLEX) to ensure that migrant victims of crime can report safely without fear of negative consequences due to their immigration status. Regrettably, both of them were rejected by the government.

Research by LAWRS shows that 1 in 2 migrant victims of violence against women and girls (VAWG) with insecure immigration status do not report abuse to the police for fear of disbelief, destitution, detention and deportation. Perpetrators often exploit women’s insecure status, telling them that if they approach the police they will not be supported and will instead be placed at risk of detention or removal because of their legal status.

In December 2020, in light of the first police super-complaint, independent watchdogs concluded that data sharing between the police and the Home Office harms victims and the public interest, as crimes are not reported and investigated, leaving perpetrators free to continue abusing other victims. 

The Government, however, continues to oppose establishing effective safe reporting mechanisms. Instead, it is proposing an Immigration Enforcement (IE) Migrant Victims Protocol, which in our view would further institutionalise, legitimise and consolidate cooperation (through data-sharing) between the police and Immigration Enforcement. We reject this Protocol because we know this approach will not inspire let alone enhance victims’ confidence in reporting a crime. On the contrary, we maintain that the active involvement of Immigration Enforcement will have a harmful effect on migrant victims. 

Safe reporting is possible

Our new publication in partnership with FLEX, Preventing and Addressing Abuse and Exploitation: A Guide for Police and Labour Inspectors Working with Migrants, outlines practical strategies to increase trust between the police and labour inspectors and migrant communities. Building on international good practice, these strategies aim at enabling migrants to securely reporte abuse and exploitation and allow agencies to access valuable intelligence to prevent and address these crimes.

Relevant decision makers and stakeholders such as the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Nicole Jacobs, and the Independent Victims’ Commissioner for London, Claire Waxman OBE, support the establishment of safe reporting mechanisms. 

“It would be entirely wrong to frame this problem as insurmountable. As this important briefing outlines, there are clear success stories from around the world where communities have taken the decision to reprioritise and redesign justice. They have invested in constructive relationships between law enforcement and migrant communities; they have marshalled data and intelligence and created safe and secure routes for reporting; they have enabled police to access better intelligence and do their jobs more effectively; they have pushed back on national policies which seek to criminalise victims. Most importantly, they have provided dignity and safety to migrant victims. The issues and policies outlined in this briefing should be a rallying call to all decision makers, that we can and should decide that migrant lives are worth protecting and that the justice system is here for everyone.”

Claire Waxman OBE, Independent Victims’ Commissioner for London

Read the full guide:

Watch our videos on safe/secure reporting for migrant victims of crime:

by lawrsuk

Joint Response to the "Home Office and Police data sharing arrangements on migrant victims and witnesses of crime with insecure immigration status" Review

Data sharing between the police and Immigration Enforcement is an issue that has raised concerns about its impacts on migrant victims and witnesses of crime for years. It forms part of the government’s ‘hostile environment’ that has led organisations such as the Latin American Women’s Rights Service to report a significant increase in the number of women who are deterred from reporting serious crimes (including domestic abuse and modern slavery) owing to the legitimate fear and real possibility of facing detention and deportation.

In 2018, Southall Black Sisters and Liberty lodged the first-ever super-complaint on data sharing between the Police and the Home Office. In December 2020, the findings of the super-complaint investigation, led by three independent police watchdogs, were published. It concluded that these arrangements are significantly harming not only victims of crime but also the public interest, as crimes are not reported and therefore remain unpunished. The report also confirmed that in domestic abuse cases, data-sharing with Immigration Enforcement does not constitute safeguarding. Among many recommendations made, the police inspectorate bodies called for immediate action to stop this practice and recommended a review of the data-sharing schemes. The aim being to establish safe reporting mechanisms for all migrant victims and witnesses of crime.

In December 2021, the Government published the "Home Office and police data-sharing arrangements on migrant victims and witnesses of crime with insecure immigration status" review. The contents state that data-sharing with Immigration Enforcement (IE) is essential to protect victims. The Review rejects the need to establish a firewall that makes it safer for victims with insecure immigration status to approach the police to report crimes safely. Instead, an IE Migrant Victims Protocol was proposed, this protocol is meant to prevent immigration enforcement action against victims whilst criminal investigations and proceedings are ongoing. The Home Office believes that information sharing between the police and IE is necessary to safeguard and protect vulnerable victims of crime.

LAWRS research shows that victims of VAWG with insecure immigration status are unlikely to approach the police because they believe that the police will prioritise their lack of legal status instead of being protected as victims of serious crimes. These fears are based on years of hostile immigration policies that prevent migrant victims from accessing safety and justice. We, therefore, disagree with the Government’s view that Immigration Enforcement is playing a safeguarding role as it is clear its primary role is to enforce immigration laws, using detention and deportation as its primary tools. 

We believe a complete firewall on data-sharing between the police and immigration enforcement is the most appropriate safe reporting mechanism. This would allow victims and witnesses to feel confident in approaching the police to report crimes and are more likely to engage in criminal proceedings which will, in turn, allow the police to hold perpetrators to account and prevent crime. However, the Home Office Review and the Immigration Enforcement (IE) Migrant Victims Protocol have failed to address the harm generated by data-sharing and failed to guarantee safety in reporting to the police without the fear of detention or deportation.

We reject the Protocol. It only serves to continue and heighten the Government’s hostile immigration policy and as such, we will not be engaging with the Home Office in its development. Our commitment is to ensure all victims can be safe, irrespective of their migrant status. We’ll continue to campaign and advocate for appropriate safe reporting mechanisms that are meaningful to the women we serve in forthcoming legislation and policy processes.

Read our full response here.

This joint response is supported by:

Latin American Women’s Rights Service
Step Up Migrant Women Campaign
Southall Black Sisters
Liberty
Focus on Labour Exploitation
Kalayaan
Middle Eastern Women & Society Organisation
Asian Women’s Resource Centre
The Voice of Domestic Workers
Imkaan
Safety4Sisters North West
Kanlungan Filipino Consortium
The Angelou Centre

Contact: Elizabeth Jiménez-Yáñez
Policy and Communications coordinator on VAWG
elizabeth@lawrs.org.uk
077 1396 7767

by lawrsuk