All women have the right to a life free from violence and exploitation, regardless of their immigration status.
About The Campaign
We advocate for the establishment of safe reporting mechanisms and the termination of data-sharing practices that jeopardise victims with insecure immigration status when they report abuse or exploitation.
Why do we need safe reporting mechanisms?
The absence of safe reporting mechanisms creates a significant barrier for migrant women seeking to escape violence and exploitation, while granting greater impunity to perpetrators. Studies like Imkaan’s Vital Statistics report reveal that 92% of migrant women have faced deportation threats from their abusers, and our Right to be Believed report shows similar findings, with nearly 6 in 10 women experiencing such threats.
A tool of control
Insecure immigration status is frequently used by perpetrators and exploiters as a tool of control, allowing them to abuse their partners or employees while threatening them with removal or deportation. This creates a heightened vulnerability for migrant women: they fear both their abuser and the potential consequences of seeking help.
A solution that benefits everyone
Introducing safe reporting mechanisms is a crucial step toward improving crime reporting. Such measures benefit victims by granting them access to justice, empower the police with critical intelligence for crime investigations, and serve the broader community by ensuring that crimes do not go unpunished.
Aims of the Campaign
Research by the Step Up Migrant Women Campaign shows that one in two migrant victims with insecure immigration status do not report domestic abuse to the police for fear of disbelief, destitution, detention and deportation.
Aim 1
Safe reporting, now!
Establish safe reporting mechanisms and work to separate crime reporting and access to vital support services from immigration control.
Aim 2
Community against barriers
Bring together diverse voices from Black and minoritised women and migrant organisations to challenge the barriers faced by migrant women with insecure status as victims/survivors of violence or exploitation.
Aim 3
Participation and empowerment
Increase the participation and empowerment of migrant women through involvement in research, consultation and advocacy and campaign activities. We highlight and recognise the intersectional experiences of migrant women and the specific barriers they face, often marked by discrimination linked to race, language, immigration status, income, sexuality, disability, and others.
Who We Are
Step Up Migrant Women (SUMW) is a campaign led by the Latin American Women’s Rights Service (LAWRS) and supported by more than 50 organisations standing together for migrant women’s rights.
What We Know
When migrant women with an insecure immigration status experience abuse and/or exploitation, they risk being detained and removed/deported if they report their abuser to the police.
Support for Safe Reporting Mechanisms
Support for the introduction of safe reporting mechanisms for victims of crime has been growing, with backing from a wide range of stakeholders, organisations, and bodies in the UK and internationally.
International Examples
Several countries have implemented policies or practices that separate police and labour enforcement from immigration enforcement to encourage safe reporting mechanisms and protect victims rights.
Our Research
The Right to be Believed
‘The Right to be Believed’ provides evidence on the incidence of VAWG among migrant women with insecure status, as well as the barriers survivors’ experience when reporting to the police or seeking help.
The Unheard Workforce
‘The Unheard Workforce’ presents labour rights violations experienced by Latin American migrant women employed in cleaning, hospitality and domestic work. The cases presented in this report evidence alarming levels of exploitation and abuse, which often workers are unable to report for fear of Immigration Enforcement.
Latest Updates
Key Resources
Survivors' Voices
Survivors have a voice, but it is often not heard, marginalised, ostracised. If you would like to share your story, we invite you to Step Up and add your voice here.
When a woman is detained, her voice is still free and escapes from the silently racist walls that will not wait for an answer.
When a woman is forcibly deported, her voice commits to becoming a statement, a protest chant, a song to know that despite the powerlessness, there is indeed power.
These are the voices of women who hold insecure immigration status and were unable to rely on the system to flee violence and abuse.
Contact
If you are a migrant woman in the UK and would like to share your story, we invite you to Step Up and share your voice here.
To submit a statement, a poem or a song on your experience, or to get in touch about our campaign, please contact Maria Alvarez and Dolores Modern.
Maria Alvarez Gomez
Policy and Communications Coordinator – VAWG
mariapolicy@lawrs.org.uk
07713 967767
Dolores Modern
Policy and Communications Manager on Labour Exploitation
dolores@lawrs.org.uk
07943 003295
Funded and supported by:
