Domestic violence affects millions of women in the United Kingdom alone and sadly the vast majority of incidents are never reported.
There are particularly troubling and disturbing cases of domestic violence amongst the immigrant populations in the United Kingdom. Individuals often enter the United Kingdom on a dependent spouse visa to reside with their spouse (usually an established resident). These relationships sometimes break down and dependants often find themselves at the mercy of their spouses. Worried about their immigration status and the possibility of being deported back to their country of origin, dependants often tolerate serious sexual, physical, verbal and emotional abuse from their spouses in the belief that suffering in silence will ensure they can remain in the UK.
Through a professional advice, you can seek to redress this position. You should not suffer in silence. Through the legal process, you can apply to obtain injunction orders against perpetrators of domestic violence. There are two main types of injunctions available under Part IV of the Family Law Act 1996:
- A non-molestation order
- An occupation order
A non-molestation order is aimed at preventing your partner or ex-partner from using or threatening violence against you or your child, or intimidating, harassing or pestering you, in order to ensure the health, safety and well-being of yourself and your children.
An occupation order regulates who can live in the family home and can also restrict your abuser from entering the surrounding area. If you do not feel safe continuing to live with your partner, or if you have left home because of violence, but want to return and exclude your abuser, you may want to apply for an occupation order.
The UK immigration law currently states that dependants entering the United Kingdom on a spouse visa may be entitled to apply for indefinite leave to remain if it is shown that they have suffered from domestic violence. If you secure an injunction, you may be able to use this to obtain indefinite leave to remain.
