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Child Care Solicitors

University of Lincoln’s Report Reveals Domestic Violence Abuses Against South Asian 'Disposable Women' (10 October 2016)

Date: 10/10/2016
Duncan Lewis, Child Care Solicitors, University of Lincoln’s Report Reveals Domestic Violence Abuses Against South Asian 'Disposable Women'

Following on from a report by Academics at the University of Lincoln, the issue of some British Asian men mistreating women and leaving them soon after getting married in South Asia is in the spotlight.

The report called such women “disposable women”. The study, released by a recent article on the BBC News, found that these men have been taking money from the women and their families and using the women as domestic slaves, or worse. The issue is whether this constitutes domestic violence.

The government definition of domestic violence is any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are, or have been, intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality. However, the definition is deliberately wide and encompasses a broad range of behaviours.
Indeed, the abuse can encompass, but is not limited to, physical abuse, psychological abuse emotional abuse, financial abuse and sexual abuse.

Domestic servitude, often described as modern day slavery, is clearly within that definition.

At its most serious there are cases like the recent criminal conviction of Safraz Ahmad who became the first Britton to be convicted of domestic servitude for bringing his wife to the UK and then effectively imprisoning her and using her as a modern day slave. The court heard that he struck his wife, threw tins of cat food at her, sent streams of abusive and demeaning text messages, and once told her to jump in front of a vehicle or into a river. Mr Ahmad was sentenced to two years in prison and the case was seen as a breakthrough in protecting such women and certainly seems to be a huge step in the right direction.

Emine Mehmet, Director of Family and Childcare with Duncan Lewis, has commented: “The difficulty is in dealing with cases where the abuse is not so obvious, and whether the act of marrying and then abandoning South Asian women by British men should constitute domestic violence. In the first instance, one must consider the effect on the women themselves. In this respect, the impact on the 'disposable women' can be described as catastrophic. Such is the stigma in some cultures in South Asia of a woman having had a sexual relationship, that that woman is unlikely to marry again and will in many cases face difficulties in obtaining employment. She will have to face shame and may have provided thousands of pounds to her husband before being abandoned. In the second instance, one must consider the intention of the men. Marrying and abandoning a woman in the knowledge that the effect is likely to be life ruining for her is clearly abusive. Recognising this as a domestic violence would be one way of protecting such women and would be a first step in ensuring that British men face consequences.”

For confidential and expert legal help with domestic violence, call the Duncan Lewis Domestic Violence Solicitors Helpline on 0800 689 3275.


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