Many women come to the UK, often legally, in the hope of improving their lives. They may come on temporary work permits, student visas or spousal visas. Some women come to the UK to marry. The ‘no recourse to public funds’ rule says that a woman in this position – even if she’s married to a British citizen – is not entitled to certain state benefits, including housing benefit and income support.

But these are the benefits a woman must be able to claim to get a place in a refuge if she needs to escape violence. As a result, many newly-married women in the UK are trapped in violent marriages and even if they do muster the courage to seek help from the authorities, they are simply turned away.

The UK government has taken significant steps to address violence against women – particularly domestic violence. In its paper on domestic violence ‘Safety and Justice’, the Home Office recognised that support and accommodation to victims of domestic violence was ‘life saving and critical’. So the UK government knows it is in the wrong when it fails to protect women arriving in the UK

We believe that the government position puts the UK in breach of international human rights standards to which it has signed up. The Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) says clearly that states must respect, protect and fulfil all women’s human rights, regardless of immigration status or any other factor.

Book an appointment with your Member of Parliament on November 4th, between 12.45 and 3.30. Find out who your MP is at www.theyworkforyou.com or telephone the House of Commons Information Office: 020 7219 4272.

The quickest way of making an appointment is to telephone your MP’s constituency or Westminster office. When calling, you might like to mention:

• The No Recourse ruling is affecting women all over the country and is likely to be affecting women in their constituency now
• A number of constituents will be taking part and therefore wanting to meet them
• Ask for a time to meet them between 12:45 – 3pm (the earlier the better) and ask for confirmation in writing.

Find out more information at the Women’s Resource Centre and we’ll see you there?