2.2 A. Research and Evaluations

Domestic violence, child contact, post-separation violence: issues for South Asian and African-Caribbean women and children: a report of findings

NSPCC (2012)

The NSPCC has published a new report about domestic violence and South Asian and African-Caribbean mothers. Findings include: control and isolation and fear of abduction and/or separation from their children were significant issues for all the mothers interviewed; and mothers from both communities were likely to under-report abuse.

Exploring the service and support needs of male, lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgendered and black and other minority ethnic victims of domestic and sexual violence

Hester, M et al (2012)

A wide range of services have worked hard to support female victims. A number of these and other specialist domestic and sexual violence services also cater to needs of both heterosexual and gay men, including those from BME communities, although it is not clear how widely this is recognised. There is, however, a lack of research, especially in the UK context, that examines the extent and nature of domestic or sexual violence for the victim groups this report is concerned with, let alone their service needs or experience of using services.

Vital Statistics 2

Imkaan (2012)

The report provides key findings from Imkaan's Toolkit; a monitoring framework piloted with ten violence against women and girls (VAWG) organisations over a 3 month period.

One punch kills: Leeds Gypsy and Traveller Exchange domestic violence project report

Leeds GATE Gypsy and Traveller Exchange (2011)

This report, produced by an author from a Gypsy-Traveller background, provides an account of a project carried out to empower and investigate the experiences of Gyspy-Traveller women experiencing domestic violence. It considers possible cultural barriers to conventional approaches to stopping domestic violence.

Findings of the Forced Marriage IDVA Support Pilot (September 2009 – February 2010)

Ministry of Justice (2010)

Between 01 September 2009 and 28 February 2010, eleven voluntary support services took part in a forced marriage support pilot. The aim of the pilot was to facilitate a review of the role IDVAs play in working with victims/applicants before, during and after an application for a Forced Marriage Protection Order (FMPO) and to assess whether or not IDVAs should be designated as a Relevant Third Party (RTP), or if it is sufficient for them to apply with leave of the court having previously worked with the victim in the run up to a case.

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Realising rights: increasing ethnic minority women’s access to justice

Smee, S. & Moosa, Z. (2010)

This report by Fawcett examines the experiences of ethnic minority women throughout the criminal justice system – as offenders, victims and workers in the justice sector.

Vital Statistics: the experiences of BAMER women & children facing violence & abuse

Thiara, R.K, & Roy, S. (2010)

This Imkaan toolkit aims to assist frontline service providers with an improved system for capturing the additional and specialist support they provide to BAMER women and children and a mechanism for identifying and responding to new and emerging needs within their individual services.

Coercion, Consent and the Forced Marriage Debate in the UK

Sundari Anitha & Aisha Gill (2009)

This examination of case law on forced marriage reveals that in addition to physical force, the role of emotional pressure is now taken into consideration. However, in both legal and policy discourse, the difference between arranged and forced marriage continues to be framed in binary terms and hinges on the concept of consent.

One year On: the initial impact of the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 in its first year of operation

Ministry of Justice (2009)

This Policy Paper examines the impact the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 (FMA) has had during its first year and outlines any gaps in provision which need to be addressed to support its full implementation.

Forced Marriage - Prevalence and Service Response

National Centre for Social Research (2009)

The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), with the support of the Forced
Marriage Unit (FMU), commissioned the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) to carry out research on the issue of forced marriage (FM) in England. The research had a particular focus on UK resident children and young people under 18 years of age. It aimed to inform policy across Government and to feed into new guidelines supporting statutory responsibility for FM. The two key aims of this research were to improve our understanding of the prevalence of FM and to examine the way services are currently responding to cases of FM.

Asylum-Seeking Women: violence and health

Scottish Refugee Council and the London School of Tropical Medicine (2009)

A new study by Scottish Refugee Council and the London School of Tropical Medicine reveals high levels of violence, depression and stress amongst asylum-seeking women.

Irish Traveller Women and Domestic Violence Conference

Solace Women's Aid (October 2009)

This conference was opened by The Irish Ambassador Mr Bobby McDonagh with a heartfelt speech focusing on the need to work with Irish Traveller Families affected by domestic violence and the valuable work that is undertaken by organisations like Solace Women’s Aid and supported through funding from the Irish Government.

The audience of 100 practitioners came from a range of agencies and organisations spanning both the public and voluntary sector.

For more information or to download the conference notes and recommendations please click on the link below.

One Punch Kills

Morrison, K. (2009)

This is a report on the Leeds Gypsy & Traveller Exchange Domestic Violence Project. It discusses how this work was developed, looking at issues such as engaging with the community and the report’s key learning points.

Inequalities experienced by Gypsy and Traveller communities: A Review

Equality and Human Rights Commission (2009)

The aim of this report is to draw together the evidence from across a wide range of Gypsies' and Travellers' experiences in order to set out clearly the full extent of the inequalities and discrimination they face. The review evaluates and discusses the available evidence on a range of subjects. These include domestic violence which can be found in chapter 5.

An assessment of voluntary and community sector activities tackling female genital mutilation in the UK

Women’s Resource Centre (2009)

In January 2009, a group of independent funders approached the Women’s
Resource Centre to undertake an assessment of voluntary and community organisations in the UK currently undertaking any anti-female genital mutilation work or have the potential and interest to engage in this area in the future.

The Reality and Impact of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 on BMER women

Gill, A. and Banga, B. (2008)

This report from the Newham Asian Women's Project highlights the gaps in the provision of specialist domestic violence services.

Forced marriage: the risk factors and the effect of raising the minimum age for a sponsor, and of leave to enter the UK as a spouse or fiancé(e)

Marianne Hester, Khatidja Chantler, Geetanjali Gangoli, Jasvinder Devgon, Sandhya Sharma & Ann Singleton (2008)

This summary outlines key findings from research, commissioned by the Home Office, into the risk factors for forced marriage and the possible effect of further raising the minimum age for a sponsor, and of leave to remain to enter the UK as a spouse or fiancé(e). Data collection was carried out between March 2006 and February 2007.

Forced Marriage, Family Cohesion & Community Engagement: national learning through a case study of Luton

Khanum, N. (2008)

This is a qualitative study, using Luton as a case study to investigate the key issues relating to forced marriage and so called “honour”-based violence. The report demonstrates the important role of local community support groups highlighting that victims and their friends and supporters are reluctant to approach statutory agencies and the larger, national charities which in their eyes have semi-official status. Instead, they go to local community support groups which they believe will understand their cultural perspective.

Faith in the state? Asian women’s struggles for human rights in the UK

Patel, P. (2008)

This article examines and critiques the Labour government’s current “multi-faith” agenda for its impact on Black and minority ethnic women in the UK, focusing on the work of Southall Black Sisters, and locating this work within current debates on the intersection of government policy, cultural diversity, and feminist activism.

Domestic Violence: what housing support for BME Women?

Womensgrid (2008)

An overview of a paper entitled Better Housing which looks at the issue of access to housing facing BAMER women experiencing domestic violence.

Crimes of the Community: honour based violence in the UK

Brandon, J. and Hafaz, S. (2008)

Produced on behalf of the Centre for Social Cohesion, this report focuses on forced marriage, domestic violence, honour killings and female genital mutilation.

“I can’t tell people what is happening at home” Domestic abuse within South Asian communities: the specific needs of women, children and young people

Izzidien, S. (2008)

Produced on behalf of the NSPCC, this report focuses on the specific experiences and needs of children and women in South Asian communities who have been affected by domestic violence.

Forced Marriage and Domestic Violence among South Asian Communities in North East England

Gangoli, G. et al. (2006)

This study looks at forced marriages and domestic violence within South Asian communities in Newcastle, Sunderland and South Tyneside. It examines the following research questions: the experiences, hopes and perceptions of marriage among South Asian women and men, experiences of domestic violence in arranged, forced and love marriages, and links between forced marriage and domestic violence.

African-Caribbean Women and Children affected by Domestic Violence in Wolverhampton

Thiara, R.K. (2006)

This study made a number of recommendations for the future development of services for African-Caribbean women and children affected by domestic violence in Wolverhampton.

Community Perceptions of Forced Marriage

Samad, Y. and Eade, J. (2002)

This report provides explores the problems and the perceptions in the Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities of forced marriages. It is a synthesis of existing research evidence combined with primary data collected specifically for the report.

Refugee, Asylum Seeking Women and Women with Insecuire Immigration Status

Refugee and Asylum Seeking Women Affected by Rape or Sexual Violence: literature review

Refugee Council (2009)

Refugee women are more affected by violence against women than any other women’s population in the world. This paper seeks to situate that learning in the context of the international research literature on the subject and other information available to the Refugee Council. It looks at the prevalence of sexual violence and issues of impunity/access to justice in clients’ home countries (particularly Congo and Sri Lanka), regions of origin as well as in the UK. It will also address refugee women’s rights to appropriate health care in the UK and its availability.

‘No Recourse’ No Safety: The Government’s failure to protect women from violence

Amnesty International & Southall Black Sisters (2008)

Report concentrating on a small but significant group of the total number of women across the UK who flee gender based violence each year, with recommendations for Government to exempt women fleeing violence from the ‘no recourse to public funds requirement’.

Forgotten Women: domestic violence, poverty and South Asian women with no recourse to public funds

Anitha, S. et al. (2008)

This report documents research findings relevant to understanding the experiences of South Asian women who have survived domestic violence and who have No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF), the “forgotten women”. The overall aim of the study was to contribute to policy-making and service provision for such women.

No Recourse - No Duty To Care? Experiences of BAMER Women and Children affected by Domestic Violence and Insecure Immigration Status in the UK

Roy, S. (2008)

This report seeks to highlight the devastating circumstances many women and children with no recourse to public funding find themselves in and the responses of statutory bodies to those women who have had the courage to leave and seek external support.

Safe to Return? Pakistani women, domestic violence and access to refugee protection – A report of a trans-national research project conducted in the UK and Pakistan

Siddiqui, N. et al. (2008)

The WASP research project was a trans-national study of the complex issues which impact on Pakistani women who might seek refugee protection in the UK against domestic violence. In the UK, the study was principally concerned with examining the ways in which the Home Office’s Border and Immigration Agency, the immigration judiciary and other relevant service providers address the legal, welfare and other support needs of Pakistani women as asylum seekers. In Pakistan, the focus was to examine the nature and extent of domestic violence, of service provision to protect women across all sectors, and to document women’s experiences of attempts to gain safety. It also examined the reality of women’s attempts to relocate intra-country, with particular reference to the internal flight concept.

Good Intentions: a review of the New Asylum Model and its impact on trafficked women claiming asylum

Poppy Project and Refugee Women’s Resource Project at Asylum Aid (2008)

Building on previous research undertaken by the authors of this report, the research analyses the new processes established the New Asylum Model and reviews whether the procedural changes have affected immigration decision making and outcomes for trafficked women supported by the POPPY Project.

A Place to Stay: Experiences of Asian Women and Children Affected by Domestic Violence and Insecure Immigration Status

Imkaan (2003)

This report presens the findings of independent research commissioned by Imkaan to document the experiences of Asian women and children exposed to domestic violence and the service providers who support them. The research was designed to provide a much-needed opportunity for front-line specialist staff to share their expressed concerns on the specific issues that affect their target client group. The investigation also served to validate the knowledge and experiences of specialist refuges that remain at the critical interface providing advocacy and support to women and children from South Asian communities. The research and subsequent recommendations are intended to assist policy and service planners as well as frontline service staff in their development and response towards meeting the needs of Asian women and children, whose lives are traumatised by the experience of violence at home.

Refugee Women and Domestic Violence: country studies

Refugee Women’s Resource Project (Asylum Aid) (2003), 4th ed.

This edition contains an additional country study on India as well as updates on 4 of the 9 previous country reports.

Migrant Women and Domestic Violence in Ireland: the experience of domestic violence service providers

Fagan, P. (2008)

This small scale research study of six domestic violence service providers aims to document the extent to which migrant women are accessing domestic violence services and the experience of service providers of the specific issues affecting migrant women in this situation.

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