“I got married in back home and joined my husband in the UK shortly after. Since I have arrived in
the UK my husband started to become very abusive towards me. He confiscated my passport. He
started to verbally insult me. He slapped, kicked, punched and pushed me against the wall and to
the floor and called me names. He shouted, screamed and swore at me. He criticised anything I
do even the food that I cooked every single day. He went out to work and locked the door after him
in an attempt to isolate me. He never shared any decisions with me including the family benefits
and finances. When I became pregnant he immediately sent me back home to have the baby
there. Then, he brought us back to the UK six months after I had the baby. However, he carried on
with his abuse. He threatened that if I took any actions against him he would have custody of our
child and would send me back home alone and would abandon me there.
I have, for the most part, put up with his abusive behaviour, because I came on spousal visa and
have no recourse to public funds. Unfortunately, his behaviour got worse when he found out
that I was pregnant with our second child. He demanded that I have an abortion or travel back
home to give birth on my own there. He threatened to forcefully remove me if I don’t travel back
voluntarily. He said he does not want this baby to be born in this country and therefore. After he
physically assaulted me one morning I contacted the police and disclosed what had happened I
was told not to go back to the perpetrator.
The police referred me to Samira Project. The support worker created an individual safety and
support action plan for me, in which we discussed what options I have, what I want to do and
how I need to move on with my life. The support worker placed me and my child in a refuge with
funding from social services. I was referred to an immigration solicitor who applied for a DDV
concession for me. I was provided with advice around my safety options and I was referred to
a family law solicitor who applied for injunctions to keep us safe and to protect my child from
abduction by his father. They also wrote a support letter for my infinite leave to remain application
as a victim of domestic abuse. They assisted me with my homeless/housing application and to
move to a self-contained accommodation”.