Domestic Abuse and the Immigration System: False Claims and Genuine Victims

Project Resist deplores any exploitation of the Domestic Violence Rule route to settlement in the UK by unscrupulous so-called immigration advisers and organised criminal gangs.

False claims of domestic abuse harm the very people that organisations like ours support: the most vulnerable victims of abuse.

However, in its recent investigation report, the BBC has not attempted to ascertain the scale of this issue: neither how many such false claims are made nor how many are ultimately successful. Instead, the small number of cases they have identified are presented as a broader problem.

A Tribute to Sir James Munby

I was very saddened to hear of the death of Sir James Munby on New Years Day 2026.  He was a wonderfully receptive and gracious man whom I shall never forget. He has made a huge difference to the lives of migrant women subject to domestic abuse. 

I met him in 2016 when, as Director of Southall Black Sisters, I led on a campaign for the recognition of the rights of women abandoned abroad in contexts of domestic abuse and coercive control.

Anti-immigration activists in the UK mobilise around the perceived threat to women and girls. Pragna Patel shows how the riots were also used by religious and community forces to maintain patriarchal structures of power and control.

To mark the 100 days of imprisonment, hundreds of organisations, representing hundreds of thousands of members from around the world have joined the Free Betty Coalition condemning her conviction and calling for her immediate and unconditional release, humane conditions of detention, access to specialised medical treatment, and the repeal of laws restricting freedom of expression.

‘The protection of the individual, and the idea of individual criminal responsibility for the worst crimes, would be part of the new legal order. The sovereignty of the state would no longer provide absolute refuge for crimes on such a scale, in theory at least’. (East West Street)

Recognising coercive control in counter-allegations: VAWG organisations call for reform in UKVI assessments 

Project Resist and Rights of Women brought together VAWG organisations to examine how UKVI’s handling of counter-allegations is negatively impacting migrant women victim-survivors of domestic abuse applying for settlement. A briefing was produced outlining concerns and recommendations for change.

Press Release from The International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), One Law for All and Project Resist.

The Organisers of Gender Apartheid: A Crime Against Humanity – International Women’s Day Event at the House of Lords Calls for Global Action.

Understanding the world to change it – the women’s sector, sex and sexism. What is the Women’s Sector?

Project Resist welcome Charlie Weinberg to be our inaugural Guest Blogger. One of the founders of our sister organisation Women’s Liberation Alliance, Charlie has published extensively about criminal justice and women as well as consulting to organisations, speaking at and facilitating events. Charlie runs August.org.