Case Study B (Welsh Women's Aid)

Ms. S. came to the UK in December 2005 from India after her arranged marriage to her husband on a spouse visa. Ms. S. was 5 months pregnant when she arrived in the UK and she lived with her husband and mother and father in law in their property.

In January Ms. S. had a scan and discovered that the baby had a hole in the heart and other disabilities. Her husband was not happy about this and the family wanted her to have the baby aborted, which she was totally against in view of the fact that she was 5 months pregnant. After this she was mistreated by her husband and his family and she was forced to live in total isolation. She was forced to move into another bedroom and was accompanied everywhere by a member of the family, whether it was visiting family or going to a doctor’s appointments. She was financially deprived, virtually a prisoner in her own home and treated like a servant.
When the baby was born she was still asked to stay in the separate room so her husband would not hear the baby cry. She was also expected to carry out the chores in the usual manner.

The abuse continued until January 2007 when she had an opportunity to speak to a health visitor who advised and gave her information about support for women fleeing domestic abuse. As Ms. S. had no recourse to public funds, obtaining support was difficult and this forced her to remain in an abusive situation.

Things went from bad to worse and when she could not cope any longer she made an escape in February 2007 and went to an Indian family in a different city. This was the only family she knew in UK other than her in-laws. This family referred her to BAWSO because of her no recourse situation and to meet her cultural needs.

Through receiving support from BAWSO Women’s Aid for approximately 12 months she was able to get her indefinite leave to remain in the UK and regain her confidence and self esteem to rebuild her life. She was also able to get the necessary treatments required for her son.

Ms. S. is now well settled in her own home and is developing her skills by accessing personal development courses whilst her son attends a play group regularly.