Source · Select Committees · Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 14
14
Deferred
Reconsider Istanbul Convention Article 59 reservation and extend migrant victim support eligibility
Recommendation
The Support for Migrant Victims Scheme pilot has been valuable and we welcome its extension to 2025. However, there are shortfalls in funding to support victims with no recourse to public funds. We are concerned this is aggravated by the Government’s reservation on Article 59 of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (the ‘Istanbul Convention’). In order to help limit perpetrators’ ability to use a victim’s immigration status as a tool for control, the Government should reconsider its reservation to Article 59 of the Istanbul Convention. It should also consider extending eligibility to the Destitute Domestic Violence Concession scheme and Domestic Violence Indefinite Leave to Remain to all migrant victims. (Paragraph 75) 42
Government Response Summary
The government is deferring its decision on reconsidering the reservation to Article 59 of the Istanbul Convention, pending careful consideration of a pilot scheme evaluation, but will continue to fund the Support for Migrant Victims Scheme until 2024-25.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
We are carefully considering the findings of the Support for Migrant Victims Scheme pilot evaluation. Once we have considered all the evidence in the round, we will communicate our decision on the Article 59 reservation. In the interim, we have provided £1.4million of funding per year since April 2021 and will continue to fund the scheme and support migrant victims until 2024–25.