A new report by the UK University has found that, some British Indian in the UK who are guilty of mistreating and abandoning their wives in their countries of origin.
The report 'Disposable Women: Abuse, Violence and Abandonment in Transnational Marriages' by the Lincoln University described that, the practice as an emerging form of violence against women, "especially in the context spanning the UK and the Indian sub-continent".
The report said that, “Abandonment of wives by non-resident Indian (NRI) men in transnational marriages has become a widespread phenomenon. Although the focus of this report is on the specific experience of abandoned women in India, experience shows that their appalling accounts of abuse and abandonment are also echoed by women from Pakistan, Bangladesh and elsewhere."
"Ongoing demands for dowry and escalating violence where such demands could not be met were significant contexts for abuse for the majority of the women. Inability to meet dowry demands eventually triggered abandonment for most of the women left with their in-laws," it added.
The report concluded, "Women who once resided in the UK (no matter how briefly) should be treated in all respects as domestic violence victims. Transnationally abandoned women should be issued with temporary visas to avail the UK's Domestic Violence Rule.”
"At the point of their visa application, British embassies abroad should give women a leaflet setting out their rights and entitlements under the UK immigration and family law."
Sundari Anitha, from the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Lincoln, spoke to women personally affected on a number of trips to Punjab, Delhi and Gujarat.
"The stigma is massive and it even has an impact on other people in the family. So a woman's sister will find it harder to get married. She will find it harder to get a job, she faces financial insecurity and she's seen as damaged goods - primarily because the assumption that she had sex," she said.
"This government will not tolerate abuse through marriage or other relationships. We will look carefully at any evidence of where further action might help to prevent abuse or support victims," a UK Home Office spokesperson said.
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