Pakistani official’s wife reports domestic abuse to UK authorities

LONDON: The wife of a Pakistani government official here has approached the police and social services seeking protection for herself and her twin children against her “abusive” in-laws and domestic violence.

The News has learnt from a reliable source that the woman approached the head teacher of a school in an East London area, where her twin sons, aged 10, are studying and told the school staff that she has been beaten in Pakistan as well as in London by her husband’s sister. The woman, her husband, who is stationed in London, and their residential location cannot be disclosed due to sensitivity of the case and involvement of the children.

Narrating her ordeal, the woman told that she arrived in London with her husband and their twin sons one-and-a-half years ago. According to her, she visited Pakistan two months ago for a family wedding but her passport was snatched allegedly by her in-laws and was asked to stay on in Pakistan while her sons lived in London with her husband. She managed to find her passport and came back to London where, according to her allegation, she was tortured and threatened by her sister-in-law. Her complaint particularly concerns her sister-in-law.

She told the authorities that since she returned from Pakistan a few days ago, her life is made absolutely hell and she is warned about the “very serious consequences” if she does not return to Pakistan. She has told the authorities that if returned to Pakistan, she faces living a life of abuse and may be killed in acid attack by her in-laws.

“I have been told that acid will be thrown on my face and I will be made an example,” said the terrified woman, who cannot speak English and was provided an Urdu interpreter to narrate her case to the police and social services who interviewed her about her severe allegations.

She has not yet applied for the asylum but given the nature of her case, it’s almost certain that she will be granted asylum as Pakistan is counted amongst the countries where the issues of domestic abuse are rife. This correspondent has learnt that the social services are extremely concerned about the welfare and wellbeing of her children and the Metropolitan police are looking into this case. According to the child protection laws in UK, if there are reasonable grounds to suspect that a child is suffering or is likely to suffer significant harm in the future, it is the local authority’s duty to consider the evidence and decide what, if any, legal action to take. Local authorities then refer such issues to their planning and intervention service to investigate. This service works closely with other organisations to plan and provide relevant support for children and their families.

Issue of domestic violence in all communities, including English, south Asian and other communities, is a great concern for the UK authorities. Many issues remain unreported with Pakistani and Asian communities as reporting it is considered bringing shame to the family. There are many organisations that provide support to victims of domestic violence. To tackle the issue of domestic violence and reduce victimisation there are around 150 multi-agency forums in England and Wales, in which police, social services, housing services, probation, health services, legal professionals and a range of voluntary agencies work together in local communities to tackle domestic violence.

Statistics issued by the Crown Prosecution Service show that about one million women experience at least one incident of domestic abuse each year; domestic violence is witnessed by 750,000 children each year; an average of two women are killed each week by their partner or ex-partner; and women are attacked an average of 35 times before reporting an incident to the police. Scotland Yard says that 10 percent of calls to police in London each year are domestic violence related. So far this year police in London alone have recorded 30,000 domestic violence offences.

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