‘Why I can’t leave’: Home
Affairs is part of the problem for refugee and migrant women stuck in
abusive situations
Daily
Maverick – 20 September 2021
Under
lockdown, with no in-person services available to refugees and asylum seekers
at Home Affairs, a woman who wants to separate her documentation from that of
an abusive husband or partner cannot do so.
“I
cannot leave, because of my children.”
“There
is no place for me to go.”
“My
documents are all linked to my husband, so if I left I would be without legal
status in South Africa.”
“My
job would not support me and the children if we left, so we have to stay.”
Many
refugee, asylum seeker and migrant women have experienced many departures –
departure from their home country, departure from their home, departure from
the comfort and familiarity of speaking their home language, of being
surrounded by those they know or feel at home with.
These
departures are by no means easy. They are acts of faith, journeys of hope and
often grasps at the chance of a better, safer future, for themselves and their
families.
However,
there is one other departure that is often not possible for (mainly) women who
find themselves in another country far from their hometowns, their mother
tongues and the support networks they grew up with – leaving a situation where
they are at risk of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).
For the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence
campaign in 2020, the Scalabrini Centre of Cape
Town, in partnership with UNICEF, ran a communications
campaign on SGBV to highlight the resources available for migrants,
refugees and asylum seekers. Through the campaign we found that while some
resources are made available to victims and survivors of SGBV, many of these
are contingent upon an individual having valid documentation in South Africa.
Yet it is
often those without valid documentation who are most at risk. Perpetrators of
SGBV do not distinguish between citizens and non-citizens, or those who have an
ID and those who don’t. Those who are not citizens and might not have an ID
have less access to support, less recourse and fewer departure options.
Contrary
to the claim that “illegal” migrants have chosen to enter the country without
the correct papers, the truth of the matter is that there are few who would
choose to live in another country undocumented. For many, valid documentation
is a luxury. In fact, the lack of papers which afford them the right to work,
to study and to access support services is yet another departure – from
security, safety and the acknowledgement of their rights as human beings.
And while
the challenge of obtaining documentation has been widely
reported, it is still hard to comprehend the complex, contradictory
and confusing processes created by Home Affairs for migrants to follow – often
to then only reach a dead end.
During
the course of South Africa’s nationwide lockdown in response to the Covid-19
pandemic, this situation has worsened as refugees and asylum seekers have not
been able to access in-person services at the country’s refugee reception
offices. This initially meant that if an asylum seeker permit or refugee status
document expired, its holder could not renew it. In June 2020, the Minister of
Home Affairs issued a blanket extension of all asylum and refugee documents
that expired during lockdown. This extension was reissued from time to time,
with the most recent one providing for an extension to 30 June 2021.
The
services that have not been offered, though, include new asylum
applications, as well as family joining, and file separations – services that
could mean the difference between someone being able to leave an abusive
partner or not.
“I
cannot leave, because of my children.”
Often
children are documented through only one parent. If that parent is an abusive
partner a file separation and subsequent process of joining the child or
children to the other parent’s file have to take place. This cannot happen at
present, because Home Affairs’ refugee reception offices are not offering these
services and haven’t been providing them since at least March 2020. Moreover,
there are often intersecting issues such as financial dependence, child support
and family networks that make a departure impossible.
“I
cannot leave, because there is no place for me to go.”
One of
the many departures a migrant, asylum seeker or refugee initially makes is
leaving their support structures and community behind. Shelters in South
Africa, aside from being full, often require a valid document in order for
someone to be placed there. Due to Covid-19 they also require a negative
Covid-19 test. For some the cost of a Covid test is prohibitive. For others
their lack of documentation or access to Home Affairs services in order to
obtain the required documentation means they cannot get placed at a
shelter.
The
devastating economic consequences of the lockdown, as well as the lack of
in-person services at refugee offices, add to the barriers facing asylum
seeker, refugee and migrant victims and survivors of SGBV when trying to find a
way out of an abuse situation. Subsequently, they are forced to remain in
abusive situations without any option to exit. Another departure denied.
“My
job would not support me and the children if we left, so we have to stay.”
Financial
dependence and the inability to support their children are often why someone
might remain in an abusive situation. This applies regardless of nationality,
documentation or immigration status. South African citizens and permanent
residents, as well as refugees who have refugee identity documents, have access
to support options such as social grants they might qualify for, for example
the child support grant. For those without documentation or immigration status,
or for asylum seekers, these are not an option.
Indeed,
even the social relief of distress grant created to support people during the
lockdown was initially only made available to South Africans and refugees. It
took litigation to make it available to asylum seekers and special permit
holders as well. These interventions and initiatives, and campaigns like the
Basic Income Grant, are key in trying to help some of society’s most
vulnerable. They could be vital for victims and survivors of SGBV by providing
the potential for a necessary and needed departure from an abusive
situation.
I cannot
leave, because my documents are all linked to my husband, so if I left I would be
without legal status in South Africa.”
A key
intersecting issue can be that many children, and women and children, are
documented through the father in a household. In Home Affairs terms this is
known as the “principal applicant” or the “main file holder”. This person must
always be present when a document is being renewed, following which the
dependents in the file receive their renewed document. When faced with the
choice between being undocumented or staying in an abusive situation many
refugee and asylum seeker women have no options.
It is an
impossible choice. To stay means they remain documented and maintain lawful
immigration status in South Africa. To leave means they are rendered
undocumented; at risk of possible arrest, detention and deportation; and lose
documentation allowing them to work. Under lockdown, with no in-person services
available to refugees and asylum seekers from Home Affairs, a woman who wants
to separate her documentation from that of an abusive husband or partner cannot
do so.
In South
Africa it is reported that between 25%
and 40% of women have experienced SGBV or intimate partner violence. It is a
systemic and deeply entrenched issue. For refugees, asylum seekers and
migrants, it is exacerbated by lack of access to immigration status and
documentation.
If the
government were truly committed to combating GBV, one way to support victims
and survivors is to ensure that they can access documentation services
throughout the country.
www.samigration.com
