UK’s 43 police forces have all referred domestic abuse victims to Home Office in last three years, finds watchdog

Victims of domestic abuse across the UK are being reported to immigration officials when they turn to the police for help, according to data published by an independent watchdog.

The UK’s 43 police forces have all referred victims or survivors of abuse to immigration enforcement in the last three years, prompting urgent calls for a reform of the system.

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1975 strike was a pivotal moment for the country – but 48 years later, Icelanders today protest at gender inequality

When, as a 20-year-old drama student, Kolbrún Halldórsdóttir joined Iceland’s 1975 women’s strike in Reykjavík – 48 years ago on Tuesday – she says she didn’t consider herself a feminist. But it proved to be a day that would change her life for ever.

It marked the moment that Kolbrún, who went on to become part of Iceland’s first gender-equal government as climate minister, became an activist.

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The home secretary’s attack on immigration is steeped in hypocrisy and reflects an utter lack of historical context

It is with horror primarily that one reads of the beliefs of Suella Braverman and other Tories in relation to immigration to the UK (“ Far right: ‘Braverman’s speech was good for us… let’s capitalise on it’ ”, News).

However, there is a deep sense of bewilderment also at the complete lack of historical context by which these people live their lives. There does not seem to be any comprehension that the UK is already multicultural and has been for thousands of years. If it’s not working, it’s not been working for a very long time indeed. That these people, living primarily in England, a word derived from the “land of the Angles”, a people of southern Denmark, and speaking English, a language derived from Anglo-Saxon, can have such attitudes, is steeped in hypocrisy and irony.

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Readers respond to an article by Humza Yousef, Scotland’s first minister, on Andrew Tate and male behaviour

I began reading the article by Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s first minister, with a feeling of hope as the issue of misogyny was being tackled by such a prominent UK politician ( Misogynists like Andrew Tate hold sway over thousands of men and boys. Male leaders like me must address that, 15 August ). But I was disappointed by its bland virtue-signalling and lack of any real substance.

It’s not enough to ask men simply to reflect. Most men are already on the side of preventing suffering by women and girls, but many are unaware how language or actions they haven’t noticed may be interpreted. We do need to discuss the problems at times, to educate men and boys about the behaviours that make women feel uncomfortable, but specifics are important rather than general man-shaming.

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Taskforce to offer ethnicity data to police as Suella Braverman accused of ‘dog whistle’ rhetoric over child sexual exploitation

Rishi Sunak is to announce new measures to tackle grooming gangs on Monday as he claimed that “political correctness” would not get in the way of a crackdown and his home secretary was accused of “dog whistle” rhetoric over child sexual exploitation.

A new grooming gang taskforce will be set up with specialist officers, supported by the National Crime Agency, helping local forces and offering the use of ethnicity data to assist police investigations.

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The effects of head trauma on athletes are well documented. Finally, a UK study is examining the long-term brain health of females abused by their partner

The violence began long before Freya Doe* married at 18 – and it quickly escalated. “It was what I thought love was,” she says, speaking on Zoom from her home in the US. On one occasion, her husband punched her in the face, threw her off a porch, and repeatedly slammed her head on the ground. He threatened her with one of the several guns he owned then strangled her until she lost consciousness. When she came to, he was talking on the phone, saying: “I finally did it. I finally killed the bitch.”

Blood vessels in her eyes had burst. She was in hospital for a week. Twenty-two X-rays were taken of her head, neck, back and chest. “I was told the migraines would go away. They didn’t,” she says.

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