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Whole Health London: Phase 2

A key finding from phase one of the Whole Health London project demonstrated how the specific needs of migrant victims were not being recognised across the capital, many of whom faced additional barriers to safety and support due to a lack of access to housing assistance or vulnerability around their immigration status.

Migrant survivors who do seek help through healthcare teams are often concerned that the GP will request proof of address, or the A&E team will raise the prospect of large bills post-treatment, even though migrant victims should be exempted under The National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015.

The pressure migrant victims of domestic abuse are under has also increased: new legislation, Government messaging and intense media focus has sought to foster hostility towards migrant communities, increasing isolation – and the fear that anyone seeking support will face negative and severe consequences

With these specific barriers in mind, we are continuing this vital work, supported by further funding from the City Bridge Foundation, with a specific focus on the experiences of migrant victims in London and the response by healthcare settings.

This project started in 2025 and will run until December 2027, and aims to make lasting, positive changes so that migrant survivors can feel safer and better supported when using health services across London.

SafeLives has partnered with Latin American Women’s Rights Service (LAWRS) who bring their experience and expertise in supporting Latin American and other racialised migrant women. LAWRS have also focused on the wider healthcare challenges faced by migrant communities in their 2023 report, The Right to Healthcare.

In the project’s first year, LAWRS recruited 10 migrant women to join a survivor panel. The survivor panel will shape the direction of the work, sharing and discussing the barriers they faced, highlight training gaps and shaping advocacy messaging and routes to support.

A Steering Group complements the work led by the survivor panel by contributing professional experience. We have around 15 organisations on the Steering Group, including frontline organisations, advocacy and research organisations and health and statutory service representatives.

Health is often forgotten as a critical partner when it comes to ending domestic abuse, but the Government’s 2025 VAWG Strategy reaffirmed the key role health must play in tackling domestic abuse. In January 2026, we have seen the narrative changing with debates held on ‘The role of the NHS in preventing domestic homicides and domestic abuse-related deaths’. We briefed MPs on our projects in this space ahead of the debate, and our Whole Health London first report, ‘We only do bones here’ was referenced along with our previous healthcare work on investing in domestic abuse services in hospitals; ‘A Cry for Health’.

Calling migrant women survivors of domestic abuse in London.

Together, with the Latin American Women’s Rights Service (LAWRS) and the City Bridge Foundation we’re working to improve how healthcare services in London respond to migrant women survivors of domestic abuse, by making sure your voices and lived experience shape future policy and practice.

We’re inviting migrant women who have experienced domestic abuse to take part in a short anonymous survey (around 15 minutes). Use your voice for change!

Take part here

More on domestic abuse and health

Outline of a house with a stick figure family in the centre.

Whole Health London Phase 1

A project on a whole health approach to transform the health response to victims, survivors and perpetrators of domestic abuse across the capital.

Pathfinder

A national project to transform healthcare's response to domestic violence and abuse by ensuring a coordinated and consistent approach across the health system.
Hands typing on a laptop on a desk with a stethoscope in the foreground

Health

Research and resources for healthcare professionals to improve the response to supporting victims of domestic abuse.

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