Hi,
I wasn't sure where to post this so have put it here - apologies if it should be somewhere else
I work in healthcare and one of my team came to me very upset today. She is from India and has been working with us for nearly 2 years. She told me that a friend that she trained with (in India) moved over to the UK a few months ago and is living with her sister and brother in law, in a different part of the UK.
Her friend is bring blackmailed/abused by her brother in law and can't see a way out, and has said to my team member (sorry it's more confusing without names!) that if it carries on much longer she can only see suicide as the way out.
The background is that the BIL came on to her some time ago and she said no. Since then he's somehow found out (she thinks he's hacked the phonelines/internet somehow as he seems to know things that have only ever been put in messages etc.) that she has had a boyfriend previously and had sex, this is taboo for where she's from. She will have an arranged marriage and so far 2 of the men she's been speaking too have received messages from BIL telling them that she's 'not pure' and they won't speak to her any further.
She's now met another man that she is getting on well with, and BIL is now saying that if she doesn't have sex with him he will tell him as well. So the behaviour is escalating.
Her parents know what is happening, but they don't want her sister to know.
Both sisters work in a care home and are usually on opposite shifts so that they can both do childcare for sister's children. When sister is at work, BIL is withholding food and drink from her in the house. She hides in her room when she can, and daren't sleep after a night shift (children at nursery/school) as BIL sometimes works from home and she's frightened he'll get to her if she falls asleep.
My team member was going to go see her friend this weekend although friend is now saying she won't be able to see her as BIL won't let her out of the house.
I've advised going to the police, although it will take her so much courage and I aren't convinced anything will happen to him, certainly not quickly.
Her issue is that she is here on a work visa, so can't leave and move to our area without having a sponsored job to go to, and there are no sponsored jobs.
It feels like her only option is to go back to India and hope he doesn't continue the blackmail from here.
Thank you if you've stuck it out this long, I suppose my question is are there any support services out there that a young vulnerable person can go to, that could offer support and a way out of her situation.
I feel so sorry for her.
If it wasn't for the visa situation she could move to here and look for work but I just can't see how she can get out of it without going back to India.
Thank you