As part of a 200-strong lobby, activists from Cambridge met with James Paice for SE Cambs and Christine Berry, researcher for Cambridge City Lib Dem MP David Howarth, to urge them to persuade the government to provide permanent protection for all women who are victims of violence and living in the UK.

At present, due to government policy called the 'no recourse to public funds' rule, some women - such as those on spousal or international student visas, or temporary work permits - are not able to gain access to specialist services or a refuge should they become victims of violence.

Last year Amnesty International and specialized womens support service, the Southall Black Sisters published a report, outlining the severity of the violence faced by these most vulnerable women and demanding the government take action to exempt victims of violence from the no recourse rule. At the time, the Home Office promised a permanent solution to tackling this issue. So far this has not happened.

Elderly Cambridge AI member Anna Newton traveled to London to meet Conservative Mr Paice to ask him to protect victims of domestic violence. She was pleased with his responses as he agreed to investigate the provision of specialized womens services, such as rape crisis centres in the SE cambs region.

Cambridge City Amnesty International's Stop Violence Against Women Campaign Manager Truus Abbink said:

'Despite some government effort to tackle this problem, it is still falling short of its international obligations to protect all women living in its jurisdiction. Women affected by the 'no recourse' rule are among the most vulnerable here in the UK because they literally have no alternative if they want to escape their place of violence.

The mass lobby of Parliament takes place just days ahead of the Government's expected announcement of an integrated strategy that would tackle all aspects of violence against women across the country.

This strategy aims to ensure that no woman suffering violence falls through gaps in services. However campaigners are concerned that implementation may fall short in terms of adequate funding for services and particularly in ensuring all women including those with no recourse are equally protected.

Truus Abbink continued:

'We are pleased that the Government is finally establishing a strategy that will seek to comprehensively tackle all violence against women across all sectors of society. However, they must ensure that it is properly funded and equally available to no recourse women to ensure that we have in place a system which is robust, effective and available for all women.

Women who turn up at refuges or rape crisis centres have already gone through a deeply traumatic and dreadful experience. The last thing they need at that stage is to be turned away because the centre is full to capacity or has run out of money. It must be remembered that this is not an immigration issue but a human rights issue. The UK government has an international obligation to protect all women under its jurisdiction.

We need a robust and effective process for tackling violence against women across the UK for all women, whenever they may so require.'