When the culture of silence that shrouds domestic abuse is combined with the precarious position of those with insecure immigration status, the results are toxic. In the case of Rebecca, her partner used the threat of detention to keep her in the relationship: "He cut me off from all my friends as he used to tell me that I should be careful of talking to anyone in case they reported me, and maintained that I should keep everything secret." Slowly, she gathered the strength to speak to other people and recognise the pattern of abuse. However, the situation took a turn for the worse: "I went for a weekend to visit a friend in Germany, but coming back into the country, I was detained because my ex-partner had written to them [the Home Office] the night he was hitting me that I was violent to him. Immediately, the Home Office revoked my five-year visa. They did not serve me a letter; I was only given it at the airport, and then taken to Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre. I was there for five months."