By Ashlea Hickin,Liam Thorp
Copyright cambridge-news
A 21-year-old woman described feeling “like she wasn’t a human” following Universal Credit sanctions imposed just one week after her baby son’s death.
The woman suffered the devastating loss of her first child during birth in August last year. She explained that the tragedy destroyed her mental health, leaving her struggling to get out of bed.
Despite informing the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) about her circumstances, she found herself facing financial difficulties due to repeated sanctions from what she describes as a “disgusting and dehumanising” system.
After the young woman, who will remain anonymous, spoke to the Liverpool Echo, they contacted the DWP regarding her situation. The department has since reviewed her case, issued an apology for their handling of the matter, and lifted the sanctions that had been applied to her benefits.
They have also provided backdated payments for the period they now acknowledge she should not have been denied support, reports the Liverpool Echo.
However, the Liverpool woman requested that the Liverpool Echo continue with publishing her story to expose the system’s failings and prevent others from experiencing similar distress whilst coping with such heartbreak.
In her interview with the Echo, she recalled: “In August last year I went into hospital at 33 weeks pregnant. I went into labour thinking I am going to have my baby now.
“They realised there was a problem and rushed me in for a scan. That is when they told me they could not find a heartbeat. I was completely frozen and couldn’t really take it in. This was my first child, so losing him like this absolutely broke me.”
The young woman revealed that just one week following her son’s death, she received her first sanction from the DWP, resulting in her Universal Credit payments being halted.
She explained: “They had asked me to send some documents but obviously it wasn’t my first thought because of what I had been through. I explained this to them.
“So a week later I was sanctioned and I explained I had just lost my son so needed some time, but I still provided them with the documents that they has asked for. Three months down the line I was asked to register my son’s birth with the DWP and I had to explain to them again that my son wasn’t here living with me.”
The sanction was ultimately removed after four months, however the woman stated she had already found herself in dire financial straits.
She continued: “I was having to sell bits and pieces of the baby furniture that I had, just to get by – it was excruciating.
“For four months after my son’s death, my bereavement wasn’t even acknowledged by Universal Credit. During that time, I was sanctioned multiple times. I tried to explain that I was struggling with my mental health, but it made no difference.
“The reality is that many days I simply cannot get out of bed. Leaving the house for appointments can feel impossible when I am weighed down by grief, anxiety, and depression. Yet the system has treated me as if I am deliberately failing rather than struggling through trauma. – it felt like they didn’t think I was human.”
She recently faced another setback when she was deemed “fit for work” due to her inability to secure a sick note from her overbooked GP surgery. She expressed: “This was outside of my control, but instead of understanding this, they sanctioned me again.”
When asked about how the past year and her experiences with the DWP have affected her, she shared: “This treatment has pushed me into even deeper hardship. I have had to cope with the trauma of losing my child while also worrying about how to pay bills, buy food, and survive. My anxiety has worsened, my grief feels heavier, and I feel abandoned by a system that should have been there to help me recover.
“I don’t believe anyone who has gone through what I have should be treated this way. Losing a child is one of the hardest experiences anyone can face. It should never be met with cold bureaucracy, sanctions, and punishment. What bereaved parents need is compassion, flexibility, and support to rebuild their lives.
“At a time when I needed help more than ever, I feel I have only been pushed further down. I am speaking out now because I do not want anyone else to experience the same treatment I have. The system must change so that people in grief and crisis are met with understanding, not sanctions.”
Twelve months after losing her child, the young woman explained that her grief remains as challenging as ever: “You just have to find new ways to navigate it.”
Following the Liverpool Echo’s coverage of the woman’s situation, a Department of Work and Pensions spokesperson said: “Our thoughts and condolences are with (the woman) for her distressing loss.
“Following a review we have removed the sanctions on (the woman’s) account, and apologised to her.
“We are committed to improving processes to ensure vulnerable customers get the support they need, and we are dedicated to learning from this to prevent it happening again.”
