Women and children are being turned away from refuges

Services to help female victims of domestic violence are at “breaking point” because of “shocking gaps” in funding, Women’s Aid UK has warned.

The charity said that, on one day in 2013, 155 women and 103 children were turned away from refuges in England.

The government could reduce the number of women and children hurt and killed by ensuring adequate funding, it added.

Women’s Aid, which has published the results of its annual survey, supports more than 350 domestic and sexual violence services across England.

Its survey found that:

• Across 150 organisations that responded, 112 specialist posts were lost in 2013 with the majority due to cuts in funding.

• Some 9,577 women and 10,117 children were given refuge accommodation last year by responding organisations.

• On the survey’s “snapshot” day – 27 June 2013 – 155 women and 103 children were turned away from the first refuge they approached.

“Over 1.2 million women were estimated to have experienced domestic violence last year and two women a week are killed by perpetrators.”

On a daily basis, women subjected to domestic violence are being denied specialist support and justice as services are being hollowed out.

Too many women and children are being denied the help and support they need to keep them safe.

Domestic violence reports to the police are going up, yet there has been an 11% drop in prosecutions since the police cuts started and specialist domestic violence units have been hit.

A leading cause of homelessness

All over the world domestic violence is a leading cause of homelessness for women and children, and a lack of affordable housing options is regularly reported by survivors as one of the primary barriers to escaping abuse. Housing programmes provide critical services for survivors of domestic violence and are often a key component that allows survivors to flee the violence perpetrated against them. A woman shouldn’t have to be forced to return to an abusive relationship, and sometimes life-threatening situation, because of lack of affordable housing.

That is why we need to see more of a ‘smarter’ way of building. I am personally fed up hearing politicians and governments saying over and over again “we can’t afford new housing, we can’t afford to build”.

And while this sort of attitude just keeps going on day in and day out, hundreds of thousands of women and children live in fear in their own homes.

Where there is a will, there is a way. I am determined there is a more cost-efficient way of building and a more affordable way of housing.

Apart from the actual building itself, there needs to be more of housing programmes which would vary to include short and long-term housing, job opportunities and different types of support services that work to meet the individual needs of survivors. The ‘after-care’ is just as important as the actual moment a woman leaves an abusive relationship – it’s during the after-care that she will have a chance to re-build both her practical- and emotional life.

And to be able to have her own safe home is a very big and important part of making all this possible and to end the destructive cycle she is in.

What we need to focus on

Although police, A&E departments, social workers, midwives, housing officers and refuges see victims individually, far too often they are not communicating with each other and so what they offer in the way of help is often very limited and contra-productive.

If you haven’t been in an abusive or violent relationship – ask yourself “how would it be if I had to pile my possessions into a bag and escape extreme physical danger at home, perhaps never being able to return even to collect my most personal belongings such as photographs, clothes and bank documents”.
“How would it be to be stalked and followed for years after this incident”. “To feel I’m not given an opportunity to heal and move forward after this”.

“If I were one of those women, what would I want and need to keep me safe?”
In other words – what is it we need to do, and how, to create a safer and better way to offer healing and support for these women?

Not only in their moment of acute need, but also when looking ahead how she can get help to re-build her life again. We need to look at the way we give support and services so that she can move forward.

This is what we need to focus on in order to find answers and solutions.