Domestic abuse victims face refuge crisis

This November, the national domestic abuse charity Women’s Aid celebrates its 40th anniversary. The first Women’s Aid Federation was established in 1974 shortly after the first refuge for women experiencing domestic violence was opened in the UK. Since then the charity has grown to support a network of refuges, and in the 1980s the first ever helpline for victims and survivors of domestic abuse opened.

In the 40 years since it began, Women’s Aid has saved the lives of countless women. Its helpline and refuges have given women a place to turn to when their lives have been threatened by their violent partners. In the years I’ve been campaigning and writing about male violence against women and girls, I’ve spoken to many women on and offline about how refuges saved their lives and the lives of their children.

So why, 40 years after the first refuge opened its doors, is our safety net for victims and survivors of domestic abuse under threat?

Abuse remains a huge problem

Despite the best efforts of feminist activists, writers and organisations like Women’s Aid, domestic abuse is still a huge problem in the UK. Crime statistics published in 2013 revealed 1.2 million incidents of domestic abuse took place in one year.

One in four women experience at least one incident of domestic violence in their lifetimes, as do one in six men. When it comes to repeated incidents of domestic abuse women are far more at risk – 89 per cent of victims of more than four incidents of violence are women.

And, of course, the case remains that two women a week are killed by their partner or ex partner.

The stats are clear. Refuges are needed. If two women are killed every week, and the most dangerous time for a woman is when she leaves, she needs to have somewhere safe to go to when she feels able to escape. Her parents’ home, her friends’ houses are not safe places. A refuge does exactly what it says on the tin; it’s a safe space where women and children can be supported and receive help and counselling.

Funding cuts

However, our refuges are in crisis. Since the government announced its cuts and austerity, we have seen councils cut funding to domestic violence support services, resulting in closures of refuges. Meanwhile, other refuges are required to make provision for male victims and survivors. This is of course a worthy aim, but when refuges have empty beds designed for male victims and are forced to turn women away from its doors, something has gone wrong.

Last December, Women’s Aid commissioned a snapshot study that revealed just how desperate the situation has become for women since the coalition cuts hit the sector. They discovered that on one day in 2013, 155 women and 100 children were turned away from their doors.

Where do these women go next? Back to their abusive partners? To stay with family or friends, knowing the risk that their partner could find them is high? At one point, the helpline was advising women to turn to bus stations, A&E departments and Occupy camps. This clearly is not a safe or sustainable solution.

The December 2013 study also found that of the 150 services who responded to the survey, 48 per cent were running services with no Government funding, and 30 per cent who rely on local authority funding had experienced budget cuts. This is in spite of the fact that the need for services has not lessened. This is in spite of the fact that women are dying every week at the hands of violent men.

The government has warned councils that domestic abuse support services should not be seen as an ‘easy cut’. But warnings are not enough. We need to see ring-fenced funding that means refuges for women and men can stay open, as well as funding for prevention programmes. Anything less is too little.

More women will die

It’s not hard to understand. If we lose our refuges, more women will die. If we lose the domestic abuse support services that women have nurtured and built and developed over the last 40 years, women fleeing violent relationships will have nowhere to turn.

Forty years ago, a group of women did something amazing. They saw their sisters being beaten and raped by their partners. And they decided that something had to change. They decided to take action and build refuges, provide support and take a stand against the silence that shrouded domestic abuse.

If their incredible work is lost on our watch, then we all need to hang our heads in shame.

If you need support, you can call the National Domestic Abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247.

Picture: Twin Design / Shutterstock