Almost two-thirds of domestic abuse referrals rejected due to a shortage of spaces, Women’s Aid report shows
Almost two-thirds of domestic abuse referrals rejected due to a shortage of spaces, Women’s Aid report shows
National domestic abuse charity Women’s Aid has published its annual Domestic Abuse Report, providing a definitive, national picture of the needs and work of domestic abuse services. This year’s report is especially poignant, coming on the heels of the publication of the cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls, following Labour’s commitment to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in the next decade.
Despite the promises made in the government strategy, the report shows that for the sector to continue delivering lifesaving support, urgent, systemic change is needed immediately. The report shows that demand for specialist domestic abuse services far outstrips the provision that is currently available to survivors. Despite a year-on-year increase in bed spaces, of the 10,665 women and 11,732 children who were supported by refuge services last year, almost two thirds (65.2%) of refuge referrals were rejected. This marked the highest proportion of referrals rejected in five years, primarily due to a lack of space and capacity.
While domestic abuse remains the most common form of VAWG and the need for spaces is always high, this unprecedented rate of refusals is a direct result of systemic pressures in the housing system. A combination of poor commissioning practices, inadequate funding and a lack of move-on accommodation is having a dramatic impact on the availability of lifesaving refuge spaces, forcing refuges to turn women and children away at their point of need.
This year, the Domestic Abuse Report also found that:
- Survivors with additional support needs, or those from migrant or minoritised backgrounds felt additional challenges when looking for a refuge space. Only 1.1% of refuge vacancies were suitable for wheelchair users, while just 11.5% of vacancies could consider accommodating a woman with no recourse to public funds.
- Bedspaces remained nearly a fifth below the Council of Europe’s recommendation.
- Despite the fact that the impact of domestic abuse on child survivors is significant and that they are now recognised as victims in their own right by law, the proportion of refuge services that have dedicated children and young people support decreased by 11.6% across the country.
- At least one in eight (13.3%) refuge services received no local authority commissioned funding at all.
- Shockingly, refuges run by and for Black and minoritised women were less likely to be commissioned by the local authority, with 42.9% of Imkaan-member refuges being fully commissioned compared to the national proportion of 72.4% of all refuges being fully commissioned.
Farah Nazeer, Chief Executive of Women’s Aid, comments:
“As a direct result of consistently poor commissioning decisions, the domestic abuse sector has faced a decades long funding crisis, yet despite this, it continued to deliver lifesaving care to women and children escaping abuse. It is clear that if we are to tackle the epidemic of violence faced by women and girls, we need the government to urgently address all parts of the system. It is unacceptable that, due to poor decision-making at local level, and the resulting lack of housing and move-on accommodation, women and children are forced to remain in refuges for far longer, leaving countless others unable to receive the support they so desperately need.
“We also need to see dedicated, ringfenced funding for victims, survivors and those who support them. An unacceptable number of services are operating on partial or unstable funding, with many relying on reserves and volunteers to sustain essential support — with direct consequences for survivors, particularly those with more complex needs and those in by and for Black and minoritised services.
“The reality is that domestic abuse cannot be eradicated without the support and knowledge that specialist domestic abuse services bring. These services understand survivors and the help they need to rebuild their lives. Their value must be recognised for the lifesaving work they do, and that they are fundamentally the backbone of our country’s response to ending violence against women and girls. The work of these services must be protected, if we are to finally live in a world where domestic abuse is no longer tolerated.”
In addition to adapting to a very demanding landscape, the report shows that services have also continued to evolve in order to provide support to survivors who experienced new forms of technology-facilitated abuse, as well as those impacted by the wider social and political developments, including the far-right riots and the impact of international humanitarian crises.
Among the most prevalent in technology-facilitated abuse disclosed to services were online stalking (78.1%) and non-consensual intimate image sharing (or threats of sharing) (66.4%). The most common form of technology-facilitated abuse identified as new to services’ experience in the past year was coerced participation in OnlyFans or other online activity.
Women’s Aid urges the government to recognise the value of specialist services and put in place long-term, sustainable investment. The government must expedite the welcome plans to review current commissioning standards and set out a new National Commissioning Statement, overseeing supported housing and ensuring there is oversight of poor commissioning decisions, prioritising survivor needs over cost-cutting measures. Especially when it is clear that investing in non-specialist services leads to survivors flocking to other public services, creating more pressure on those systems. Without investing in specialist services and breaking down the wider systemic issues, the government will not deliver on its promise of halving VAWG in the next decade and survivors will be left with no safe exit route.
You can read more and download the report and recommendations here.