Evidence Hub Archives - Women’s Aid

Annual Audit 2025

Chloe Browning — Tue, 28 Jan 2025 11:01:01 +0000

The Annual Audit 2025

Women’s Aid Annual Audit 2025: The 2025 edition of Women’s Aid annual publication provides an in-depth picture of the provision, usage and work of domestic abuse services in England during the 2023-24 financial year. The report demonstrates that whilst there have been some improvements in provision, the gap between provision and demand for domestic abuse services in 2023-24 is similar to previous years, if not slightly worse. During this period, the government investment fell £321 million short of the minimum £516 million needed to properly fund local specialist women’s domestic abuse services and the impact of this shortfall is evidenced in this report.

Please cite this report as:
Women’s Aid. (2025) The Annual Audit 2025, Bristol: Women’s Aid.

Key findings

Demand

On Track national referral estimates suggest that less than one in ten women and less than one in ten children who experienced domestic abuse received support from a refuge or community-based support service.

Estimates show that 60.1% of referrals into refuge services were rejected over the past year. The most common reason for rejection was that the refuge service did not have the capacity to support the client (45.7% of rejected referrals). This means that when a survivor was referred into refuge, there was a 27.5% chance that the refuge did not have the capacity to support her.

Just over half (51.4%) of referrals into community-based domestic abuse support (CBS) services were rejected. The most common reasons for rejection were that the client did not want support (25.7%), the survivor was already being supported by the organisation (23.5%), and the service could not contact the client (22.6%).

Provision

Despite a net growth in the number of bed spaces available, the number of bedspaces still falls short by 1,160 spaces of the Council of Europe’s recommendation, representing a total shortfall of 20.3%.

On 1st May 2024 throughout England there were 246 providers running 414 local services. This is a net increase in all service types between 1st May 2023 and 1st May 2024, with the biggest increase in service type being counselling.

Despite the year-on-year increase in refuge bedspaces, findings from our previous annual audit reports have demonstrated that the number of vacancies posted on Routes to Support has been going down each year since 2019/20.

There were 72 services run exclusively for specific groups of survivors, including services run exclusively for Black and minoritised women (45), and women with substance use and/or mental health support needs (3). Availability of these services continues to be low: spaces in dedicated services made up just 11.6% of all refuge spaces in England, and 42.0% of these spaces are in London.

The proportion of vacancies which could consider a woman with no recourse to public funds increased slightly from 11.7% of all vacancies in 2022-23 but remain low at 12.3% in 2023-24.

Vacancies suitable for wheelchair users are incredibly scarce and dropped from 1.0% of all vacancies in 2022-23 to just 0.7% (52) of vacancies in 2023-24.

Funding

The proportion of organisations that were running Children and Young People’s domestic abuse services in the community without dedicated funding doubled this year, from 15.7% to 31.4%

Over a third (35.0%) of respondents to the annual survey this year were running an area of their domestic abuse service without dedicated funding during 2023-24. The most common area of service that organisations were running without dedicated funding include domestic abuse prevention or educational work

A notable number of respondents to the annual survey expressed concerns relating to the sustainability of their services, with more than one in ten (15%) respondents telling us they had to close or reduce an area of work in their service over the past financial year.

A concerning three quarters (71.4%) of domestic abuse organisations responding to the annual survey who were running a service without dedicated funding used their organisational reserves to cover the costs.

Commissioning

There was a marked increase in domestic abuse providers finding commissioning processes complex this year, with over half (59.1%) respondents to the annual survey either agreeing or strongly agreeing that ‘commissioning processes have been complex.’

Just over a third (34.0%) of respondents thought that domestic abuse commissioning had had a mixed impact for survivors over the past year, and 30.0% thought it had had a mostly positive impact.

Over half of respondents (53.0%) either disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement ‘There is more funding available for our service in 2023-24’, and two thirds (65.8%) disagreed that ‘Funding is easy to access’.

System response

Whilst most respondents to the Women’s Aid annual survey felt that commissioning agencies ‘somewhat’ effectively collaborate (32.0%) on VAWG CBS service funding currently, a quarter felt that collaboration is either ‘not effective (17.0%) or ‘very ineffective’ (8.0%).

Almost half of respondents (49.0%) had not been contacted about the new duty to collaborate as part of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024.

Other trends and issues

On Track data found that more than a quarter (26.9%) of women in CBS services and almost half of women in refuge (49.0%) reported experiencing increased economic and financial abuse since the increased cost of living began.

Over half (53.5%) of survivors in refuge and a third (32.5%) in CBS services were left unable to afford food and many were unable to keep up with debt repayments (11.6% in CBS services, 20.3% in refuge).

A notable number of respondents cited recruitment and retention of specialist staff as a main challenge over the past year, which had been further exacerbated by the increased cost of living.

Escalating international conflicts, such as Gaza and Israel have been prominent in the news over the past year. Whilst over half of respondents reported no related impact, some domestic abuse providers, particularly ‘by and for’ services, described concerns that the conflicts had created deeper divisions in their own local communities. Services called for greater support for migrant women and women with no recourse to public funds (NRPF), emphasising how the conflict had led to greater demand for immigration services.

Accessible versions

Section pages

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The Price of Safety

Chloe Browning — Thu, 26 Sep 2024 08:01:19 +0000

The Price of Safety

The cost of leaving an abuser and rebuilding a safe, independent life

This research aims to quantify the costs survivors may face when fleeing a perpetrator and building a new life. It sets these costs within the context of economic abuse, intersectional barriers and the state support available. The findings highlight the deficit many survivors will face and the policy changes which could have the biggest impact in reducing the financial barriers to fleeing. The report makes the case for a social security system that is sufficient, accessible and domestic abuse informed, so that more survivors can access safety.

Published by: Women’s Aid Federation of England, PO Box 3245, Bristol, BS2 2EH.

Please cite this report as: Women’s Aid. (2024) The Price of Safety: The cost of leaving a perpetrator and rebuilding a safe, independent life. Bristol: Women’s Aid.

The Price of Safety webinar

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Resources for commissioners

Jess Milton — Thu, 29 Aug 2024 13:08:23 +0000

Resources for commissioners

Women’s Aid know that best practice commissioning saves local services money and more importantly, saves lives. The following resources were designed to support and empower commissioners with the knowledge and tools to make the best possible commissioning decisions for survivors.

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Unsuccessful referrals into refuge

Chloe Browning — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 08:49:04 +0000

On Track briefing:

Unsuccessful referrals into refuge

We have published new research using our On Track national dataset into the reasons why referrals into refuge services are unsuccessful. We looked at data from 62 refuge services across England in the financial year 2022-23 and found three main reasons why referrals into refuge were unsuccessful. Out of all the unsuccessful referrals we found three main reasons why they were rejected: the refuge service did not have the capacity to support the client (40.6%), the survivor did not accept the refuge space (35.4%) and that the referral was inappropriate (18.0%).

Our research found that the main barrier to women accessing refuge is that they are under-funded and under-resourced and do not have the capacity to keep up with the demand for their service. In this environment, it is often the survivors who have multiple and intersecting support needs who face the most barriers to accessing refuge.

It is for this reason that we are continuing to call on the government to invest £427 million per year, as a minimum, to fund specialist women-led and ‘by and for’ domestic abuse services in England. A fully funded whole-system approach will contribute to more efficient referral pathways by increasing the number of bedspaces and specialist service provision so all survivors can access refuge when they need it.

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Nowhere to Turn 2024 report

Chloe Browning — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 09:54:38 +0000

Nowhere to Turn 2024

Nowhere to Turn 2024 builds on our evidence base on the structural inequalities that many survivors face when seeking safety from domestic abuse. This report explores survivor’s difficult and dangerous journeys and the role of the No Woman Turned Away (NWTA) project in supporting survivors to navigate barriers to accessing refuge or other safe accommodation. Utilising findings from the NWTA project in 2023, the report makes evidenced-based recommendations for key stakeholders.

Accessible documents

Women’s Aid hosted a webinar exploring the NWTA project, the findings of the report and recommendations for key stakeholders. A recording of the webinar is available to watch below.

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Use and provision of refuge services in London

Chloe Browning — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 09:33:16 +0000

Use and provision of refuge services in London

Since 2013, London Councils have funded the London Refuges Data Collection. The project aims to support the commissioning of services by using data from Routes to Support to provide an evidence base on the use and provision of refuge services in London.

This report was produced to celebrate ten years of the project and presents key findings from a longitudinal analysis of the data.

About London Councils

“London Councils represents and champions London’s 32 boroughs and the City of London, serving local communities, businesses and amplifying the voice of Londoners. We are a cross-party organisation that works on behalf of all of our member authorities regardless of political persuasion. We work with partners to deliver sustainable change, address inequalities and make London a fairer place for all.”

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Funding safer futures

Chloe Browning — Wed, 22 May 2024 13:40:31 +0000

Funding safer futures

A government pathway for the quantity and quality of funding required to help women and children experiencing domestic abuse

Our analysis finds that the government spent an estimated £195 million on local domestic abuse support services in England in 2023-24, although we recognise that there are a number of limitations to this estimate resulting from the level of data publicly available. We estimate that current government investment falls £232 million short of the £427 million needed to properly fund local specialist women’s domestic abuse services and the separate, ring-fenced funding needed to ensure the sustainability of vital ‘by and for’ organisations. This figure, based on Women’s Aid research, comprises £189 million required for refuges and £238 million for community-based services in England.

We recommend that the next government deliver the minimum investment of £427 million per year by: continuing to deliver the approximately £195 million currently being spent within Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office; securing new investment from further government departments; and generating savings from ending current programmes which are not providing good value for money and crucially are not supporting key outcomes of safety and recovery for survivors.

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Emergency fund evaluation report

Chloe Browning — Fri, 05 Jan 2024 11:22:20 +0000

Emergency fund evaluation report

On the 10th May 2023, Women’s Aid launched an Emergency Fund to support survivors of domestic abuse with offered one-off payments. This evaluation seeks to evidence and understand the impact of the fund on survivors, looking at the short-term impact the fund had on the survivors it supported and what worked well about this funding.

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Annual Audit 2024

Angharad — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 15:20:57 +0000

The Domestic Abuse Report 2024: The Annual Audit

The Domestic Abuse Report 2024: The Annual Audit, situated in the context of our 50-year anniversary as a federation, looks at the provision and uptake of domestic abuse services in England. The report demonstrates how specialist domestic abuse services are working at, or even over, capacity more than ever before, and how the commissioning landscape must adapt and improve in order to address the challenges services are facing.

Please cite this report as:

Women’s Aid. (2024) The Domestic Abuse Report 2024: The Annual Audit, Bristol: Women’s Aid.

Key findings:

Specialist domestic abuse services are continually improving the response to domestic abuse.

They empower survivors to lead meaningful lives, as well as keeping the community safe and saving money. This includes recognising diversity of survivors and their experiences, engaging services in the community, identifying gaps and filling them, covering statutory services, and sharing knowledge and expertise. 
However, whilst the report demonstrates the unique value that specialist domestic abuse services bring to survivors and society, funding does not reflect this and over forty percent (44.2%) of organisations reported providing a service that should be provided by a statutory agency.

The rising cost-of-living is having wide-spread impact on survivors and services.

Services reported that often survivors did not have enough money to pay for essentials needed for them and/or their children (79.8%) and needed to access foodbanks (78.8%). A concerning 62.5% of services also reported that survivors had been unable to afford to leave the perpetrator. 
Organisations reported that staff were struggling with increased and more challenging workloads (63.5%) due to increases in the cost-of-living and were struggling to recruit for vacant roles at the salaries they can pay (57.7%), with some losing staff who needed to move to higher paid roles elsewhere (48.1%). 
Around a third (32.7%) of organisations reported that they had received some financial relief related to the rising cost-of-living which was able to mitigate some of these issues for survivors, including the Home Office Emergency Fund, which was distributed by Women’s Aid.

Domestic abuse and VAWG services continued to struggle with adequate funding and meeting demand.

This year, almost half (49%) of the organisations surveyed for the report were forced to run an area of their domestic abuse service without dedicated funding, which was especially the case for services like therapeutic support, domestic abuse prevention and community-based support services, all of which play an integral part in helping women fleeing from abuse.
Almost a quarter (23.5%) of those who were running a service without dedicated funding were running ‘children and young people’s domestic abuse services in refuge’ and/or ‘children and young people’s domestic abuse services in the community’ (15.7%), showing that clearly funding gaps remain for child survivors of domestic abuse, despite changes under the Domestic Abuse Act.

The statutory duty offers opportunities to some services, but inconsistent implementation is creating barriers.

Some organisations reported examples of good practice in commissioning being rolled out under the statutory duty, including additional funding in some cases, based on identified needs through comprehensive needs assessments. A quarter (25.0%) felt that it had improved local partnership working, and one in ten had noticed longer term (12.5%) or more secure (11.3%) funding. 
However, meanwhile, around a fifth reported delays (22.5%) and shorter-term (17.5%) funding and over a third (33.8%) reported more demands for data, which were placing more strains on their capacity.

Good commissioning practices must be learnt from and replicated across the board, particularly to ensure that the Domestic Abuse Act is implemented meaningfully.

41.3% of services said that domestic abuse commissioning in their local area had had a ‘mostly positive’ impact for survivors, and 3.8% felt there had been a detrimental impact.
Good commissioning practices should include comprehensive and consultative needs assessments and strategies, collaboration with experts in the specialist domestic abuse support sector and recognition of their value, longer-term commissioning and adequate funding, as well as enabling efficient data collection and reporting.

Women’s Aid have developed resources to support specialist domestic abuse services with their commissioning and advocacy needs. You can request a copy at: policy@womensaid.org.uk

Please let us know if you cite our research so we can track our impact: researchandpolicy@womensaid.org.uk   

On the 26th March, Women’s Aid held a webinar exploring the findings of the Annual Audit 2024 and discussed the implications for service delivery and commissioning over the next year. Watch the webinar below:

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Influencers and Attitudes Report

Chloe Browning — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 13:56:45 +0000

Influencers and attitudes: How will the next generation understand domestic abuse?

Listening to children and young people to build a better future.

The purpose of this research was to ensure an evidence base for the design of education about relationships for children and young people (CYP), highlighting the positive influence that well structured Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) programmes can have and to ultimately investigate ‘what works well’. The findings are particularly important as they are presented alongside the other influencing factors that CYP are contending with today, some of which may potentially have a harmful impact on how CYP perceive and navigate relationships.

Our research, based on surveys with children and young people, provides insight into their views of gender roles, relationships and sex. It has important implications for how society invests in preventing domestic abuse – such as through Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE). Some of the key findings are:

Children and young people exposed to misogynistic social media content like Andrew Tate were almost 5x more likely than those not exposed to view hurting someone physically as acceptable if you say sorry afterwards.
We found that most children and young people could distinguish between healthy and unhealthy behaviours in relationships. However, a significant minority held attitudes that normalised unhealthy relationships and could not identify coercive and controlling behaviour, which underpins domestic abuse.

Read more about our Expect Respect training for schools and universities.

Research webinar

Watch below the webinar Women’s Aid held exploring the findings of the report and discussing the implications for Relationships, Sex and Health Education.

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