Isabelle Younane, Head of External Affairs at Women’s Aid, comments:  

“Children are harmed by domestic abuse whether or not they directly witness the abuse taking place, and for too long, they were not seen as victims in their own right. We welcome the introduction of a new and improved Victims’ Code, which commits to prioritising the rights and needs of children.  

“While the introduction of the new Code is welcome, it must come with significant awareness raising – victims must know that not only does it exist, but that it applies to them and will help them to safety and justice. There remains a significant gap in dedicated support for children, which can leave young people not only with nowhere to turn, but without the care they need to recover from abuse.  it is critical that investment in dedicated support delivered by specialist services, accompanies the Code, ensuring that child victims can be supported and their voices heard.” 

The post Women’s Aid responds to the Ministry of Justice announcing plans for a new Victims’ Code to better protect children appeared first on Women’s Aid.

Farah Nazeer, Chief Executive of Women’s Aid, comments: 

We welcome the government’s ambitious commitment to halving violence against women and girls (VAWG) in the next decade, as outlined in their strategy published today.  

We are pleased to see the emphasis the strategy places on long-term prevention, particularly new investment in programmes that aim to shift attitudes of children and young people, ensuring that they understand what healthy relationships must look like. Our own research tells us that children who were exposed to content like that from Andrew Tate, were five times more likely to view hurting someone physically as acceptable, if they apologised afterwards, so this intervention is absolutely vital. We also welcome much-needed plans to improve local commissioning standards which, for too long, have resulted in a postcode lottery of support for victims and survivors. Looking ahead, it is fundamental that there is a focus not just on setting national expectations – but on ensuring robust implementation and accountability on the ground, so that all women and children experiencing abuse are able to access lifesaving support when they need it most. 

This strategy is a commendable effort by government to deliver a whole system response to VAWG, including through long-awaited interventions in healthcare, which should provide additional resource to complement the vital work being delivered already by specialist services. However, we are mindful that frontline services will experience additional strain following a planned increase in referrals through the NHS, as well as via education and criminal justice systems. It is important that these services are well-equipped to respond, given that over 60% of referrals into refuge are already declined, primarily due to a lack of bedspaces. Additional funding by government into safe accommodation and other specialist services is welcome, but this needs to go much further, including through ring-fenced investment in services run by and for Black and minoritised women and dedicated support for child victims  

While we also acknowledge the government’s efforts to encourage reporting of abuse by migrant victims and survivors, significantly more remains to be done to ensure these most vulnerable victim-survivors are protected and supported, as well as specific funding commitments towards migrant survivors of domestic abuse. The Home Office Flexible Fund, administered by Women’s Aid via our network of specialist services and delivery partners, remains crucial for supporting women, such as those with no recourse to public funds, in times of crisis, and we advocate for sustainable funding for this lifeline. 

Finally, it is critical that through the delivery of this VAWG strategy, the wider expertise and fullest potential of the specialist domestic abuse sector, including the by and for sector, is recognised. Our specialist members already deliver educational work in schools, provide therapeutic services and train of professionals, amongst a myriad of expertise which compliments their role in delivering safe accommodation, as well as frontline and community-based services. We strongly urge that the sector is heavily involved in the funded delivery of these new and vital aspects of the strategy. 

We will now take time to familiarise ourselves with the strategy and consider its impact on our diverse group of member services across England. We will respond more fully in due course.

The post Women’s Aid responds to government’s Violence Against Women and Girls strategy appeared first on Women’s Aid.

Farah Nazeer, chief executive of Women’s Aid, said: 

Despite the pledges made in the Labour government’s election manifesto to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in the next decade, we are once again disappointed to see a budget that does not explicitly mention VAWG and domestic abuse.  

If the government is still committed to its manifesto pledge, then investing in the sector that supports survivors and provides lifesaving, frontline services is absolutely essential. For years, successive governments have failed to invest into the VAWG sector in a way that is as sustainable as it is impactful. We have seen powerful, standalone investments that make for positive interventions, yet neglect to provide the ongoing support that victims and survivors urgently need. Without urgent and sustainable investment, local refuges and community-based services simply won’t be able to continue supporting women and children at their point of need, leaving many trapped in life-threatening situations. 

Despite the omission of VAWG from the autumn budget, we are pleased to see that the government has made the decision to scrap the two-child benefit cap, which placed countless children at risk of poverty. This is a shift that has been long-campaigned for by Women’s Aid as well as the wider VAWG sector, as the removal of the cap will allow for more women and children to leave refuges and restart their lives, following the ordeal of abuse. 

We are concerned that the decision to freeze income tax thresholds further exacerbates the lack of financial support women need to escape abuse. Women’s Aid research demonstrates that it can cost a survivor almost £50,000 to flee and ‘stay fled’ from domestic abuse. While the maximum support available from the state is around £40,000, many survivors would not be able to access this full amount. The deficit in financial support is twice as large for survivors who have no recourse to public funds. We continue to call on the government to commit long-term to the Flexible Fund and to carry out an impact assessment of the ‘Budget’s key economic interventions on survivors of domestic abuse to better understand their unique needs. In addition, the introduction of a cap to pension contributions under “salary sacrifice” schemes means that any contributions above the cap would be subject to NI payments by both employees and employers; we are concerned of the impact this could have on specialist services, combined with the rises to minimum wage, on the sector’s ability to retain workers and have financial stability. Once again, we continue to call for funding commitments that match the ambition of the manifesto pledge. Specialist domestic abuse services should be given the funding they urgently need to support women and children as they flee abuse and rebuild their lives in safety.  

The post Women’s Aid responds to the Autumn Budget appeared first on Women’s Aid.