‘We’re slowly being pushed out, I’m worried about our survival’
A domestic abuse refuge has warned they may not ‘survive’ after new figures revealed there is a £321 million government funding shortfall for domestic abuse charities.
New research from Women’s Aid found an estimated 1,300,000 women in England above the age of 16 experienced domestic abuse in 2023 – but to confront the problem properly, £516,000,000 of funding is needed.
It’s becoming more difficult to access the necessary funds, a women’s refuge shelter told Metro, as smaller organisations in local communities are being ‘pushed out’ – which could lead to closure.
Surwat Sohail, chief executive of the domestic abuse organisation Roshni, which focuses on minoritised communities dealing with forced marriage, honour-based abuse and sexual abuse, told Metro the Birmingham-based refuge is being ‘pushed out’ of funding.
‘We’re slowly being pushed out, and at the moment, I’m worried about our survival,’ Ms Sohail said.
‘Places like Roshni very much rely on funding that we get from various grant funders, and the problem we’re facing is that the government cuts are pushing a lot of other organisations towards grant funding too.
‘This can push the smaller organisations out because smaller organisations can have high costs because they can’t distribute the costs across like they do at a large organisation.’
Out of the 1,600,000 victims, less than one in ten were able to receive community-based support, Women’s Aid said.
Even when victims of domestic abuse were referred to a refuge or community organisation to help, 60% of these referrals were rejected.
The main reason was that the refuge services didn’t have the resources to support the client, the charity found.
If smaller domestic abuse refuges like Roshni are forced to close due to funding issues, there will be a gap in direct support options for abuse victims, which could increase risk factors in victims, ranging from mental health to suicide rates.
Ms Sohail added: ‘Some women may not even come out of those abusive relationships, because we’ve had women, who need to leave an abusive relationship and they’ll say, no, I’m gonna wait until there’s a place that you’re a refuge, then I’m gonna come out.
‘And if our services aren’t there, what will happen? What will the impact be?’
Head of Research and Evaluation at Women’s Aid Sarika Seshadri echoed the concerns for more support – both financial and elsewhere – for community-based services and refuges for domestic abuse victims.
She told Metro: ‘We have a government which has pledged to halve violence against women and girls within a decade, which is great – domestic abuse is the most common form of violence against women and girls.
This Is Not Right
On November 25, 2024 Metro launched This Is Not Right, a year-long campaign to address the relentless epidemic of violence against women.
Throughout the year we will be bringing you stories that shine a light on the sheer scale of the epidemic.
With the help of our partners at Women's Aid, This Is Not Right aims to engage and empower our readers on the issue of violence against women.
You can find more articles here, and if you want to share your story with us, you can send us an email at vaw@metro.co.uk.
Read more:
- Introducing This Is Not Right: Metro's year-long violence against women campaign
- Yvette Cooper's message to abusers and rapists: The streets don't belong to you
- Remembering the women killed by men in 2024
- Stories about violence against women don't make an impact - this is why
- Men - we need your help to end violence against women
- What to do if your loved one is at risk from domestic abuse
‘But at the moment, the UK has a deficit of about £321million of the funding that the sector needs.
‘We’ve estimated that the sector did support around 124,000 women and 160,000 children in refuges and community-based services in 2023.
‘But that’s less than 1 in 10 of the estimated number who have experienced domestic abuse already.’
Labour’s manifesto during the 2024 election promised to ‘halve violence against women and girls in a decade’ by using ‘every government tool available to target perpetrators and address the root causes of abuse and violence’.
‘We are looking for the government to work closely with the violence against women and girls sector in developing their strategy to inform their discussions on policy,’ Ms Seshadri added.
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