Women’s Aid, the English domestic violence charity, is declaring a state of crisis in domestic violence services, as the charity’s Annual Survey reveals shocking gaps in funding and provision for women experiencing domestic violence.
The charity is warning that unless cuts to specialist gender-specific services end soon, an entire network of domestic violence providers in England is likely to collapse.
Women’s Aid is also stating that the growth of non-specialist providers attempting to support vulnerable women is not a suitable alternative; as such providers don’t have the knowledge, expertise or experience to run the services women really need.
The surveys of Women’s Aid member organisations have revealed:
- In one day in 2013, services that responded to the survey turned away 155 women and 103 children from the first refuge they approached
- Across 150 responding organisations, 112 specialist posts were lost last year. The main reason for having to close a post was loss of funding
- Nearly half (48%) of providers that responded to the survey question were running some services with no Government funding
- Three in ten (30%) of services who rely on Local Authority funding experienced budget cuts this year. Nearly one in five (17%) didn’t know if they would be getting funds from the Local Authority in that financial year even though the survey was conducted three months into the financial year.
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