ISSUES
: Domestic Violence
Chapter 2: Tackling domestic abuse
37
Cathy Come Home
Some commissioners are imposing
restrictions on the length of time
women and children are able to stay
in a refuge, threatening the security
of women who have uprooted their
lives to escape violence.
Although the Government has
this week committed to a £10
million national fund for refuges,
women’s rights groups have said
it is vital this fund is matched with
a commitment to exploring a new
model of funding for refuges that
supports them in the long term.
“We are in real danger of returning
to the days of
Cathy Come
Home
,” Horley says. “Without
adequate refuge provision, women
experiencing domestic violence will
be faced with a stark choice: flee to
live rough on the streets with their
children, or remain with their abuser
and risk further violence – or worse.”
Refuge contracts have encouraged
women to move on after just
weeks or days. According to
Refuge statistics, 55% of women
accessing the charity’s safe
houses had experienced threats
to kill, and another 55% had
been strangled or choked by their
abuser. It is commonly known, yet
nonetheless distressing, that two
women a week are killed as a result
of domestic violence.
“Empowering women and children
to overcome trauma and rebuild
their lives is highly specialist,
intensive work – it takes a lot longer
than just a few weeks,” Horley adds.
“Refuges are so much more than just
a roof over a head. Behind the walls of
these houses, lives are transformed –
our specialist refuge workers support
women and children to rebuild
every aspect of their lives, from
helping them to stay safe, access
health services, legal advocacy and
immigration advice, and get back
into work or education.”
Isolation is another problem that
refuges seek to tackle. Abused
women and children are often
isolated by their perpetrators,
who deliberately cut off contact
from friends or family to exert
dominance and control.
“Whenwomen come to a refuge, they
are able to share their experiences
with other women who understand
what they have been through. They
realise – often for the first time – that
they are not alone, and that they are
not to blame for the abuse. Refuges
facilitate this powerful recovery
process,” Horley says.
“Put quite simply, these services
save lives.”
25 November 2014
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The above information is
reprinted with kind permission
from the
International Business
Times
. Please visit
.
co.uk for further information.
© IBTimes Co., Ltd 2016
On a typical day...
155 women
103 children
... are turned away from refuges in England.
There is no space for them.
The shortage of bed spaces...
32%
... the loss of specialist
services
between
2010 & 2014
149
112
Source: Why we need to save our services, Women’s Aid data report on
specialist domestic violence services in England, Women’s Aid, September 2014
