Councils will have legal duty to provide secure homes for those escaping abuse

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Theresa May has vowed to end the postcode lottery for those escaping domestic abuse.

Thousands of people seeking refuge from abusive and violent relationships will be better protected by a new legal duty for councils to provide secure homes for them and their children.

The prime minister said the policy aimed to end variations in provision across the country and bolster protection in the domestic abuse bill being considered by MPs.

After announcing the policy on Monday, May visited Advance, a charity that supports women and children who have survived abuse across the capital, at its headquarters in west London.

A domestic abuse survivor told the prime minister her support “makes a world of difference” as she visited the charity. Christina, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, said she was “extremely grateful” for the PM’s support.

She said: “It was explained to me since you’ve come in that certain bills have been changed down to yourself, so thank you: it makes a world of difference, it really does.”

May replied that the bill was “something I’ve been working on for some time”, adding: “I think this is something in parliament generally people recognise we need to do more on, so I’m pleased to be able to put something through that hopefully will be of real benefit to people.”

The domestic abuse bill will introduce the first statutory government definition of domestic abuse to specifically include economic abuse and controlling and manipulative non-physical abuse.

The legislation will establish a domestic abuse commissioner and prohibit the cross-examination of victims by their abusers in family courts.

The policy is to be backed by funding and ministers have launched a consultation to determine how much funding is needed and where it should go. They will talk to victims and survivors, as well as support organisations.

Sandra Horley, the chief executive of Refuge, said the decision could secure “life-saving services”.

“Refuge is delighted by the government’s decision to place a legal duty on local authorities to provide funding for accommodation-based support for survivors of domestic abuse,” she said.

“This has the potential to end the postcode lottery for refuge places and could put these life-saving services on a secure financial footing for the first time.”

Leah Cowan, a spokesperson for Imkaan, a black and minority ethnic women’s organisation, welcomed news of a consultation. ‘“For over 15 years the women’s sector has been urging commissioners at local level to have strategies to support all survivors, to make commissioning decisions that are ‘equality proofed’, and to ensure that specialist services in particular … are sustainably resourced.

“However, the scope of the consultation doesn’t go far enough. Only focusing on survivors of domestic violence will leave survivors of other forms of abuse- such as forced marriage, and so-called ‘honour-based’ violence – with nowhere to turn.”

Nicki Norman, the acting co-chief executive of Women’s Aid, said many of her member organisations were delivering services on a shoestring budget, and a move to consistent, dedicated funding was desperately needed.

“We look forward to working with the government to ensure that this important move to fund refuges is safe, sustainable and delivers the resources that services urgently require to support all women and children fleeing domestic abuse,” she said.

Solace Women’s Aid called for survivors to have access to vital emotional and practical support, as well as accommodation. The chief executive, Mary Mason, said: “Domestic abuse is a varied crime that is carried out on individuals of all backgrounds and demands a flexible approach.

“If we are truly to help those who have been impacted by abuse we need to involve multiple services that are trained to have an in-depth understanding of the different ways in which trauma can manifest.”

Suzanne Jacob, the chief executive of SafeLives, said she wanted the “fullest range of support” to be considered, including sanctuary schemes and specialist community support alongside refuges.

“We have long called for victims and their families to have the broadest range of housing options so they can choose to stay where they are and for it to be safe to do so,” she said. “A new duty, properly funded, would be a welcome step and could help make the case for change at local level.”

• In the UK, the domestic violence helpline is 0808 2000 247. In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org