Campaigners call government proposals to take short-term supported housing out of welfare system a ‘matter of life and death’

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The lives of vulnerable women and children will be put at risk by proposed changes to funding for refuges, abuse survivors and charities have warned.

In little-publicised proposals, the government plans to remove refuges and other forms of short-term supported housing from the welfare system.

It would mean vulnerable women fleeing abusive partners will not be able to pay for their accommodation using housing benefit, the last guaranteed source of income available to refuges. On average, housing benefit makes up 53% of refuge funding.

'Every refuge will close': what funding changes could mean for women Read more

Katie Ghose, the chief executive of Women’s Aid, said: “The government’s proposed reforms to supported housing will dismantle our national network of lifesaving refuges and put the lives of women and children trying to escape domestic abuse at risk. This is a matter of life or death.”

On average, two women a week are killed by a partner or ex-partner in England and Wales. Under the current spending model, Women’s Aid found 94 women with 90 children were turned away from refuge services in one day.

The warnings come as “16 Days”, an international campaign to end violence against women and girls, is launched.

Instead of being able to use housing benefit to fund refuges, the government proposes handing a “ring-fenced” grant to councils for short-term supported housing. However, this does not exclusively cover refuges – it is also aimed at older people, homeless people, offenders, people with mental illnesses and drug addicts.

Refuge staff and survivors of abuse told the Guardian that while they have a positive relationship with some authorities, others are less engaged. More than 10% of domestic abuse organisations receive no council funding.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Katie Ghose, the chief executive of Women’s Aid. Photograph: Anna Gordon/The Guardian

The majority of women in refuges come from outside the authority, with some travelling hundreds of miles from the far reaches of England and Wales, for security reasons.

Councils can be reluctant to spend cash on those from other counties and are more likely to focus on local people, meaning a higher probability of a ring-fenced grant being spent on homeless or elderly people, Ghose said.

“If pursued, the reforms will result in a postcode lottery of domestic abuse support services, with further refuges being forced to close their doors and more women and children being turned away from the lifesaving support they offer,” she said.

“Without a safe space to escape to, more women and children’s lives will be lost to domestic abuse.”

The document detailing the proposed changes contains a caveat that funding for refuges will be looked at in November 2018, but provides no further details or reassurance.

The reforms fly in the face of pledges made by the prime minister to make it a key personal priority to transform the way the UK tackles domestic violence.

A government spokesperson said: “Domestic violence and abuse is a devastating crime that shatters the lives of victims and families. This government is determined to ensure anyone facing the threat of domestic abuse has somewhere to turn to.

“Until 2020, the government is providing £100m of dedicated funding for tackling violence against women and girls. This includes a £20m fund to support refuges and other accommodation-based services, providing 2,200 additional bed spaces.

“We will publish a landmark draft domestic violence and abuse bill to protect and support victims, recognise the lifelong impact domestic abuse has on children and make sure agencies effectively respond to domestic abuse.”

Q&A Share your experiences of women's refuges Show Hide If you have been affected or work in a refuge you can tell us about your experiences using our encrypted form, or by sending your pictures and videos to the Guardian securely via WhatsApp by adding the contact +44(0)7867825056.

Your stories will help our journalists have a more complete picture of these events and we will use some of them in our reporting.

Earlier this year, Theresa May unveiled plans for a major consultation across government would result in the domestic violence and abuse bill, consolidating other relevant legislation and introducing new measures to help victims.

The latest threat to funding is a particular blow as campaigners and charities had been cheered by a government U-turn on plans that would have seen refuges hit by the housing benefit cap.

“If you have a new law that improves the criminal justice response, you can have the best police response in the world for a woman who is seeking to escape an abusive relationship, but if she doesn’t have the specialist services in her community to go to, then that response will be really undermined,” Ghose said.

