Skip to main content
Hello! We use cookies to improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used. Find out more.

To: Prime Minister, Rt Hon Theresa May MP

Stop planned changes to funding for women's refuges

Womens Aid

09/08/18 We Won!

We won! Women's Refuges have been saved from disasterous funding changes.

The government has listened to the hundreds of thousands of people who joined Women’s Aid, in calling to stop planned changes to how refuges are funded. We told Ministers that these disastrous planned funding reforms would have put women and children’s lives at risk. Refuge managers warned these plans would have “been the end”.

We are delighted that the Government has acted; rent in refuges will continue to be funded through housing benefit, which is the very last secure form of income for our national network of services. Up and down the country survivors and refuge services are breathing a sigh of relief. Refuge doors will stay open for the women and children escaping domestic abuse who so desperately need their help.

Domestic abuse refuges save lives. With on average two women every week being killed by a current or former partner in England and Wales, refuges provide lifeline. Our campaign is not over; our next battle is to ensure that the funding for the support refuges provide to a survivor and her children - from therapy to help with housing and finances - is secure. We hope you will continue with us on our campaign to win a sustainable funding future for these life-saving services.

Read more here:
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/aug/09/plans-to-remove-womens-refuges-from-uk-welfare-system-dropped

Immediately halt dangerous planned changes to the way that women's domestic abuse refuges are funded, as they could put women's and children’s lives at risk.

Work with Women's Aid and other partners to ensure that the national network of women's refuges is given a model of funding that will protect services in the long term.

Why is this important?

New government funding plans threaten to dismantle our life-saving national network of refuges and put the lives of women and children trying to escape domestic abuse at risk.

A Women’s Aid survey of refuge services showed that the proposed new model of funding could force over half of refuges responding to close or reduce their provision - resulting in 4000 more women and children turned away from the lifesaving services they desperately need.

Already there are not enough refuge spaces to meet demand; data from Women’s Aid shows that 60% of total referrals to refuges were declined in 2016/17. When on average two women a week are killed by a partner or ex partner across England and Wales the stakes could not be higher.

Under the new plans, rent money which would have in the past gone straight to domestic violence refuges would instead go to local authorities - effectively forcing refuges to compete for funding with other local services. Refuge managers have warned “if the plans get implemented it will be the end of domestic violence refuges."

Visit the Women’s Aid website to find out more about this campaign: https://www.womensaid.org.uk/what-we-do/campaigning-and-influencing/campaign-with-us/sos/

Partner

Updates

2018-08-13 14:31:16 +0100

Petition is successful with 175,326 signatures

2018-01-20 12:13:16 +0000

150,000 signatures reached

2017-12-09 22:30:39 +0000

100,000 signatures reached

2017-12-09 11:10:19 +0000

50,000 signatures reached

2017-11-29 21:48:47 +0000

20,000 signatures reached

2017-11-29 18:31:26 +0000

10,000 signatures reached

2017-11-29 17:50:14 +0000

5,000 signatures reached

2017-11-29 10:34:16 +0000

1,000 signatures reached

2017-11-28 21:25:58 +0000

500 signatures reached

2017-11-28 16:17:03 +0000

100 signatures reached

2017-11-28 15:17:53 +0000

50 signatures reached

2017-11-28 15:00:13 +0000

25 signatures reached

2017-11-28 14:42:56 +0000

10 signatures reached