Domestic violence Under-funded service can’t cope with waiting list

AVITAL service offering support to victims of domestic violence is struggling to keep up with demand after incidents soared during lockdown.

Next Link has 175 women on its waiting list for its Freedom Programme support group in South Gloucestershire after the usual number of referrals doubled between March and June.

It usually runs eight support groups a year, each providing 12 weekly sessions for a group of eight women.

But the incoming chief executive of Next Link has told South Gloucestershire’s multi-agency community safety partnership it would need to run another 15 to 20 groups this year, just to clear the backlog.

Sarah O’Leary, who takes up the post in January but is currently a senior service manager, said: “I do feel like we’re letting these women down.

“The funding we receive, in all reality, is not enough to run the groups that we need to, even to cope with the waiting list, let alone the new people that are going to be coming through our service.”

Next Link provides the Freedom Programme and other domestic violence support services via a contract with the Safer and Stronger Communities Partnership.

It received additional funding from the Ministry of Justice to help it cope during the coronavirus pandemic, but that is due to finish at the end of this month and there is no guarantee it will be renewed.

Ms O’Leary said it costs £3,750 to run a support group, each of which requires two trained facilitators, two childcare staff and the hire of premises for the 12 weekly sessions.

The groups used to be held at children’s centres, so that mothers could attend the groups with onsite childcare for their children.

But with the forced closure of children’s centres during lockdown, the support groups were put on hold, just as the need for them grew. Some can be held virtually, but this is not always safe as some women are suicidal and group work can be quite “triggering”, Ms O’Leary said.

An officer for South Gloucestershire Council, one of the members of the community safety partnership, said the authority’s figures backed up Next Link’s experience.

He said reports of children and young people being involved in domestic abuse cases had risen “exponentially” since March and there had also been a “huge” increase in adult cases.

Ms O’Leary added the complexity of domestic abuse cases had also risen, with a greater number of victims with physical and mental health problems, and many more attempting suicide and self harm.

The meeting on October 9, heard about the successes of Next Link’s services from Zoe Cook, who works both as a Freedom Programme facilitator and in a safe house with domestic abuse survivors who have complex and multiple needs.

“We have some amazing outcomes,” she said.

One survivor, Kelly, was sofasurfing and seven months pregnant when she was referred to the Freedom Programme.

Isolated and confused, she had already been through numerous violent relationships and her first child had been removed by social services.

She said she still loved the perpetrator, who was in prison for a violent offences and was still exercising coercive control over her.

But with the help of the support group, she began to understand his behaviour was harmful and broke contact with him to protect her child and her unborn child.

The service also provided practical help with issues around housing, legal options, child contact proceedings and community support.