Domestic abuse charity in appeal for vital support
Women’s Aid call on government to help fund lifeline services
NICOLA FINDLAY
A leading domestic abuse charity is calling on local and national government to secure long-term funding.
Scottish Women’s Aid (SWA) say 84 per cent of services struggle to meet demand.
It comes as the News reported last week that the lifeline Children Experiencing Domestic Abuse Recovery (CEDAR) project run at Women’s Aid South Lanarkshire and East Renfrewshire based in East Kilbride had to be axed due to lack of funding.
Age group sessions for children who have suffered the trauma of domestic abuse ran in conjunction with sessions for mums/carers.
The project was previously funded through the Big Lottery and pleas to other charitable bodies, South Lanarkshire Council and the Scottish Government has fallen on deaf ears.
Shocking new stats have also revealed that there are over NINE incidents of domestic violence within South Lanarkshire each day.
Statistics in a report from the Scottish Government revealed 3504 incidents of domestic abuse were recorded by the police in the council area in 2018-19.
And research from SWA has revealed that, in 2018-19, the average funding cut for local Women’s Aid groups was 10 per cent.
In the same period, the majority of groups experienced increased demand, with 84 per cent operating waiting lists for at least one service – some services with waiting lists of up to six months.
These services include information and advice, training, referrals for services in housing and social security, group and one-to-one support for survivors of domestic abuse, as well as safe refuge accommodation.
All of these services are facing difficulties with funding cuts, however, one of the most concerning impacts is the threat to refuge provision.
In 2018-19, over half of Women’s Aid groups in Scotland reported having to operate a refuge waiting list.
This means that women and children forced to leave their homes because of domestic abuse are being left without a safe place to go.
Ash Kuloo, member services manager at SWA, said: “It is women, children and young people experiencing domestic abuse who bear the brunt of cuts to funding.
“It is their safety and survival that lies behind these statistics and every increased waiting list means another person not getting the vital support they need, at the time they need it.
“Despite a backdrop of Scotland’s national commitment to ending violence against women and girls, as well as our world-leading new domestic abuse law, our services are continuously being asked to do much more, with much less.
“Women’s Aid groups are specialist services with decades of experience in responding to the complexities of coercive control.
“They are staffed by expert women who put themselves on the frontline every day to support those experiencing the trauma of domestic abuse.
“Scotland has national and international obligations to uphold the rights of women, children and young people.
“We call on all authorities to do their part to ensure that every woman, child and young person who requires Women’s Aid services is able to access them at the right time.”