Lives on the line

Abuse refuges must be protected

SHOCKING FIGURES uncovered today by The Yorkshire Post lay bare the frightening situation facing hundreds of victims of domestic violence in our region.

In the past six months alone, local refuges have had to turn away more than 200 at-risk women and children due to a lack of space in their facilities. Most alarmingly, these figures are likely to represent the tip of the iceberg as they are based on the responses of the small proportion of refuge managers willing and able to share information; meaning the true picture is likely to be even worse.

Responsibility for funding such services is down to local authorities, who in some cases have cut their budgets in this area by 40 per cent or more in the past few years. Few would disagree that councils have been placed in an invidious position since 2010 after the Government demanded ever-greater spending cuts. Indeed some authorities argue their lower spending is actually a result of greater efficiency, with Sheffield Council saying its new, purpose-built refuge has reduced costs, along with moving to a single service provider rather than using three organisations as was the case in the past.

But it is clear that in many areas, cutbacks are leaving abused women facing the prospect of having to stay on the sofas of friends or family or in the worst cases, ending up with the choice of sleeping on the streets or returning to an abusive home.

On average two women are killed by their partner or ex-partner every week in England and Wales; a figure which shows that ensuring refuges have the right support and adequate capacity is truly a matter of life and death.