Domestic abuse fears

An East Kilbride domestic abuse charity has revealed the devastating impact they have faced following the aftermath of COVID-19 and lockown.

Women’s Aid South Lanarkshire and East Renfrewshire (WASLER) saw a spike in request for refuge over the last few months and with restrictions easing this is expected to rise.

And they said during lockdown many faced a tougher battle to leave abusive partners due to them using COVID to apply f ur t her control – pl aci ng both women and their children in danger.

A new report by Scottish Women’s Aid revealed COVID has had an impact on refuge accommodation, child contact and access to justice.

And they say challenges with staffing, refuge space and funding lie ahead.

WAS LE Rare just one of the organisations who have seen arise in demand for services.

Refuge requests between April and August totalled 70 - a rise from 66 in the same period last year.

May and June saw numbers jump to 16 and 20 respectively with August sitting at 17.

However, on the whole they say they have been able to accommodate these requests highlighting the resilience of t he organisation under such difficult circumstances.

Interim CEO of WASLER, Heather Williams said: “The current pandemic has increased the risks faced by women, children and young people experiencing domestic abuse,.

“For those still living with their partner lockdown meant that they were unable to get any respite from their abuser, and perpetrators have used COVID and the restrictions that have been put in place to further exert control this has included physical control.

“This could be stopping partners from going out to shops, isolating them from family and friends, financial control such as stopping child maintenance payments and emotional control.

“But WAS LE R have continued to provide support to women, children and young people throughout this period and are available for support should anyone require this.”

All of WASLER’s properties are stand alone which means they have not had to reduced its capacity as a result of COVID.

They continued to admit women to refuge across the lockdown period and have supported women to move on from refuge into permanent accommodation across this period.

However, t hey have not been able to accommodate some requests for refuge, primarily been due to not having properties available in the areas needed.

If this is the case they would put someone on their waiting list for accommodation in the requested area.

Nationwide, the average wait was up to 18 months in some areas prior to the pandemic.

And the charity fear this delay will now be exacerbated as most local authorities and housing associations stopped allocating new accommodation during lockdown.

Dr Marsha Scott, chief executive of Scottish Women’s Aid, said: “For women, children and young people experiencing domestic abuse, the pandemic has been particularly difficult and dangerous.

“Our 36 local Women’ s Aid groups have responded with a degree of speed, dedication and innovation that is to be commended - especially given that they have done so in the face of difficulties that very often could have been avoided.

“As lockdown and other measures ease, we are expecting a substantial increase in demand for services.

“Urgent action is required by the Scottish Government, the judiciary and local authorities to remedy the problems we’ve set out in this new report.”