Charities warn that domestic refuge provision is at crisis point

Domestic violence refuges are being closed across the country in a crisis that is putting support for the most vulnerable women and children back 40 years, leading charities have warned.

Specialist safe houses for women and children – which were forged out of the feminist movement in the 1970s – are being forced to shut by some local authorities because they do not take in male victims.

In other areas, refuges are facing closure in favour of preventive work and support in the community or being replaced with accommodation provided by housing associations.

The threat comes from a competitive tendering process being adopted by local authorities, which charities say is weighted towards larger housing associations and businesses and ignores the lessons of four decades about the need to provide specialist, therapeutic support in refuges for women forced to flee for their lives.

Key concerns raised by women's groups include:

• The breakdown of the national network of refuges through local authorities imposing limits on the numbers of non-local women able to stay in them.

• Time limits on length of stay.

• Funding cuts because refuges do not take men.

• Refuges being shut without alternative accommodation being provided.

Local authorities are not obliged to put domestic violence services out to tender, but many are doing so increasingly in response to pressure on their budgets and in a desire to focus more prevention measures and early intervention work as part of a government strategy.

Councils, however, believe that the way forward lies in better support networks rather than refuges:

Councillor Brenda Dowding, of Cheshire West and Chester Council, says: "We are trying to move away from reactive services to get more proactive, to see if we can prevent the abuse or at least stop it at the point it is detected. When people have gone into refuges they have been there for quite a long time, and that is not desirable because they can become institutionalised."

A spokeswoman for Gloucestershire County Council says: "Where its appropriate its best to support people to stay in their own homes. Where that's not possible we provide a range of accommodation options including temporary accommodation with friends and family and emergency B&B accommodation with support. In the past refuges have not been able to provide support for all victims, particularly male victims."

if you are worried about domestic violence, or need advice on where to find a safe place, please do contact us - Sally Fitzherbert is experienced in dealing with domestic violence issues.

To read the original article, which appeared in The Guardian, please click here.