Shropshire Star

International Women’s Day is party’s chance to tackle abuse

March 8 marks International Women’s Day. To mark the day, and in light of the funding crisis facing domestic abuse services, Shrewsbury Labour Party Women’s Forum will be donating money to the Shropshire Domestic Abuse Service (shropsdas.org.uk).

Published

Domestic violence accounts for 16 per cent of all violent crime in the UK and two women are killed by their partners every week in the UK. Recent statistics show that domestic violence was a factor in 903 child protection assessments in Shropshire. Men can also be the victims of domestic abuse although it is less common and the prevalence of severe violence and sexual violence is far higher for women.

Domestic abuse is increasing while funding for services to protect and support the survivors is falling. The charity Refuge, the largest provider of refuges for women and children, has seen its funding cut by a third since 2011. 21,000 women are turned away from domestic abuse services every year with 6,000 on waiting lists for trauma support and counselling facing up to a 14-month wait.

Refuges for survivors of domestic abuse are at risk of closure all over the country – here in Shropshire one has already closed and we only have one left (provided by Shropshire Domestic Abuse Service), covering the entire Shropshire Council area.

The Shropshire Domestic Abuse Service does not have access to funding that will secure all of its services in the long-term, instead it has to rely on charitable donations and funding bids to tide its services over from year to year. It receives no funding at all to support children so has to rely on funding from Children in Need – money the SDAS has to bid for which is short-term, over-subscribed and not guaranteed.

Our Government is not giving this important issue the funding and support that it needs.

We welcome the Labour Party’s pledge that a Labour Government would ensure Women’s Refuges receive the long-term, sustainable funding they need to ensure that this vital work is guaranteed to continue for those who so desperately need it.

Teresa Adams, on behalf of Shrewsbury Constituency Labour Party Women’s Forum

Visit shropsdas.org.uk

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