- Mayor puts vital support in place as demand increases to help victims and survivors of domestic abuse rebuild their lives
- More than 6,000 Londoners will be able to access a wide range of specialist support services, with new tailored support designed specifically for survivors with complex needs and new service for male victims
- The Met Police recorded a 7 per cent increase in domestic abuse offences in 2021 compared to those before the pandemic with domestic abuse accounting for one in eight of all recorded crime last year
- Action by Sadiq comes as domestic abuse related referrals and take up of refuge services continues to increase and is part of Mayor’s refreshed strategy for tackling all forms of violence against women and girls
Thousands of victims and survivors of domestic abuse will receive specialist support when staying in safe accommodation following a new £11.3m investment announced by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, today.
More than 6,000 Londoners will benefit from the wide range of new services which will include counselling, mentoring and therapeutic support as well as practical help with legal, housing, employment and schooling needs.
The new funding has been awarded to City Hall from the Department of Levelling Up Housing and Communities, and will deliver specialist help to survivors of domestic abuse. All women, LGBTQ+ individuals, male victims of domestic abuse, young women leaving care, and people with learning disabilities will all benefit from the new services put in place following the Mayor’s investment, which has been designed specifically for survivors with complex needs.
The tailored support has been made possible by the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 which allocated responsibility to local authorities, such as City Hall, to provide support to victims and survivors of domestic abuse in safe accommodation for the first time.
The fresh investment comes at a crucial time as domestic abuse related referrals and demand for refuge services continues to increase. Refuge services are still dealing with the impact of the pandemic, which saw a huge increase in demand on services - with the National Domestic Abuse helpline, run by the charity Refuge, receiving a 25 per cent increase in calls after the Government’s lockdown measures were first introduced and the London Victim and Witness Service supporting 35 per cent more domestic abuse victims in December 2021 than during the same period in 2020.1
The Met Police also recorded a 7 per cent increase in domestic abuse offences in 2021 compared to those before the pandemic with domestic abuse accounting for one in eight of all recorded crime last year compared to one in ten in 2019.2
New services for survivors as a result of the new funding will ensure domestic abuse victims can access safe accommodation with professional therapeutic care and counselling as well as practical support to help them and their children recover from abuse. Survivors will be supported by services which are rooted in understanding and responding to their complex needs, including the trauma they have experienced. Services will also reflect the diverse culture, language and religions of London communities and empower survivors with information on their rights and options.
This new investment is part of the Mayor’s refreshed strategy for tackling all forms of violence against women and girls. The newly updated strategy is due to be published in the coming weeks and follows the Mayor’s new campaign launched earlier this week which focuses on addressing men’s attitudes and behaviour in order to tackle violence against women and girls.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “In London and across the country we are facing an epidemic of violence against women and girls. Refuges and specialist services supporting victims are still dealing with the increase in demand during the pandemic, and the number of people needing their support continues to rise. I’m determined to do everything I possibly can to ensure the right support is put in place at the right time to help victims and survivors of domestic abuse to rebuild their lives.
“The new investment we’ve have announced today will work to deliver tailored advice and better support for vulnerable survivors of domestic abuse in London. This support will help them access the practical and wellbeing support they need and deserve, so that they can live safely, independently, and rebuild their lives.”
Tracy Blackwell, Refuge, Director of Strategic Insights and Partnerships, said: “Refuge is delighted to receive these funds which enable us to continue our life saving and life changing work and keep our services running in London at a time when they are needed as much as ever. It’s vital our services are accessible to all survivors that need them at the point in which they need them, and this is only possible with adequate sustained funding.
“Refuges and safe accommodation are a lifeline for women fleeing domestic abuse and this funding will provide many more women in the capital with access to high quality, trauma informed support to rebuild their lives following domestic abuse. Our collaboration with by and for organisations in the London VAWG consortium will ensure marginalised women, who often face additional barriers to accessing support, will receive the specialist help they need.”
Ippo Panteloudakis, Respect, Head of Services said: “Respect’s Men’s Advice Line has been supporting male victims to get to a place of safety. Prior to this scheme there was no emergency accommodation for male victims of domestic abuse. The number of men finding refuge through this scheme shows how vital this service is.”
Diana Nammi, Executive Director, IKWRO - Women's Rights Organisation said: This funding will enable us to continue operating our specialist refuge for Middle Eastern, North African and Afghan women and girls at risk of "honour" based abuse and domestic abuse. This funding provides a lifeline for women who are at serious risk of harm and will enable them to rebuild their lives and thrive."
Shaminder Ubhi, Ashiana Network, Director, said: “For decades, our specialist sector has been under-resourced and under-funded and we welcome this turning of the tide. As a specialist ‘led by and for’ organisation, Ashiana Network supports women affected by all forms of Violence against Women and Girls. Black and minoritised women experience additional barriers to seeking or accessing support and some present with multiple or complex needs which are compounded as a result of their intersectional needs. Discrimination and racism exacerbate the harm they experience. This funding from the Mayor will enable us to provide much needed life-saving services and help women in crisis, through to recovery and resilience.”
Yenny Tovar, Executive Director of LAWA, and representative of the OYA Consortium said: “This is long overdue funding for the Black and minoritised women sector that has been historically excluded and widely underrepresented from funding regimes. These additional and enhanced services will provide lifesaving support to women and children who are from Black and minoritised backgrounds and face additional challenges given the intersecting disadvantages that shape their experience of abuse. In this sense, the specialist, holistic, culturally specific, anti-racist and intersectional support provided ‘by and for’ refuge services is critical for women to exit abusive relationships and regain the control of their lives.”
Amy Goodman, Sister System, Business Development Officer, said: “For Sister System, the Mayor’s new tier 1 funding will allow us to enable, enhance and empower our community, meeting the emerging and urgent need of care-affected girls and young women in North London. We are proud to be acknowledged as part of the Mayor’s solution to ending violence against women and girls. This funding will allow Sister System to ensure that those who are the furthest away from support will now have access to these essential services”.
Karen Ingala Smith, NIA, Chief Executive, said: “Women with problematic substance use have often survived a lifetime of men’s violence of abuse, including childhood abuse, domestic and sexual violence, exploitation through prostitution including coercion and control by a partner, drug dealers, pimps, punters, traffickers – and men who promised to help them but ended up using and abusing them.
“Yet it’s often the women who are seen as the problem. It is rare that they are recognised as women in need of support, and who have had to learn the toughest of lessons for survival. They’re almost always at the bottom of the pile of those seen as deserving victims. Many organisations turn them away, claiming that their needs are too complex. They are often written off as beyond help.
“We opened our first specialist refuge, The Emma Project in 2007, and our second Daria House, in 2016 and are delighted that the Mayor has recognised the needs of some of London’s most abused and vulnerable women and will be funding us to open our third specialist refuge, allowing more women the chance to rebuild safe and fulfilling lives.”
Notes to editors
1 MOPAC commissions the Pan-London Victim and Witness Services (LVWS) for victims and witnesses of crime, including specialist support to victims of domestic abuse. Domestic abuse related referrals and take up of service has seen a steady increase since the pandemic began. The LVWS were supporting 35% more domestic abuse victims in December 2021 than during the same period in 2020.
2 MPS Hate Crime or Special Crime Dashboard
3 ONS – Domestic Abuse in England and Wales
+The Mayor’s newly refreshed Violence Against Women and Girls strategy, is being finalised and will be published in the coming months. It builds on Sadiq’s record level of investment in tackling violence against women and girls and will set out measures from City Hall to make London a city in which women and girls are safer and feel safer.
++From City Hall, the Mayor has invested a record £60m to tackle all violence against women and girls. This funding is working to save lives, reduce waiting lists and keep doors open for vital specialist support services for victims. It is also being used to tackle the behaviour of perpetrators and improve the police response to reports of domestic abuse and violence against women and girls. As part of this investment he has allocated £15m to provide additional resources for stretched domestic abuse charities and increased support for victims and survivors including through grassroots organisation across London. In May last year, during the lockdown, the Mayor invested a further £1.5m of emergency funding for the pandemic response, to provide safe accommodation for victims of domestic abuse needing to flee their homes. In order to better protect victims of domestic abuse Sadiq has launched the first-ever UK programme to fit domestic abuse offenders with GPS tags on release from prison.
+++ Statutory guidance accompanying Part 4 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 will allow City Hall to provide the following list of services:
- Overall management of services within relevant safe accommodation – including capacity building, support and supervision of staff, payroll, financial and day to day management of services and maintaining relationships with the local authority (such functions will often be undertaken by a service manager)
- Support with the day-to-day running of the service – for example scheduling times for counselling sessions, group activities (such functions may often be undertaken by administrative or office staff)
- Advocacy support – development of personal safety plans, liaison with other services (for example, GPs and social workers, welfare benefit providers).
- Domestic abuse prevention advice – support to assist survivors to recognise the signs of abusive relationships, to help them remain safe (including online), and to prevent re-victimisation.
- Specialist support for survivors
- Designed specifically for survivors with relevant protected characteristics (including ‘by and for’), such as faith services, translators and interpreters, immigration advice, interpreters for survivors identifying as deaf and / or hard of hearing, and dedicated support for LGBTQ+ survivors [not limited to].
- Designed specifically for survivors with additional and / or complex needs such as, mental health advice and support, drug and alcohol advice and support [not limited to], including sign posting accordingly.
- Children’s support – including play therapy, child advocacy or a specialist children worker (for example, a young people’s violence advisor, IDVA or outreach worker specialised in working with children).
- Housing-related support – providing housing-related advice and support, for example, securing a permanent home, rights to existing accommodation and advice on how to live safely and independently.
- Advice service – including financial and legal support, including accessing benefits, support into work and establishing independent financial arrangements; and,
- Counselling and therapy – (including group support) for both adults and children, including emotional support.
- Other relevant support services based on survivors’ needs.