Domestic violence charity Women’s Aid has called on all politicians to commit to answering the charity’s SOS campaign call for specialist refuges.
The call comes after new figures revealed that voters feel policies to protect survivors of domestic violence accurately reflect how much a party genuinely cares about women’s interests.
In fact, support for survivors of domestic violence was considered reflective of a party’s feelings about women by more people than ensuring access to affordable childcare.
Women’s Aid is calling on the main political parties to commit to preserving the national network of specialist domestic violence refuges and to exploring a new model of funding and commissioning for refuges which supports a sustainable service and high quality care.
Since 2010, 17% of specialist refuges have been lost across the country, with further closures expected due to drastic funding cuts and poor commissioning decisions.
“These figures show that voters understand how vital specialist domestic violence services are,” explained Polly Neate, Chief Executive of Women’s Aid. “The public are now saying, very clearly, that a Government’s response to domestic violence is a standard against which their attitudes to women will be measured.”
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