Both the Welsh and Scottish Governments have pledged money to Women's Aid, why hasn't Westminster done the same?

[stumbledin]

THE WELSH Government has pledged £200,000 to fund specialist services supporting survivors of domestic violence and abuse during the coronavirus pandemic.
www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/18358884.welsh-government-pledges-200-000-support-domestic-abuse-refuges-support-services/

Scottish Women’s Aid will receive £1.35 million over six months.
Rape Crisis Scotland will receive £226,309 over six months.
www.gov.scot/news/support-for-victims-of-domestic-violence-during-covid-19-outbreak/

The only source of additional funding seems to have been having to bid against any number of other groups for a community grant!

Women's Aid on twitter

Our members who have small or non-existent reserves to draw on at this critical time would be encouraged to apply to @Caf
's #COVID19 Emergency Fund. The closing date is today() at 5pm
cafonline.org/charities/grantmaking/caf-coronavirus-emergency-fund
2:34 pm · 6 Apr 2020·( ie bidding now closed)
twitter.com/womensaid/status/1247155821860945921

Announced today, so not ear marked for DV services

Up to £200 million of those grants will support hospices…

…with the rest going to organisations like St Johns’ Ambulance and the Citizens Advice Bureau…

…as well as charities supporting vulnerable children, victims of domestic abuse, or disabled people.

www.gov.uk/government/speeches/chancellor-of-the-exchequer-rishi-sunak-on-economic-support-for-the-charity-sector

It's not a popular enough cause unfortunately. As a survivor I'd rather have state provided support anyway. Standardised national support. Charities (for anything, not just DV) should be additional help, not the only source. Leaving it to individual charities means whether you get decent (or any) support is a lottery. Wales and Scotland have been better for DV survivors for a while. For example, in England DV isn't automatically a priority need for housing.

Some of that is the result of a historical decision when refuges were first getting started was to "fund" them through claiming Housing Benefit.

This was partly because local councils would respond to a housing issue but would not to one that indicated the issue was male violence.

So the basic service of a safe place to stay is still based on that. Every additional service / support that a refuge wants to offer has to be funded through individual grant applications.

No Party as far as I know has considered a national policy of support.

But also many would not rely on the state having a user led approach to services. Dont forget that Eaves had its funding for supporting refugee and asylum women taken away and given to the Salvation Army who provides care along "Christian" lines.

And local councils have responded to women escaping domestic violence by placing them in hostels, many of which are mixed.

And Labour pushed for Housing Associations to take over refuges.

I think a nation wide reliable service would be great. But as we know state run institutions may have efficiences of scale but can act inappropriately - or even be captured by lobby groups who thinks biological women aren't an actual thing.

Well today Priti Patel announced £2 million for DV charities which is good. But it is for support services not to create more safe spaces for women fleeing domestic violence to go to.

I suppose it's a start. I don't know if there'll ever be enough safe spaces. I suppose I should think positively. I read that some countries have been putting victims up in empty Airbnbs and holiday homes. I thought that's a good idea. Especially if you need to leave but are higher risk to Covid so need to self isolate. Sharing (even when it's not a mixed sex hostel) is bad enough at the best of times. I think making refuges about homelessness was such a bad thing to do. It really affects those of us women without children or with adult children.

Yes it really would be a good idea to use vacation airbnbs. And Southall Black Sisters were saying the government should take over hotels.

I know some councils are doing this for the homeless street sleepers so cant see why it cant be done for women needing to escape violence.

Its so strange that they can appear to publicly support women survivors but dont really want to do anything of substance.

In the black country there seem to be extra spaces which have been created to allow for potential covid 19 women and children fleeing, so they have somewhere to run to but they don’t infect a refuge.