The Government has recognised that there is a need of specific services for women because of the level of violence against women such as domestic violence

[stumbledin]

Domestic Abuse is a form of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) and the Government recognises that there is need for specific services for women. Its scale and impact warrant a dedicated strategy.

The Government recognises that domestic abuse is a gendered crime. Over two million adults suffer domestic abuse each year with women twice as likely to be victims. We recognise too that the vast majority of severe injury and domestic homicide victims are women (www.gov.uk/government/statistics/domestic-abuse-in-england-and-wales-november-2020).

No one should have to suffer the pain of this abhorrent crime. That is why this Government has made tackling domestic abuse and supporting victims a priority.

Since 2014 we have invested £205 million in support for domestic abuse safe accommodation services – including £125 million for the new local authority duty (included in the Domestic Abuse Act) in 2021/22.

In addition, we have provided £1.5 million for migrant victims, £6.4 million for the National Domestic Abuse Helpline since 2016, over £20 million in frontline and support services for victims of domestic abuse, and £17 million over three years (2017/18 – 2019/20) for support through Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and local authorities.

For 2021/22, in addition to their core funding, PCCs were provided a further £9 million specifically for domestic abuse victim support services and £27 million to recruit more Independent Sexual Violence Advisors and Independent Domestic Violence Advisors.

We know how important high-quality support is to helping victims to recover from the trauma of domestic abuse and to move on with their lives. We agree that tailored support is vital to ensuring women receive the right and appropriate types of support and we expect all services commissioned to be gender-informed. Services must adhere to the law under the Equality Act for single sex provisions (www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents).

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (www.legislation.gov.uk/nia/2021/2/contents) includes a new duty on local authorities to assess the accommodation-based support needs of all victims and commission appropriate support services to meet those needs.

To accompany the new duties on local authorities within the Domestic Abuse Act the Government will set out its clear expectations in Statutory Guidance with the aim of ensuring all victims of domestic abuse have access to the right support within safe accommodation when they need it.

The Guidance will be clear that in assessing local needs, local authorities should use the expertise and knowledge of local and national specialist domestic abuse services to support in identifying and understanding the level and types of needs. The Guidance will also be clear that support should be provided by experienced and knowledgeable specialist providers, charities and other voluntary organisations whose purpose is to provide support to victims of domestic abuse.

Services commissioned under the new duty should be meet Government and the domestic abuse sector quality standards – which include a commitment that support in safe accommodation should be provided in single-gender settings.

The Government will continue to work closely with local authorities, the domestic abuse sector and the Domestic Abuse Commissioner as the duty is implemented, to ensure that support is delivered in the right way.

Domestic abuse is a high-prevalence, high-harm form of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). Its scale and impact warrant a dedicated strategy. This does not mean we consider domestic abuse to be in any way separate from VAWG, nor intend to stop classifying it as VAWG. Indeed, many forms of VAWG take place within the context of domestic abuse.

By developing two complementary VAWG and domestic abuse strategies, this ensures sufficient focus is placed on existing and lesser understood forms of VAWG, as well as new and emerging forms, whilst providing scope to tackle the wide range of ways in which domestic abuse manifests.

The dual strategy approach will serve to redouble the Government’s efforts to tackle violence against women and girls.

We are currently considering all of the evidence submitted during the recent Call for Evidence and we will use this to inform our approach.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Government response to the petition: Require local authorities to fund specific domestic abuse services for women

This response was given on 13 May 2021

Please note MNHQ this is NOT a petition, nor a link to a petition. It is merely a statement from the Government that is of interest to FWR. So please dont move it to petitions, because the word petition appears. Thank you!

I don't really trust the word Gender.
The Government recognises that domestic abuse is a gendered crime

They say that Services must adhere to the law under the Equality Act for single sex provisions But talk of gender and women everywhere else.

It's good news if the words mean what I think they do. But we see everywhere people including men in the category women. So what does it really mean?

They need to come out and say SEX.

That's why its important that the EHRC clearly states on their web site about the right of single sex services. See 2 threads about statement from new head of EHRC.

The problem here is that legally you can change your sex... So single sex provision becomes 'mixed' because of the GRA.

Unless there is a clarification on this particular grey area, everything the government says is pointless because you can legally have female penises.

Please can we stop having this. It has been clarified that the single sex excempt means that trans women can be excluded from services for (biological women).

It is not a grey area. We need to be spreading the message that this has been settled.

I just think it’s a bit strange to state what they have been doing in terms of ££££ allocated? Not concrete actions? I’d rather read that they will be building x more shelters with y more openings for women and children fleeing DV than read “£1.7m”.

It is Stonewall etc., who say this. And idiot organisations have been browbeaten in to believe it. The reality is:

Exception allowing single sex services to discriminate because of gender re-assignment

The third exception (Schedule 3, paragraph 28) allows providers of separate or single-sex services to provide a different service to, or to exclude, someone who has the protected characteristic of gender reassignment. This includes those who have a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC), as well as someone who does not have a GRC but otherwise meets the definition under the Equality Act 2010.

Application of this exception must be objectively justified as a means of achieving a legitimate aim. An example given in the explanatory notes to the Act is that of a group counselling service for female victims of sexual assault where the organisers could exclude a woman with the protected characteristic of gender reassignment if they judge that clients would be unlikely to attend the session if she was there.

Schedule 23, paragraph 3 of the Equality Act 2010 also allows a service provider to exclude a person from dormitories or other shared sleeping accommodation, and to refuse services connected to providing this accommodation on grounds of sex or gender reassignment. As with paragraph 28 and other exceptions under the Equality Act, such exclusion must be a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.

publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmwomeq/1470/147010.htm

£27 million to recruit more Independent Sexual Violence Advisors and Independent Domestic Violence Advisors.

So the most money is set aside for these “advisors”. Probably highly paid private sector consultants who are friends of MPs and only have to write opinions. No actual help to women....

@stumbledin

Please can we stop having this. It has been clarified that the single sex excempt means that trans women can be excluded from services for (biological women).

It is not a grey area. We need to be spreading the message that this has been settled.

How can you do that when you cant ask the question? If they have the documentation they can happily check in...

Leading to potential situations where it only becomes apparent when there is a problem.

I dont think any DV services us private sector consultants. These roles are direct employees of refuges and rape crisis services, and in fact are roles devised by the VAW sector as they recognised that providing a bed space was not enough.

How can you do that when you cant ask the question? If they have the documentation they can happily check in...

What does this mean?

Not those type of advisors: an IDVA or ISVA is a specialist support workers who does things like support a woman through a court case. So it’s very good to have more of then.

@stumbledin

How can you do that when you cant ask the question? If they have the documentation they can happily check in...

What does this mean?

If one has documentation saying F, the person can check in at the services and any problems are later. How do you gatekeep single sex places using the equality act exemptions if all the docs say F.

dont think any DV services us private sector consultants. These roles are direct employees of refuges and rape crisis services,

The refuges and crisis centres are all charity owned and run, ergo part of the private sector.

Unfortunately it says which include a commitment that support in safe accommodation should be provided in single-gender settings. As it uses sex elsewhere I get the impression they know the difference. And don't care.

Charities are part of the voluntary sector. IDVAs are basic front line DV workers who support women. They are not consultants.

I have name changed for this.

I am an IDVA. I work with women who are at high risk of homicide as a result of DV, including forced marriage and fgm cases.

I get paid 23 grand.

I am not a highly paid consultant and I don’t get paid to tell MPs my opinions.

@PlanDeRaccordement

dont think any DV services us private sector consultants. These roles are direct employees of refuges and rape crisis services,

The refuges and crisis centres are all charity owned and run, ergo part of the private sector.

Don't know if they are private or charity but there's no accountability when someone bad works for one or they fail a victim and complaints is like with lots of companies and they close ranks and cut victim off and know victim can't take it further because of still being vulnerable and at risk. It's like behind the adverts everywhere of asking victims to get help there's not always much help and not enough for lots of victims. Support through court isn't enough but lots only really give that but no good going to police or court if nowhere safe to live. It's all PR and not real and won't change unless it was national services all same support and like Ofsted or something with checks all over country and also refuges not enough because victims can't stay in one forever but often nowhere safe afterwards so we return to risk of being murdered instead.

‘Support through court isn't enough but lots only really give that but no good going to police or court if nowhere safe to live.’

Support through court is usually done by people working for the Witness Service, not IDVAs. IDVAs have to cover housing as one of the main areas of support, and most women don’t go into refuges.

@Nosafeguardingadults
Agree completely about no accountability and lack of safeguarding. It’s partly because charities are part of the private sector, all NGOs are regardless of whether they operate for profit or with no profit.

I received the same statement in response to the government petition about domestic violence shelters for women, talk about avoiding the question.
To my surprise I've got another email from the council in charge of the parliamentary petition site saying that they've sent the response back to the government to amend as it doesn't appropriately answer the petition and will repost the amended response as soon as they have it 😱😱

UPDATE - email today, subject Petitions Committee requests a revised response from the Government

(for “Require local authorities to fund specific domestic abuse services for women")

EMAIL READS:
The Petitions Committee (the group of MPs who oversee the petitions system) have considered the Government’s response to this petition. They felt that the response did not directly address the request of petition and have therefore written back to the Government to ask them to provide a revised response.

When the Committee have received a revised response from the Government, this will be published on the website and you will receive an email. If you would not like to receive further updates about this petition, you can unsubscribe below.

Thanks,
The Petitions team
UK Government and Parliament

FindTheTruth - Wow - I have never heard of that. Will have to check back and see what happens next.

Gender based violence is widely used and has been for a long time from when sex/gender were used interchangeably and meant sex. WHO etc etc. Unfortunately this language can now be interpreted in different ways.

The other issue is that we've seen recently a load of well established refuges lose their funding from councils as they don't support men.

So even if the funding is there, the women only services it could go to are reducing in number due to council cost cutting etc.

If government wants services to help women leave domestic violence and not be murdered, need to national funding so council cost cutting and stuff couldn't happen and because some councils cost cut more than some others.