Improve Funding of Domestic Violence Refuges;  Stop Turning Victims Away

Domestic Violence Refuges are at risk of closure, all over our country.  We need more, not less.   In England, last year, 200 victims a day were turned away.  In Wales, 46% of victims had no safe space. Refuges save lives and yet, there is not enough room and not enough funding

Domestic abuse is rising.  2 women are murdered weekly.  According to the Crime in England and Wales Survey, it accounts for 16% of all violent crime, and has increased by 23%.   Shelter suggests that domestic violence is the most common reason for becoming homeless. Whilst, 400 people take their own lives each year, after attending hospital for domestic abuse injuries.

In the age of the Istanbul Convention on Violence Against Women, why has the UK Government signed, but not ratified the treaty?  Does our government not want to be bound, because it is already failing our people?

The right to life; the right not be tortured and degraded, the right to tolerance and peace, are all enshrined to us, by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

With central funding diverting to Local Authorities, refuges are now at more risk.  The government has increased funding initially, but this is not enough.

We demand that along with a social awareness and an educational programme, the government delivers a sustainable funding model for a national network of refuges, and increases the number of spaces urgently, to ensure the escape to freedom, and a happier, safer life, for every victim of Domestic Violence.