Petition Require local authorities to fund specific domestic abuse services for women

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 (https://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 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents).

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (https://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

This response was given on 13 May 2021. The Petitions Committee then requested a revised response, that more directly addressed the request of the petition.

The House of Commons Home Affairs Committee are looking at how violence against women and girls is being addressed, and are specifically exploring the investigation and prosecution of rape.

We're messaging you to let you know about this because you signed a petition about domestic abuse services for women.

Read about the Home Affairs Committee's overarching inquiry into violence against women and girls: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/1159/violence-against-women-and-girls/

Find out more about their work into the investigation and prosecution of rape: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/1160/investigation-and-prosecution-of-rape/

Last week the Committee held the first evidence session of its inquiry into violence against women, where it heard from experts who are working to inform government at the national and local level, and from domestic abuse charities.

Find out more about this session: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/83/home-affairs-committee/news/155731/committee-takes-evidence-from-domestic-abuse-commissioner-refuge-and-centre-for-womens-justice-on-vawg/

Read a transcript of the session: https://committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/2320/pdf/
 
Follow the Committee on Twitter for updates on its work: @CommonsHomeAffs

What is the Home Affairs Committee?

 
The Home Affairs Committee is a cross-party group of MPs known as a 'select committee' which scrutinises the policy, administration and spending of the Home Office. The Committee is independent of the Government.
 
Find out more about the Committee:
https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/83/home-affairs-committee/
 
Find out how select committees work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_2RDuDs44c

On Wednesday 21 July, MPs questioned Victoria Atkins, the Minister for Safeguarding, on the Government's newly published Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, following a ministerial statement.

In her statement, the Minister set out the actions the Government will be taking in response to the issue of violence against women and girls, including a national communications campaign focused on targeting harmful misogynistic attitudes, educating young people about healthy relationships, and ensuring that victims can access support. She also announced the launch of a £5 million 'safety of women at night' fund.

Watch the Government statement and MPs' questions:
https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/9a26f78c-9111-4757-8db8-29c04e4e8586?in=19:03:40&out=20:03:52

Read the transcript:
https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2021-07-21/debates/3A2710F1-842F-49F5-AB03-29AC3380A011/StrategyForTacklingViolenceAgainstWomenAndGirls

Read the Government press release on the launch of the Strategy:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/tackling-violence-against-women-and-girls-strategy-launched

Other actions set out in the strategy include a review of options to limit use of non-disclosure agreements in cases of sexual harassment in higher education, the appointment of a new national policing lead on violence against women and girls as well as two new violence against women and girls Transport Champions, and plans to criminalise so-called 'virginity testing'.

The Minister's statement also thanked the over 180,000 respondents to the public call for evidence on this issue, which she said had helped shape the Government's approach. It also confirmed the Government plans to publish a dedicated domestic abuse strategy later this year.

What is a ministerial statement?

Ministerial statements are a way for Ministers to bring an important matter to the attention of MPs, often at short notice. You can find out more about them here:
https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/business/statements/

Ministers are the MPs and members of the House of Lords who are in the Government. They are appointed by the Prime Minister and each given a specific area of government policy to oversee, for example education, health and social care, or national defence.

Some senior Ministers are also referred to as Secretaries of State. Ministers speak on behalf of the Government during parliamentary debates and must answer questions put to them by other MPs or members of the House of Lords.

A group of MPs called the Women and Equalities Committee are looking into whether men who commit certain types of crime and non-criminal offences have a higher potential to commit serious acts of violence against women. They will also examine the availability and effectiveness of services and interventions to tackle such behaviours.

Read the Committee's press notice announcing this work for more information.

The Committee will consider:
- Evidence that men who exhibit certain non-criminal behaviours, including online, go on to commit criminal offences against women and girls
- Evidence that men who commit certain crimes (such as non-contact sexual offences) go on to commit serious violent offences against women and girls
- The effectiveness of the police service and criminal justice system at responding to these behaviours and offences, and how this can be improved
- The interventions in place for perpetrators with different offending histories and how effective they are
- Evidence that escalating behaviours is a particular problem within the emergency services and other public sector organisations

What happens next?

The Committee is going to conduct oral evidence sessions where it will hear from experts in the sector as well as representatives from the Government.

An evidence session is a hearing where MPs ask key experts, such as Ministers, academics and/or campaigners, questions on a particular topic. These experts are called "witnesses" and they help MPs to gain a deeper understanding of the topic.

The Committee will then consider all the evidence it has taken and publish a report of its findings with recommendations to the Government on any changes that might be needed.

For more information about the inquiry, visit the Committee's inquiry page.

What is the Women and Equalities Committee?

The Women and Equalities Committee is a cross-party group of MPs that conduct inquiries into issues relating to Women and the Equalities and examines the work of the Government Equalities Office (GEO).

• Find out more about the Committee on its website
• Follow the Committee on Twitter for updates on its work

The Women and Equalities Committee is a select committee.

• Find out how select committees work

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