A new £20 million fund is to be made available to help victims of domestic abuse.
Local authorities can now bid for a share of the fund, which will help to increase refuge spaces and other accommodation for those fleeing domestic violence.
The fund will also support a further range of services to help victims rebuild their lives; from ensuring they have somewhere safe to live and recover to providing education, employment and life skills training.
Alongside the fund, a new ‘Priorities for Domestic Abuse Services’ is also being published, which sets out how local authorities should be dealing with domestic abuse.
The guidelines include putting the victim first, providing flexible services that meet their needs and collaborating with other councils to open up services to victims from outside the local area.
Communities Secretary, Sajid Javid said, “Domestic abuse knows no barriers.”
“It can happen to anyone of us, at any time.”
“Our £20 million fund is designed to increase refuge spaces and ensure that no victim is ever turned away from the essential support they need.”
Lord Bourne, Communities Minister said, “We are determined to support victims of domestic abuse, that’s why our £20 million fund will ensure that local authorities can work with charities to help those who really need it.”
Today’s announcement is making available the first wave of the £40 million dedicated to supporting victims of domestic abuse at Spending Review 2015.
This is part of the government’s £80 million Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy, which sets out that prevention, not crisis response, should be the norm.
why is it always abuse against women, MEN get abused by women , women are not all angels. In this day of equality it always seems to forget this when it comes to domestic abuse.