'Under-funded and under-valued for far too long' - a damning assessment of official support for domestic violence services

Nicole Jacobs, Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales

The Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales has spelled out the stark realities facing organisations which exist to support women subjected to domestic violence.

Nicole Jacobs gave evidence to the Public Accounts Committee, which is investigating the Government's response to the tide of violence against women and girls, (VAWG).

Her message to the committee of MPs earlier this month spoke for the New Futures Project and others who work on the frontline.

She told them: "My biggest concern is funding for domestic abuse services which provide life-saving support to victims.

"These services have been under-funded and under-valued for far too long. Investing in domestic abuse prevention saves lives. The cost of not doing so is far greater."

Speaking afterwards on social media, Ms Jacobs, who was appointed to the role in 2019, said: "I highlighted critical issues that must be addressed to halve VAWG, including:

• Chronic under-investment in domestic abuse and VAWG services.

• A lack of data to show where resources are needed.

• A need for the new VAWG strategy to be a true cross-govt effort.

Her words echo concerns our director Della Kagure Brown has expressed repeatedly over the years.

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New Futures Project director Della Kagure Brown

Of course, the statistics around violence against women and girls are chilling.

A report issued toward the end of last year by the National Police Chiefs’ Council, (NPCC), illustrated the scale of the task facing the government - which has pledged to halving violence against women and girls in a decade.

The NPCC said forces across England and Wales were recording 3,000 such offences every day – but added that the true number was likely to be higher.

The NPCC said police forces could not tackle the culture of misogyny alone. Research commissioned the NPCC and The College of Policing found:

• More than one million VAWG-related crimes were recorded during 2022/2023, accounting for 20% of all police recorded crime.

• Police-recorded VAWG related Recorded crimes of violence against women and girls increased by 37% between 2018 and 2023.

  At least one in every 12 women will be a victim per year, with the exact number expected to be much higher.

• Child sexual abuse and exploitation increased by more than 400% between 2013 and 2022.

• One in every six murders related to domestic abuse in 2022/2023, with suspected victim suicides following domestic abuse rising year-on-year.

Responding to the NPCC report at the time of publication, Della said: “I don’t believe anyone working in this sector will be at all surprised by these figures.

“We have known for some time there needs to be a significant change in the way men and boys are socialised and until this happens and women are respected as equals there is unlikely to be any change.

“Meanwhile organisations like ours who support women and girls who are victims of male violence are underfunded and under-resourced.”

The New Futures Project offers a comprehensive welfare and counselling service for women and young people dealing with sexual abuse or exploitation, domestic violence, trafficking, poverty and debt, substance use or mental ill-health.

Call us on 0116 251 0803 or send us a message at: info@new-futures.org.uk

You can find us at 71 London Road, Leicester, LE2 0PE.