The No Woman Turned Away project (NWTA) is an initiative by the charity Women’s Aid and funded by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. It has been in place since 2016 and provides support and advocacy to women who are experiencing domestic abuse and trying to access safer accommodation or refuges.
The project is designed to ensure that no women is disadvantaged from accessing such support based on their further needs such as mental health, substance abuse, and disabilities. Additionally, there may be other more tangible barriers such as a lack of financial resources to make phone calls. These financial barriers have been suspected of being much worse due to the Cost-of-Living crisis (CLC), a suspicion which has been confirmed in a recent report by the charity, “Nowhere to Turn, Findings from the seventh year of the No Women Turned Away project”.
Domestic abuse, particularly with respect of leaving that situation, is made much more difficult for many survivors due to the financial constraints. Often, the abuser will control the finances making it extremely difficult for the survivor of abuse to be able to put any action plan into place. The CLC has greatly increased these difficulties, with research showing that this crisis is being harnessed by abusers as a way to control the survivor even further in both a financial but also social way e.g. “you can’t go out with friends because of money”.
A report from 2020 shows that over 96% of survivors of domestic abuse reported that there were noticeable differences in how much money their household had available. Over half of respondents reported that due to these financial difficulties, they are having to spend more time in the house and thus, more time with their abuser, with one survivor stating:
“I have felt more isolated as I already cannot leave the home without permission. Not being able to afford activities means that I cannot leave at all.”
And many concerned that the financial instability caused by the CLC could be used as evidence in family court proceedings to show the survivor as an unreliable parent.
Many survivors already find it difficult, in many cases impossible, to leave the abusive relationship due to financial constraints, the ability to afford basic needs such as food, medication, phone bills, and recreational activities (which are often one of the few things, where permitted, keeping may survivors going). Section 57 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 provides that:
“(1) Each relevant local authority in England must—
(a) assess, or make arrangements for the assessment of, the need for accommodation-based support in its area,
(b) prepare and publish a strategy for the provision of such support in its area, and
(c) monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the strategy.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1)—
“accommodation-based support” means support, in relation to domestic abuse, provided to victims of domestic abuse, or their children, who reside in relevant accommodation;”
The hope for many charities and survivors, was that this duty would make it easier for survivors to get support in respect of accommodation, however, Women’s Aid have indicated that there is a lack of understanding and resources within these agencies and the obligations under s.57 and the wider Act remain unfulfilled. This is not uncommon with recently implemented legislation, however, that is no comfort or excuse to preventing survivors from accessing safe accommodation. One domestic abuse worker interviewed stated:
“I think many services, they don’t understand violence against women and girls. […] You know, “why hasn’t she left?” […] These kinds of questions are unhelpful – they’re victim blaming. And, and I don’t think that professionals should be asking these kind of questions, […] I think it’s down to training. So, there’s massive need for training within those departments. And it’s just understanding the dynamics of abuse.”
The report highlights the challenged which the Cost-of-Living Crisis have created for survivors of domestic abuse, particularly those from marginalised backgrounds, with 40% of women accessing the NWTA project from Black and minority backgrounds, and over 35% having no access to other forms of public funding. The Cost-of-Living Crisis has significantly contributed to the domestic abuse climate, resulting in greater risks to survivors.
Support Services
There are numerous services and organisations who can provide advice, information, and advocacy for victims of domestic abuse and violence.
Avaia Williams – Founder
This blog was published on 19 June 2023
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