The government’s response to the Justice Select Committee’s recommendations on improving the Victims Bill, published today, fails to accept measures recommended by the Committee and Women’s Aid that would benefit survivors of domestic abuse, highlighting the ineffectiveness of this legislation. Women’s Aid and the Committee have called on the government to provide sustainable, multi-year funding for community-based domestic abuse services to ensure they can continue to deliver lifesaving support to women and children fleeing abuse. The government’s reluctance to guarantee this in legislation is hugely disappointing, particularly at a time when services are telling us they are at risk of closure due to the cost of living crisis and insufficient funding.
We welcome the updated definition of ‘victims’ of domestic abuse to include children in their own right, but without adequate, sustainable funding for services, too many survivors will fall through the cracks.
We look forward to continuing these conversations with decision-makers to ensure all survivors of domestic abuse are effectively supported.
