Domestic abuse support services at risk of financial collapse, Commissioner warns

The Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Nicole Jacobs (pictured), warns that the government’s commitment to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) is at risk without urgent funding for specialist domestic abuse services.

The warning follows a new report examining children’s experiences of domestic abuse which found that thousands of children are being left with nowhere to turn after being subject to abuse, or facing long wait times for support, as services struggle to stay afloat amid rising demand.

Drawing on a survey of more than 260 domestic abuse services providing support to children, along with 168 statutory agencies responsible for commissioning domestic abuse services, the findings show the immense financial pressure specialist services are under and how children are paying the price.

The report found over a quarter of domestic abuse services (27%) surveyed in England and Wales are having to turn children away from support due to funding shortages.

Of the services surveyed, over half (51%) stated they had had to place children on waiting lists due to the number of referrals they were receiving, while others were forced to turn them away entirely. In some cases, this may have left children in unsafe situations and at risk of further harm.

The Domestic Abuse Act came into force in 2021, recognising for the first time that children are victims of domestic abuse too, rather than just witnesses. However, the Commissioner says this report has revealed that the response to children experiencing domestic abuse has so far failed to meet this recognition.

“For too long child victims of domestic abuse have been failed – often treated as an afterthought and left to navigate their recovery alone which is having devastating consequences on their health, education, relationships – and futures. This has to change,” Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Dame Nicole Jacobs, said.

“Providing children with the stability and support they need to recover – and thrive – is vital if the government wants to meet its commitment to halve violence against women and girls within the decade.”

Over half of the support services (56%) surveyed by the Domestic Abuse Commissioner had experienced cuts to their funding over the past five years. This had left over a quarter (29%) needing to make the difficult decision to stop providing a specialist support service to children. Similar concerns came from organisations that commission services, who reported that funding will be at risk of being cut or reduced for over 40% of services when the current allocation comes to an end.

All of this is being compounded by statutory services – such as education, social care and health – lacking the resources, training and guidance to provide child victims with the support they need, which forces already overburdened domestic abuse services to step in.

When the Labour government took office last year, it made tackling VAWG a key priority as part of its Safer Streets Mission and committed to halving it within the decade. However, campaigners warned that the autumn budget in October did not include the level of funding needed – particularly for specialist domestic abuse services that support children – to meet the scale of this ambition. The Commissioner is now calling for an injection of funding ahead of its Spending Review in early summer.

“Investing in children’s futures must start now. The upcoming spending review is a critical moment for the government to provide specialist domestic abuse services with the funding they need to pull them back from the brink and ensure they can be there for any child affected by domestic abuse.”