Unusually, the government made an announcement today on domestic policy, with Theresa May promising to end the ‘postcode lottery’ for domestic abuse victims by forcing English councils. Still more unusually, this announcement has been welcomed with sincerity by the sector it is aimed at.
It must be an unusual feeling for ministers, even on a matter such as domestic abuse that May and her junior colleagues have poured more effort into than many other issues. Yes, the Domestic Abuse Bill is still in draft form and realistically unlikely to become statute under the current Prime Minister, but the non-legislative aspects of the government’s drive to tackle this crime are still going ahead.
The need is clear: on any one night, 90 women and the same number of children can be turned away from refuges. A survey by Women’s Aid found that 60 per cent of the referrals to refuge in 2017/18 were declined.
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