Responding to the joint letter sent to the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, by Dame Nicole Jacobs, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, and Baroness Newlove, the Victims Commissioner, Ellie Butt, Head of Policy, Public Affairs and Research at Refuge, said:
“Refuge welcomes the joint intervention by the Domestic Abuse Commissioner and Victims Commissioner, as well as the warnings issued by senior police leaders. Their messages are clear: without urgent and sustained investment, the government risks failing in its commitment to halve violence against women and girls.
“As with others in the sector, Refuge’s frontline services – including refuges, helplines and community-based support – are under immense and growing pressure. We are supporting women and children with increasingly complex needs, all within a fragile and uncertain funding landscape. Services are doing everything they can, but they cannot do more with less.
“We echo the commissioners’ call: this spending review is a critical moment to define the government’s legacy on tackling domestic abuse. Words of commitment must be matched by bold and ambitious investment – anything less will cost lives.”
