- Conference
- 2024 National Women's Conference
- Date
- 12 October 2023
- Decision
- Carried
Domestic Abuse ‘Access for all’
This Women’s Conference is appalled that two women are killed each week from Domestic Abuse and many women and children are stuck in abusive situations due to the fact that they cannot access a refuge space.
The reduction in refuge provision for women and children throughout the UK is not only adding to the death of women and children each week it is also creating access problems for women and children.
It is not right that a woman should have to give up her employment to be able to access a safe space in refuge. This is due to the high supported accommodation costs which leaves it an unaffordable choice for women and children in abusive situations. Whilst housing benefit covers some of the cost if you are working this can still leave a large sum of rent for the refuge space to be paid.
It is also not right that due to cuts Women and their children sometimes have to move across the whole of the UK to access refuge spaces and many employers are reluctant to keep jobs open for staff unless they are a national company that can move staff. This leave the woman having to access benefits when they should be able to continue to work whilst in a place of safety. Whilst this is sometimes needed for safety reasons this is not always the case.
A woman should not have to give up her home or her employment due to abuse there should be funding available to ensure that a woman and her children can be safe and be able to remain in their employment.
This conference calls for the National Women’s Committee to:
• Work with the NEC and UNISON Central to challenge the Government on the Domestic abuse issue and push access for all.
• set up a campaign about ‘Access for all’ in refuges challenging the equality of provision for all regardless of income or status
• Inform and encourage Regions and Branches to talk to and challenge their own Local Authority, supported housing provision within the local authority to provide funding for refuge spaces for working women to access
• Encourage branches to write to their Local MP’s/MS’s/MSP’s to push for funding to be provided for working women in refuge
Cymru Wales Women’s Committee