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Notices and Press Releases

Refuge : Response to Government announcement regarding national roll out of Sanctuary Schemes

"We want to give credit where credit is due. Refuge welcomes any initiative that will protect women and children escaping domestic violence. The sanctuary scheme is one initiative that may work for some women. But it is not always going to be appropriate for a woman to remain in her house. Many domestic violence cases are high risk - two women a week are killed. Many women experience ongoing violence and harassment even when they have left a violent man, so for some the only option is emergency secure accommodation such as a refuge."

"We have to remember that we are protecting women from men who think nothing of beating their partner black and blue. So if a violent man has not been detained and knows where to find his partner, is a mortise lock really going to stand in his way? What happens when the woman wants to leave the house? Locks and bolts are simply not enough on their own. If a man is that much of a threat, surely the solution is to make sure that police must make full use of the criminal law and lock him up. Why would we want to make the victims the prisoners by locking them up in their homes?"

"You can put extra locks on every house of every woman escaping a violent partner, but that is not going to end domestic violence. There cannot be a one-size fits all approach. Where a sanctuary scheme is appropriate, it is vital that it is part of a wider coordinated response and part of a range of options for a woman. For Refuge, her immediate safety has to be a priority. It is vital that she has access to support from a trained domestic violence professional. Professionals who are likely to work for organisations such as Refuge, and we lack the long term funding to guarantee the support. The reality for Refuge is that we are running the equivalent of a 999 service on a shoestring budget. There are still not enough refuges, despite the need for emergency accommodation being as great as ever. Sanctuary schemes may provide safety for some - the minority - but for Refuge the obvious question is how do we support the majority who have to flee for their lives?"

"There is a world of difference between the government's intentions and what a woman experiences when she picks up the phone to call for help. On average she will have to go to 12 different agencies and in the worst cases, be forced to stay with a violent partner because there is nowhere for her to go."

"Refuge seriously questions such a huge investment - £74 million - in an initiative that will only help some people. With that money, Refuge could develop its life-saving services and support hundreds of thousands of women and children."

"Domestic violence costs the state £23billion every year. And this is the cost of picking up the pieces. If the government invested in adequate resources and better protection and prevention, these costs would be significantly reduced and lives would be saved."

Sandra Horley OBE, Chief Executive of Refuge, Tuesday 19th December 2006