Domestic Violence is a devastating crime and no victim, or survivor should have to struggle to get the right support, or with months for help.
This includes having a safe place to stay with specialist support to rebuild their lives.
High-quality support is essential to helping survivors and victims recover from the trauma of abuse, and move on with their lives. Research and engagement have shown the importance of having support accessible within a range of safe accommodation services to ensure victims have a safe and secure place to live.
Refuge against Domestic Violence
Help women and their children fleeing an abuser. Every two minutes someone turns to Refuge for support. Help keep our lifesaving services running such as our 44 refuges and 24/7 Helpline, to be a lifeline for women affected by domestic abuse. Get support
Refuge received a call from a charity worker on behalf of a survivor a Friday afternoon and upon discussion, it was understood how important it was that the woman was supported to leave her family home with her children immediately to get away from the alleged perpetrator as she was a high-risk survivor experiencing domestic abuse who wanted help to leave safely.
The charity worker gave the refuge worker a safe time and a password to call the client.
The survivors English was limited however the worker was able to support the survivor without the need for an interpreter. In the conversation, it was established that she had been the victim of emotional, mental, verbal and financial abuse. The alleged perpetrator was extremely controlling and the woman could not leave the house without him, there were weeks that she did not go out. He was extremely controlling with finances and no benefits were in her name. She had £15.00 only when she came to the refuge.
During the lockdown period, the survivor experienced a sudden rise in the abuse and the alleged perpetrator was always at home worried about his job. The survivor decided to reach out for help and accepted a place in our refuge. It was an organised, planned move that we were able to safely plan and support the survivor with and it took her two days to prepare, pack and hide her bags in order for her to be able to leave safely. On the third day, she fled and now is settling in our refuges.
The survivor is extremely grateful for all of the support she has received and has been receiving daily support over the phone from us during the lockdown. She was welcomed into the refuge with one of our welcome packs including toiletries, food, a foodbank voucher and other essentials. The two children were also welcomed with a welcome pack including games and toys for them to enjoy. The refuge has recently had a refurbished garden and a play hut that is available for them to use and enjoy and we have a Children's Support Worker who had been providing play sessions with them via Zoom throughout the pandemic.
