Braverman announces £15m funding for women victims of violence 

UK home secretary Suella Braverman on Friday (25) allocated £15 million funding to tackle violence against women and girls, a statement said.

Out of the total allocation, £8.4m is being awarded to fund specialist support services for the most vulnerable.

According to the statement, majority of the money will go to services for victims and survivors from ethnic minority backgrounds, deaf and disabled victims and survivors, and LGBT victims and survivors.

The government is also investing up to £7.5 million of funding for domestic abuse interventions in healthcare settings. It will equip more healthcare professionals with the right tools to be able to better identify and respond to domestic abuse, and improve referral pathways for victims to access support services.

On Thursday (24), the home secretary marked the International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls by visiting Refuge, to see first-hand the support needed for domestic abuse and sexual assault victims to rebuild their lives.

“It is paramount that victims of insidious crimes like domestic abuse and sexual assault receive the support they need to rebuild their lives, and we know that those with other vulnerabilities need dedicated support," said Braverman.

“This funding comes in addition to an incredibly wide range of work across the board to ensure victims are supported and criminals are brought to justice.”

After consulting the public in 2020 through the government call for evidence on violence against women and girls, the government committed through the Tackling VAWG Strategy and Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan to ensure the provision of tailored victim support.

The Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Nicole Jacobs said: “We know these services have been woefully underfunded, so I am delighted to see this additional money being made available for ‘by and for’ organisations. Domestic abuse survivors tell us that getting support from their own community is the most effective way to help them recover and rebuild their lives.”

The Home Office is also granting an additional £70,000 of funding for rapid forensic testing of samples from reported incidents of drink and needle spiking. The funding will cover testing of additional urine samples taken by the police, to allow us to build on our understanding of spiking, including improving geographical data on what substances are used and where.

Last month, the ‘Enough’ campaign was launched which gives bystanders safe ways to intervene if they witness an incident of violence against women and girls.