Mayor announces new £15million safe accommodation funding for survivors of domestic abuse

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today announced £15 million of funding has been awarded to support a range of projects providing safe accommodation for survivors of domestic abuse.  

The fresh investment is part of the Mayor’s Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation programme[1], which is helping specialist organisations across London provide thousands of vulnerable women, children and men with life changing support. This includes safe refuge, specialist counselling and outreach services. 

It comes amid warnings from charities that the cost-of-living crisis is making it difficult for women to flee from abuse [2], because they are increasingly forced to choose between staying in an abusive situation or face financial hardship. 

Latest figures for the 12 months to December 2023, show that domestic abuse reporting continue to rise with more than 96,000 offences recorded by the Met Police [3], an eight per cent rise compared with the year ending February 2020. This rise can be put down partly due to better recording practices from the police and an increase in victims coming forward and reporting crimes to the police. However, despite the increase in reporting, victims are facing further barriers exacerbated by the cost-of-living crisis. 

The Mayor’s Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation programme supports more than 70 projects across London since its launch in December 2021, providing safe accommodation-based support to over 23,500 survivors of domestic abuse, including vulnerable men, women and children from across London. The new major investment is coupled with existing funding and will mean that these projects – as well as 14 new initiatives – are able to continue their vital work in supporting more survivors of domestic abuse.

Today the Mayor visited East European Resource Centre[5] in Hammersmith & Fulham – the only dedicated support service in the capital for victims of domestic abuse from Eastern Europe, to see how DASA investment is helping small grassroots projects to continue delivering vital services for survivors of domestic abuse and their families. 

This is just one part the Mayor's wide-ranging strategy to tackling violence against women and girls[4] (VAWG). It is working to ensure dangerous perpetrators are brought to justice, survivors are supported and that interventions are put in place to tackle the root causes of VAWG by challenging sexism and misogyny in society.  

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I’m really proud to have worked with a wide range of partners to deliver safe accommodation support and specialist services for thousands of survivors of domestic abuse, an important part of the far-reaching work underway in London to tackle violence against women and girls once and for all.   

“Sadly, cases of domestic abuse continue to rise and we know the cost-of-living crisis is leaving many survivors with the dilemma of staying with perpetrators of abuse or facing financial uncertainty and hardship; and putting vital support services often operating on small budgets under real pressure. 

“This funding will support organisations and community projects doing life-changing work by providing safe places for survivors of domestic abuse to live and the specialist support they need, as we continue to work together to build a safer London for everyone.”  

Barbara Drozdowicz, CEO of East European Resource Centre, said: “Funding for by-and-for services like ours is nothing less than a lifeline for the migrant survivors we support, both their immediate safety and long-term recovery and wellbeing. Sadly, the cost-of-living crisis and changing immigration rules have resulted in that Eastern European victims find it increasingly more difficult to leave abusive relationships.

“For this, we are very grateful for the attention that the Mayor is paying to the needs of migrant victims of domestic abuse, and funding that the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime and the DLUHC direct to support our specialist services that address access and support needs of the most disadvantaged migrant women.”

Diana Nammi, Executive Director, IKWRO – Women's Rights Organisation said: “Through DASA funding, we have been able to make immense positive impact on many women and children's live in London. We provided advice and advocacy to women and girls from MENA, who suffered different form of abuse, who could not speak English and needed to speak with someone directly. We have supported many Afghans who moved to the UK after the Taliban took Afghanistan, many of these women are victims of child marriage, forced marriage and husband-based abuse. The funding is crucial and live saving; thank you.”

Notes to editors:  

[1] The fresh investment is part of the Mayor’s Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation programme delivered by the Greater London Authority (GLA) and the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) and funded by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), The Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation (DASA) Programme funds boroughs and specialist providers to deliver vital Safe Accommodation provision, as outlined in the Mayor’s DASA Strategy. This includes both accommodation and support provision, ensuring it meets the definition of ‘Safe Accommodation’ developed by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC).  

This latest round of DASA funding was distributed through a framework call-off process and has enabled providers and boroughs across London to bid to provide Safe Accommodation based support. The framework for DASA was split into three different Lots, to ensure a diverse range of services could receive funding. The funding was split into the following: 

Lot 1 - Safe accommodation direct services (excluding ‘by and for’ providers, but including local authorities) 

Lot 2 - Safe accommodation direct services – grassroots ‘by and for’ providers  

Lot 3 - System and Infrastructure - related services 

The Mayor’s Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation programme has already supported more than 70 projects across London since it launched in December 2021. These projects include:

EACH Counselling and Support (EACH) - EACH have been helping people affected by drugs and alcohol, mental health issues and violence and abuse sustain positive change, remain safe and lead meaningful lives since 1991.

Young Ladies Club - Young Ladies Club develops young women aged 12-25 from disadvantaged backgrounds through mentoring, employment and personal development programmes. They aim to raise aspirations in disadvantaged young women to achieve their education and career potential and build their self-confidence.

IKWRO – Women’s Rights Organisation – Iranian and Kurdish Women’s right organisation (IKWRO) is a registered charity which provides advice and support to Middle Eastern, North African and Afghan women and girls living in the UK, who have experienced, or are at risk of all forms of “honour” based abuse, including; forced marriage, child marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM), or domestic abuse.

[2] At the end of 2022, the End Violence Against Women group issued a joint statement on the impact of the cost of living crisis on women and children facing abuse, signed by 80 organisations calling for urgent government action to prevent it: https://www.endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk/womens-organisations-call-for-urgent-action-to-address-the-cost-of-living-crisis/. 

[3] Latest figures covering the 12 months to December 2023, show that domestic abuse rates continue to rise with 96,768 offences being recorded by the Met Police, an 8 per cent rise compared with the pre-coronavirus pandemic year ending February 2020, when there were 89,719, offences recorded. Monthly Crime Data New Cats | Tableau Public 

[4[ Too many women and girls fear for their safety and this is not an issue that can be tackled by policing alone. That’s why the Mayor’s strategy to tackle violence against women and girls champions a public health approach to ending violence against women and girls – this includes: 

• Record investment of more than £163m to tackle all violence against women and girls. This funding is working to save lives, reduce waiting lists and keep doors open for vital specialist support services for victims.
  
  
• The launch of a multi award-winning ‘Have A Word’ campaign film - which asks men of all ages to reflect on how they can help tackle violence against women and girls – this has now been viewed more than 15 million times.
  
  
• Funding a new £1million education toolkit – available to every secondary school in London – to help them recognise and tackle sexist and misogynistic behaviour.
  
  
• Investing an additional £17.7m in support services– including a specialised response to support all victims to have equal access to justice and service. 

As well as taking action to rebuild trust and confidence in the police and criminal justice system to ensure victims are supported and empowered to get the justice they deserve. 

www.london.gov.uk/VAWG  

The Mayor is working to make sure that the police and justice service do a better job for victims and survivors of VAWG and that they can access high quality services that are tailored to their needs – such as safe accommodation for survivors of domestic abuse or specialist support for victims and survivors of rape and sexual violence. The Mayor’s VAWG Strategy sets out his clear expectation for reform in the Met, so that it can regain the trust of women and girls in London. Under the Commissioner’s New Met for London Plan, strong action is being taken to root out officers unfit to serve, and to stamp out misogyny, racism and homophobia within the ranks. The Mayor will be unflinching in holding the Commissioner to account and supporting him to deliver on these vital reforms. The Strategy also addresses the underlying causes of VAWG, and the need to tackle misogynistic attitudes and behaviours within society that enable these appalling crimes. The Mayor is absolutely clear – it’s not for women to tackle these attitudes. It’s on us as men to reflect and act on the way we think, talk about and behave towards women. 

5] The East European Resource Centre is a charity that provides information, advice and support to people from Central and Eastern Europe from the 2004 and 2007 EU accession countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. 

• The Centre is open to women and men.  
  
  
• The Centre’s vision is for London to be home to Eastern European migrants where they can make choices about their families, work and homes, and live fulfilled lives as respected members of local communities. 
  
  
• The Centre’s mission is also focused on giving a voice and resources to Eastern European migrants who experience poverty, exploitation and social exclusion in order to help them to make choices about their lives and fulfil their potential as equal members of communities. 

The East European Resource Centre has three main areas of work: 

• Frontline delivery of information, advice and advocacy for disadvantaged Eastern European migrants in need of help to navigate British systems, develop confidence and skills, and improve integration with the British society. 
  
  
• Policy work through research, needs analysis and raising awareness of issues affecting integration of Eastern Europeans into the British society and their living fulfilled lives as valued residents and members of local communities.
  
  
• Awareness raising though information, outreach and campaigns on rights of Eastern Europeans in London and on challenges they face in interactions with statutory services and private markets, such as rented housing or employment.