Women’s Aid National Survey 2014

The Women’s Aid Annual Survey of domestic violence services across England has become an institution and is the largest collection of such data in the country. The information it provides about domestic violence services, the thousands of women and children they support and the challenges they face every year is invaluable for Women’s Aid, the sector and decision makers.

Key findings

Over the past financial year (2103/14):
  • Nearly a third (31%) of referrals to refuge in 2013/14 were turned away because of lack of space (n=20,736 referrals received, data provided by 115 services).
     
  • 37% of respondents were running services without dedicated funding (data provided by 132 services). Of these respondents (n=49), 65% (32), of were running services on reserves and 24% (12) were running services on a voluntary basis.
     
  • 13% of respondents had suspended/closed an area of service due to lack of funding (data provided by 132 services).
     
  • 42% of responding specialist children and young people’s services reported having difficulties in placing children living in refuge in schools (data provided by 90 services), and 44% of responding services reported encountering problems in accessing mental health services for children and young people (data provided by 90 services).
     
  • 74% of women accommodated came from a different local authority area to the refuge (n=4,177 women, data provided by 110 services). 
     
  • We received responses from 110 refuge services about the number of women and children supported in refuge accommodation.  These services supported 6,163 women and 6,665 children in 2013/14.
     
  • We received responses from 109 services about the number of women and children supported in non-refuge services in the community. These services supported 74,500 women and 13,701 children in 2013/14.
     
  • On just one day in 2014 in refuge services: 112 women and their 84 children were turned away from refuge because they could not be accommodated (data provided by 140 refuges).
     
  • In just one week in 2014 in outreach services: 369 women were turned away from outreach services in the community because of a lack of capacity (data provided by 87 services).