Story
Domestic Violence services are in crisis. You might have heard
about the government’s recent proposed funding changes for refuges, which could leave refuges with 53% less funding than previously [1]. Such recent changes stand in a long line of austerity cuts which leave more and more survivors of domestic violence with nowhere to go.
These cuts put lives at risk: Two women a week in the UK are killed by a partner or ex-partner [2]. 2 out of 3 women overall are now turned away from refuges, and 4 in 5 BME survivors are turned away. Survivors of colour, LGBT and disabled survivors, single mothers, survivors who use drugs and alcohol, those with mental health problems and survivors who are migrants are hit hardest. Policies like the Bedroom Tax and No Recourse to Public Funds make accessing services harder if not impossible, and the ‘competitive tendering system’ by which UK DV services in the UK are funded disadvantages specialist services.
I am running the Brighton Half Marathon on the 25th of February 2018 and I hope to raise some money for Solace Women’s Aid. Solace
are a London based service who offer a range of services including counselling, advocacy and rape crisis support to over 10,000 survivors of sexual and domestic violence a year. They run 19 refuges around London, with specialist support or survivors with complex needs. It is essential that they will be able to continue doing this crucial work.
This is my first ever race, and as a casual runner this is vaguely terrifying. So if you’ve got a couple quid/euros etc to spare, please do consider donating!
If you want to learn more about DV cuts, this video by Sisters Uncut is excellent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=48&v=E869vW-QnN0
Learn more about Solace here: http://solacewomensaid.org
Read more about recent funding changes here: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/nov/26/womens-refuges-funding-changes-what-they-could-mean?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Copy_to_clipboard).
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/nov/26/womens-lives-at-risk-funding-changes-refuges-charities
[2] https://www.womensaid.org.uk/information-support/what-is-domestic-abuse/how-common-is-domestic-abuse/