News

Refuge has played an essential role in influencing the content of the Domestic Abuse Bill and continues to campaign for the changes our front line staff and the survivors we support tell us they need. The Government’s stated objective for the Bill is to transform the response to domestic abuse – which Refuge is fully behind. However, we are concerned that the Bill in its current form focuses too much on the justice system and policing, leaving out swathes of policy areas that need reform in order to better protect, and meet the needs of, survivors. Listening to the survivors … Continue reading →

Refuge, one of 30 women’s groups today wrote to Conservative Party leader candidates Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson asking them to make specific pledges to tackle domestic and sexual violence if they become the next Prime Minister. The organisations, who work supporting survivors of all forms of violence against women and girls across the UK, are asking Mr Hunt and Mr Johnson to: Ensure the draft Domestic Violence Bill becomes law and is delivered; Renew the cross-government Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy from 2020 onwards – this includes life-saving work from ensuring hospital there are domestic violence workers in A&E departments, to advising … Continue reading →

The Joint Pre-Legislative Domestic Abuse Bill Committee, a group of MPs and peers who are responsible for scrutinising the draft Domestic Abuse Bill published by the Government earlier this year, today published its report and recommendations to the Government. We are delighted that the Committee has listened to Refuge, and has made some strong recommendations to the Government. Gendered definition of domestic abuse The draft domestic abuse Bill will define domestic abuse in law for the first time. As this will be an important awareness and understanding raising tool, the Committee took lots of evidence on this issue and debated … Continue reading →

The national domestic violence charity Refuge and the Driver and Vehicles Standards Agency (DVSA) have been working closely together to protect survivors of domestic violence. Tech abuse through vehicle tracking Cathy* had relocated to a new property in an area away from her abusive ex-partner, when a friend alerted her to an update on social media indicating he knew where she was. Being tracked down is a terrifying prospect for women who have experienced domestic abuse and uprooted their lives in the pursuit of safety. After discussion with professionals at a meeting for high-risk domestic abuse cases, Cathy’s Refuge caseworker … Continue reading →

Two years after the Government announced its commitment to a future Domestic Abuse Bill, are we any closer to seeing new legislation passed? With the Domestic Abuse Bill the only legislation on the Government’s agenda aside from Brexit and the attention the latter is requiring of MPs, you might be forgiven for wondering whether a Bill might ever see the light of day. But progress has been made in the wings – the consultation process ran last spring, following which the Government published its draft Bill at the start of this year. So what happens next and when can we … Continue reading →

Earlier this year, a team from HMP East Sutton Park in Kent took on the Three Peaks Challenge to raise money for Refuge. In just three days, Stacey, John, Jo and Matt beat Great Britain’s three highest peaks and raised £3,000 – as if that were not enough, they even found time to write a blog about their adventure. Ben Nevis We began our ascent at 7am after an overnight stop in Carlisle. The track up Ben Nevis mainly consists of rocky steps made for people with exceptionally long legs, which none of us have! Despite our early battles with … Continue reading →

The Corporate Fundraising team has been celebrating a summer of successes led by our fabulous corporate partners – Avon, Benefit, The White Company and Scamp and Dude. Benefit’s Bold is Beautiful Benefit Cosmetics’ Bold is Beautiful campaign raised a staggering £297,603 this year for its two charities Refuge and Look Good Feel Better. This could pay for more than 2,800 nights in a refuge for a woman and her children experiencing domestic violence. Throughout May, Benefit waxed 44,545 eyebrows, raised almost £26,000 across three pink pop-up shops (which saw over 10,000 customers walk through their doors), and head office staff … Continue reading →

From jumping 10,000ft in a tandem skydive to dusting off her walking boots for Walk4, former Hounslow Mayor Sue Sampson surpassed her year-long fundraising target in aid of Refuge, beyond all expectations. Cllr. Sampson, who was Mayor of Hounslow between 2017 and 2018, has long been an active supporter of Refuge; her sister Maureen was fatally shot at her place of work by her estranged husband in 1976, aged just 23 years old. The tragedy happened when Cllr. Sampson was only eight years old and inspired her to later campaign against domestic violence. With Refuge’s 47-year history rooted in Hounslow, … Continue reading →

Refuge is pleased to receive positive feedback from Dr Ravi K.Thiara in her independent evaluation of our services which received funding between 2016-18 under the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) Domestic Abuse Fund. The report concluded that the funding – applied for in conjunction with partner local authorities – enabled Refuge to add additional capacity to six of its services and in some cases saved them from closure. Increased staffing capacity led to more support being given to women with a wide range of complex needs, whilst also reducing caseloads of already established teams. All of the … Continue reading →