A group of victims’ and women’s charity leaders have written to the Prime Minister, warning that recent cuts to victims’ services funding, combined with increased National Insurance costs, will leave them with “no choice” but to lay off staff, close waiting lists and cut services for victim-survivors of gender-based violence.

The chief executives of Victim Support, Rape Crisis, Welsh Women’s Aid, Women’s Aid Federation England and Imkaan say that between them, the cash deficit inflicted represents “many millions of pounds” and are demanding an uplift in funding – so they can keep their doors open to vulnerable women.

With faith in police at rock bottom and court delays at record levels, these services are a “lifeline” to hundreds of thousands: helping women to escape dangerous relationships, giving critical advice to survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence and ensuring women see their cases reach trial, by supporting them throughout the court process.

However, many are in danger of closing – a catastrophe which would jeopardise the government’s pledge to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, a cornerstone of their 2024 election campaign.

The government has repeatedly said it is protecting services for victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence, but the charities insist that as the providers of these services, that is not the case.

  • Victim Support estimates it faces a 7% real-terms funding cut, once unexpected costs like the upcoming rise in employers’ National Insurance contributions are taken into account – effectively £3.5m, or 84 employees
  • Demand for support is higher than ever before with 88% of Welsh Womens Aid members reporting an increased demand for support alongside challenges in short-term and inadequate funding
  • This year, almost half (49%) of organisations surveyed for Women’s Aid Federation of England’s Annual Audit had been forced to run an area of their service without dedicated funding
  • A third of Rape Crisis centre managers and directors are expecting to issue redundancy notices before the end of the financial year, with 30% of Rape Crisis directors concerned that they will have to close down their Rape Crisis centre altogether

Katie Kempen, Chief Executive at Victim Support said:

“Closing our doors to vulnerable victims of crime is the last thing we want to do. But we could be left with no choice. The government must immediately reverse planned cuts and instead increase the victims’ services grant to cover national insurance rises. If they don’t, the stark reality is that people who have experienced the shock and trauma of crime, including domestic abuse and sexual violence survivors, will have to go without vital support.”

Ciara Bergman, Chief Executive at Rape Crisis England and Wales said:

“Every year, Rape Crisis centres support thousands of adult and child survivors of rape and sexual abuse to rebuild their lives and persevere through a justice system which is abjectly failing them.

“Without support, the few who do seek criminal justice would simply give up.  But recently announced National Insurance increases coupled with PCC funding cuts will leave our centres with little choice but to close their waiting lists or shut down their services. They simply do not have the financial or emotional reserves to withstand further cuts or to turn survivors away. We hope the Prime Minister will meet with us to hear our concerns and rethink these plans”

Sara Kirkpatrick, Chief Executive at Welsh Women’s Aid said:

“Organisations across Wales continue to do their best to deliver trauma informed specialist support to every survivors seeking support in the face of rising costs, rising caseloads and increasingly complex challenges. The news of a National Insurance increase with no exemption or mitigation for charities is a hammer blow to services who have already cut costs wherever they could to continue through a cost-of-living crisis. There is simply nowhere left to cut.

“The rhetoric of urgency must be matched by action if the UK government truly wants to cut violence against women and girls in half, there needs to be a commitment to also ensuring that the services that support those survivors are able to operate. Without proper and sustainable funding for support services, the half that are left will face even greater.”

Isabell Younane, Head of External Affairs at Women’s Aid, said: 

“Domestic abuse is a national emergency, and yet our network of lifesaving services across the country is at risk of dismantling due to decades of underfunding and rising costs. Unless all women and children are able to access the specialist support they need to flee abuse and rebuild their lives, the Government risks undermining its welcome pledge to halve violence against women and girls in the next 10 years. We urge the Prime Minister to put these vital services on a secure financial footing and deliver on his manifesto commitment to the British people.”

Ghadah Alnasseri, Co-Director Imkaan said:

“Specialist Black and minoritised by and for’ VAWG organisations have long been at the sharpest edge of cuts to VAWG services funding. Our members are still struggling to recover from the negative impacts of being forced to use their limited financial reserves to fund additional security measures in response to the increase in gendered racist and Islamophobic violence stemming from the far-right riots. These changes to national insurance contributions and PCC funding will further exacerbate the fragility of the sector.

“Without an uplift to funding to mitigate against this, it is likely that several Black and minoritised women’s services will be forced to close their doors, leaving women and girls without the life-saving specialist support they need. In order to address the wider financial challenges such services face, we need to see long-term, sustainable, ring-fenced funding for specialist ‘by and for’ organisations that addresses this historic structural inequality in VAWG services funding and ensures that the specific needs of Black and minoritised women and girls are holistically met.”