The Independent – Help us build a safe refuge for survivors of domestic abuse
The Independent leads on its own campaign saying more than half of domestic abuse survivors face homelessness after being turned away from refuges due to a chronic national shortage of spaces.
The paper launches its Brick by Brick campaign in partnership with charity Refuge to raise £300,000 and build a house for women escaping abusive partners.
More than half of women fleeing domestic abuse turned away from safe refuge due to chronic shortages
More than half of domestic abuse survivors face homelessness after being turned away from refuges due to a chronic national shortage of spaces.
The latest figures show around six in 10 women fleeing domestic violence who sought a space in a refuge in England over a year were denied a place.
Data from the Office for National Statistics shows 27,754 women were referred to a refuge between April 2022 and March 2023 but only 10,824 were accepted, with 16,930 women left with nowhere to go. This is the equivalent of one woman being turned away every two hours.
The shocking statistics come as The Independent launches its Brick by Brick campaign in partnership with charity Refuge to raise £300,000 and build a house for women escaping abusive partners.
Exclusive data from Refuge shows increasing numbers of calls to the National Domestic Abuse Helpline which it runs are seeking referrals to refuges to escape their abusers, rising from 5,450 to 6,086 between 2020 and 2024.
Today’s news summary – Paper Talk
If you are someone who reads every perspective of a story, here is a news summary of all of today’s front pages from today’s newspapers; summarised in a 2-minute read
Editorial 16 September 2024.
Many of Monday’s newspaper front pages lead on an apparent assassination of Donald Trump. The attempt on the former president’s life took place near his Florida golf club on Sunday – the second assassination attempt in a few m months. Trump announced that he is “safe and well” and has vowed to “never surrender.”
Away from US politics, domestic stories make up the rest of the UK front pages, with several reports covering the ongoing backlash over the cutting of the winter fuel payments. There are also reports claiming Keir Starmer has his eyes set on an Italy-style migration deal to tackle the small boats crisis.