Safe House For Older Domestic Violence Victims
The UK’s first safe house for women aged 45 or over has opened in the North East.
The UK’s first safe house for women aged 45 or over has opened in the North East.
The first women moved in to the accommodation on Teesside on Monday (1st June).
EVA Women’s Aid based in Redcar are behind it, they said the more mature women are less likely to report violence and abuse than younger victims.
Richinda Taylor, chief executive of EVA, said: “Women over 45 have different needs to younger victims and we have found that when they are housed together, the older women tend to take on a maternal role. This can be at the cost of their own personal needs and we want to ensure that they’re not overlooked.
“We’ve worked with women aged eighty and over who’ve been subjected to violence and psychological control all of their adult lives and sadly many women believe that there’s no way out for them. This dedicated safe house, with fully-trained staff on hand, will enable us to help them turn their lives around and break the cycle of abuse.”
Claire Phillipson from Wearside Women in Need told Metro Radio it is needed.
But she said they are struggling to keep their refuges open because of funding cuts.