Sunderland domestic violence cuts ‘catastrophic blow to victims’
Wearside Women in Need have been told their funding will not continue in July.
A Washington domestic violence service has lost more than £500,000 in funding.
Wearside Women in Need were given a formal notice from the council on Monday saying the contract will terminate in July this year and with that the £586,000 they get in annual funding will end.
Bosses fear this means refuges could close and victims could be put in grave danger.
More than 6000 people have signed a petition to stop the funding cut.
Claire Phillipson, Wearside Women In Need Director, said:
“Worst case scenario, our refuges will close. Worst case scenario is that you will end up with virtually no domestic violence services in the city of Sunderland that means woman and children will be put at grave risk of serious injury and murder.
“Clearly you can’t take £586,000 out of the service looking after the most vulnerable woman and children in our city without it having an impact. I want to know what those other services are going to be. We’re not getting any clarity on that at all."
A statement on behalf of Councillor Graeme Miller, Sunderland City Council’s Portfolio Holder for Health, Housing and Adult Services, said:
"Nobody at the City Council has ever said that there would be an end to supporting the victims of domestic violence in Sunderland.
"There has been a lot of scaremongering on this matter and any suggestion that funding and all services are ceasing, is misleading, mischievous and, quite frankly, wrong.
"What is correct is that a range of partners and providers are now working more closely together and pooling funds."
“It is this partnership that has now secured more than £660,000 coming to the Northumbria Police area to help support the victims of domestic violence
"This area partnership has now been highlighted as a best practice approach by DCLG and features on its web site."
However, Claire Phillipson has raised questions over what happens to the money taken away from Wearside Women In Need. She said:
“If you’ve got one small charity that one year had £586,000 form the council and the next year it doesn’t, clearly that’s going to have an impact on domestic violence services.
“If you look at a council budget as I have and see the removal of that money from services and see nowhere in the several hundred pages of documents anything about what is going to replace that money then you have to question are we scaremongering or are we pointing out facts?"
You can view the petition here: https://www.change.org/p/sunderland-city-council-save-women-s-lives-now-from-sunderland-city-council-cuts