£3.2 million boost for South Yorkshire councils to support domestic abuse victims
It'll go towards safe accommodation for those affected
Councils say £3.2 million of new funding will help releive the growing pressure of the pandemic on South Yorkshire domestic abuse victims.
All four local authorities in our county are getting money to help them meet new responsibilities they're due when the Domestic Abuse Bill becomes law later this year.
The money will go towards more safe accommodation for victims and their kids as well as other help like counselling, advice and advocacy.
Rosemary Clewer commissions support for Barnsley Council - she says the pandemic's been an incredibly difficult time for those affected:
"During Covid people are unable to feel that they can just walk out of the house or go to the hairdressers or go to the chemist, just to take some time out of the housing situation and relieve that pressure. People have felt that pressure has built up.
"I think actually people are less tolerant of those situations that they may have just sat back and let it ride over them...now they're more willing to seek help, even if it is just about a bit of advice, just to check things out with people - is that right? Should I expect that in a relationship?"
More people have been coming forward for domestic abuse support in Barnsley in the past year.
It comes after we revealed a huge rise in the number of domestic abuse incidents reported to the police in South Yorkshire during the first lockdown - as part of our On The Inside investigation.
Rosemary says the new money will go a long way to broadening the help already available in Barnsley:
"We've got a lot of plans around enabling our service to have more access points across the borough. Particularly during Covid it's been very very difficult for people to insigate contact. It's about opening up that communication with members of the community.
"It's about investing in local housing and safe accommodation where children can stay in their school and people can be supported in their own environment. So it is about supporting the police to take action so that people can feel secure in their own home."
The government says the new support will help councils meet a new duty to make sure victims and their children are able to access life-saving support in safe accommodation – a key part of the new Domestic Abuse Bill.
Minister for Rough Sleeping and Housing, Eddie Hughes MP said:
"Domestic abuse is a heinous crime which threatens the lives of victims in their own homes where they should feel safe. So it’s right that we’re giving victims support in safe accommodation and providing councils with money to deliver essential services that will help them and their children rebuild their lives.
This is part of a long-term strategy to provide broader support for domestic abuse victims both in safe accommodation like refuges, and in their own homes."
There's more on our On The Inside investigation here.
And there are links to domestic abuse support in South Yorkshire here.