Women’s Aid responds to Labour announcing that the party would install domestic abuse specialists in 999 centres

Farah Nazeer, chief executive of Women’s Aid, comments:  

“We welcome Labour’s announcement that the party would put domestic abuse specialists in 999 call centres to help respond to cases involving domestic abuse. However, it is important to remember that domestic abuse specialists are needed at all stages of the police response – from call centres and first responders, through to investigation, to ensure that survivors are protected and perpetrators held to account. Specialist support services for survivors are also critical for ensuring that survivors are supported throughout the criminal justice system, and sustainable funding for these services remains an urgent priority. Women’s Aid is calling for all political parties to commit to a minimum of £427Million for specialist women’s domestic abuse services in England. 

 

 

“From our work with survivors, we also know that many do not report domestic abuse to police. To tackle domestic abuse, we need the government to drive a truly whole-system approach that will improve the whole of a survivor’s journey – from housing to health, welfare and much more.”