Women’s Aid responds to Mayor of London’s funding announcement for grassroots organisations tackling Violence Against Women and Girls

Lizzy Dobres, policy and practice manager, said:

“We welcome the Mayor of London’s £3 million fund for grassroots organisations tackling violence against women and girls in London. The current cost of living crisis is detrimental to specialist services that support survivors of abuse. This fund could be a lifeline for vital services struggling to stay open.

We are particularly pleased that the fund will support organisations working with Black and minoritised survivors. Our latest research found 67% of Women’s Aid members said if the cost-of-living crisis continues without intervention, services would have to stop supporting survivors. This rose to 85% of services run by and for Black and minoritised women. We cannot afford to leave women and children behind and they must be supported with needs-led specialist domestic abuse services.

However, the women’s sector has continued to rely on short-term grants and bursts of funding – this is unsustainable for services. The government must provide a long-term solution to this. Women’s Aid’s research suggests a minimum of £427million per year is needed to support specialist frontline services. When the cost of domestic abuse to society is £78 billion, this funding ask would not only benefit women and children experiencing abuse but the taxpayer too.

Today’s fund is a positive step, but we need long-term national action to support services in every area of the country. Women and children’s lives should not be put at risk by economic pressures.”