Shocking figures for domestic abuse in West Berkshire

Domestic abuse in West Berkshire is much worse than official figures.

Home Office statistics say that around 5,229 women and girls and 2,455 men living in West Berkshire have been a victim of domestic abuse in the past year.

But a report to West Berkshire Council’s executive committee says the numbers are much worse.

The figures are revealed in the district’s new domestic abuse safe accommodation strategy.

It highlights the need to determine if the number of refuge units currently available is sufficient, based on the population and need for the local area.

West Berkshire Council currently funds around 215 individuals in a range of supported living settings, with around 175 in West Berkshire and 40 outside, mainly in the Reading area.

In West Berkshire there are two family refuge units accommodating one woman plus three children and two units accommodating a single woman.

There is currently no refuge service for male victims locally and very low provision nationally.

The report calls for an increase in specialist refuge provision in West Berkshire to meet the need.

It also points to a lack of ‘move-on’ accommodation.

“At the present time, there is a gap in our understanding of victims’ housing journeys – the type of tenure victims leave when they go into refuge and the type of tenure they move to when leaving refuge,” says the report.

“In addition to the challenges of rehousing, victims often need follow-up support to enable them to rebuild their lives once they are rehoused. Staffing capacity in refuges means that this can be limited.

“There is currently no move-on accommodation available in West Berkshire, with victims reporting that once they leave the refuge provision they feel totally on their own.”

The report, called You Are Not Alone, follows a six-week public consultation last year after the passing of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.

The act brings wide-reaching changes in protective legislation and provides a new statutory definition of domestic abuse which explicitly includes economic abuse, recognises children as victims of domestic abuse, and defines coercive and controlling behaviour between ex-partners and family members.

The report recommends improvement in the way children of domestic abuse are helped, by hiring children’s refuge worker posts, as well as awareness training for landlords to spot the signs of domestic abuse.

The strategy is marked for approval at West Berkshire's executive committee meeting tonight (Thursday).

West Berkshire Council is being asked to proactively seek funding opportunities to purchase additional family move-on properties and to buy more refuge and move-on accommodation for single women.