Domestic violence services criticised

Last Modified: 28 Nov 2007
Source: ITN

Victims of rape and domestic violence face a 'postcode lottery' when it comes to care provision, a report has found.

Some parts of Britain have no crisis centres or refuges, some areas are reasonably well served while others have no services at all.

The report, called Map of Gaps, was published by the Commission for Equality and Human Rights and the coalition End Violence Against Women (EVAW).

Commission chair Trevor Phillips said the organisation may take legal action in a year's time under gender equality legislation to ensure women have access to services.

Map of Gaps shows how provision varies across the country with five areas particularly underserved - the east of England, London, Northern Ireland, the north west and the south east.

While very few areas could claim to have sufficient provision to meet the needs of women who had recently suffered violence, the nine with the most extensive services were Birmingham, Bradford, Glasgow, Hammersmith & Fulham, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham and Sheffield.

In Scotland the situation was more positive, the organisations said.

A spokeswoman said: "There is a commitment to funding for specialised services in Scotland. This means that services are distributed more equally and there has been an expansion in rape crisis centre provision."

Mr Phillips said in a speech last night that there was "an undeclared war against women in this country".

Each year, some three million would experience violence in one form or another.

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