This week David discusses domestic abuse

THE announcement by the Government that it is to review the funding and operation of refuges has been greeted by a mixture of incredulity and anger.

The changes will, quite simply, put lives at risk, say organisations working with victims of domestic abuse.

Here in Gloucestershire the Sixteen Days of action campaign is underway which sees the police and campaigners come together to raise awareness of domestic abuse.

But the campaign comes at a time when the future of refuges is under threat.

Refuges are places that people, mostly women, can flee to when escaping a violent or abusive relationship.

Stroud district has had its own refuge, Beresford, for over 40 years.

By its nature, residents do not come from the Stroud area because they need to live free from the threat of a former partner finding them.

In return any Stroud person can seek protection elsewhere in the country. This reciprocity is key. What the government is proposing is a further rationalisation of the service and, more worryingly, to remove housing benefit from those seeking help.

Given that Gloucestershire has already faced savage cuts in this area, leaving Beresford as the only fully functioning refuge, it is difficult to know what else we can expect locally other than the complete removal of this vital facility.

What is so strange about this decision is that the government has previously made some positive moves in the field of domestic abuse. It has promised to look to tighten up on legislation to give better protection to the victim and to deal more harshly with the perpetrator. However, without a place of sanctuary, such changes will be purely pyrrhic in terms of the greater protection to victims.

Sadly two women on average die every week, the victim of a violent partner.

Abuse takes many forms – much of it physical but increasingly psychological. The Sixteen Days campaign, for instance, this year focuses on coercive control and its devastating impact.

Of course it is not just adults that suffer. Over the years I have dealt with many cases where children have borne the brunt of living in a home where violence is the norm.

I hope that the government will rethink its proposals and, rather than further weaken provision by more cuts, realises that we all have a duty to look after the most vulnerable in our society.