Domestic abuse victims are being punished says charity

WOMEN and children experiencing domestic abuse in Scotland are being 'punished' and routinely made homeless by the services that are meant to help them, a charity has said.

Domestic abuse victims are often made homeless according to Women's Aid.

Scottish Women’s Aid made claims ahead of International Women’s Day tomorrow about cases of women forced to flee their homes to escape violence.

Women “were often disbelieved” and the impact of the abuse they had was often “minimised” by the authorities they sought help from, the authors of the report said.

They found domestic abuse is still one of the biggest causes of homelessness in Scotland and many women said they had “been given no choice” about losing their home when ending a relationship.

It also found that nearly half – 46 per cent – of women who took part in the survey had already been made homeless more than once because of domestic or sexual abuse.

Scottish Women’s Aid, chief executive, Dr Marsha Scott, said: “The findings from this research project raise serious concerns about the housing options that are available to women who are at risk of homelessness due to domestic or sexual abuse and raises questions over whether the Scottish Government’s policy on homelessness prevention is appropriate for women who experience domestic or sexual abuse.

“The system continues to punish women and children for being victims rather than perpetrators, by forcing them to choose between abuse and homelessness.”

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “We expect local authorities when they are making decisions on how they see services being delivered, to take the needs of those who use these services into account.”

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