Equality and Human Rights Commission

A new report by the Commission and the End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW) has highlighted serious gaps in the services available to women in Wales who have experienced violence. Map of Gaps 2 is a follow-up to the first report in 2007, which identified areas of concern and pointed to areas where improvements needed to be made. 

The Welsh Assembly Government’s Tackling Domestic Abuse: The All Wales National Strategy (2005) has resulted in significant progress in tackling domestic abuse, and every local authority area in Wales is served by a specialised domestic abuse service. However, the new report finds that there has been not nearly as much progress in tackling other forms of violence and abuse towards women, including sexual assault, rape, and harassment.

In particular, the findings point to an alarming lack of services for women who choose, or feel unable, to report incidents of violence or abuse to the police. This is because many of the new services are linked to the criminal justice system. The findings suggest a lot more emphasis needs to be placed on the prevention of violence or abuse towards women. 

Key headlines in Wales are:

• All local authority areas in Wales are served by a specialised service for women who have experienced domestic abuse or violence (In England, over a quarter of local authorities have no specialised services at all).  However,
• There are seven local authority areas whose only specialised support service provision is for women who have experienced domestic violence or abuse. These are Blaenau Gwent, Ceredigion, Conwy, Denbighshire, Isle of Anglesey, Monmouthshire and Newport.

Other key findings in Wales

• There is only one rape crisis centre in Wales (compared to 13 in Scotland)
• There are five statutory funded sexual assault referral centres in Wales.
• Eighteen local authorities in Wales do not have a specialised voluntary sexual violence service.
• There is only one prostitution, trafficking and sexual exploitation service in Wales. (It is in Cardiff).

To accompany the report, a Map of Gaps interactive website (www.mapofgaps.org) that allows people to see what services are available in their area has been launched. The website has a function that enables members of the public to contact their local authority, constituency and regional AMs, and MP in order to ask them to take action and pledge their support to improve provision in their area.

To download a copy of Map of Gaps 2 visit www.mapofgaps.org

You can view last year's Map of Gaps report here.

What needs to happen

The Equality and Human Rights Commission and End Violence Against Women Coalition are calling for urgent action to be taken at both national and regional level to ensure women have access to the support they need.

The Commission and End Violence Against Women Coalition want to see:  

• the Welsh Assembly Government build on the progress made in tackling domestic abuse by taking a strategic approach to tackling all forms of violence and abuse towards women
• local authorities and other relevant public bodies giving increased priority to tackling all forms of violence and abuse towards women.

Kate Bennett, National Director for Wales, Equality and Human Rights Commission said:
'The interactive map paints a vivid picture of the differences in services that we see in Wales, and throughout Britain.  It reveals some hugely worrying findings.  We see that not all women who have experienced violence have access to the services they need – and that they need locally.

'We have to see the Welsh Assembly Government and local authorities taking action to ensure that women have access to these crucial services. We know that the best way forward is the setting of strategic priorities and the long-term funding of projects. This is what we would like to see happening.

'And we need to see more work being done to prevent instances of violence and abuse. We know that a great deal of violence towards women is not reported to the police. By making people aware of the horrors faced by women that experience violence, we go some way towards making all people realise it cannot be tolerated in any shape or form. Violence and abuse towards women is a killer. It has to be stopped.'

Paula Hardy, Chief Executive, Welsh Women’s Aid, who are a member of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, said:
'Map of Gaps 2 demonstrates that recent investment has been linked to the criminal justice system. Whilst this is welcomed, it is clear that women need both specialist voluntary services as well as statutory services. Both types of service provision are important as they meet the different needs of women who have suffered violence and are important components of the full collection of support that victims require.'

Background information

The statistics

• Each year 3 million women in Britain experience rape, domestic violence, trafficking or other violence – and many more are dealing with abuse experienced in the past. 
• Over 25% of local authorities in Britain have no specialised support services at all. 
• Violence against women costs £40billion each year in England and Wales.

Welsh services - comparisons between 2007 and 2009

Total number of violence against women support services	52 in 2007	60 in 2009
Domestic violence services	38 in 2007	38 in 2009
BME services including FGM services	2 in 2007	2 in 2009
Specialist Domestic violence courts	8 in 2007	11 in 2009
Rape Crisis Centre	1 in 2007	1 in 2009
Sexual Assault referral centre	3 in 2007	5 in 2009
Prostitution, trafficking and sexual exploitation support services	1 in 2007	1 in 2009

What services has the report mapped?

The report and website maps services that work primarily on violence against women and provide significant support to female victims/survivors. This includes voluntary sector services, such as Rape Crisis Centres and domestic violence refuges, as well as statutory services such as Specialist Domestic Violence Courts and Sexual Assault Referral Centres. These are vital services that help women name and recognise violence, flee to a place of safety, support them through the justice system (if they choose to report what’s happened), advocate on their behalf with other agencies and help them rebuild their lives.

Why we need specialised services

Many women who have experienced violence are reluctant to seek help.  Issues such as insecure immigration status, involvement in prostitution, disability, mental health issues or substance misuse can all make women more vulnerable to victimisation and less likely to speak out.  The barriers for women from ethnic minority and refugee communities and older women to seeking support are also greater.

Map of Gaps 2 demonstrates that recent investment has been linked to the criminal justice system (e.g SARCs and domestic abuse courts). whilst this is welcomed, it is clear that women need both specialist voluntary services as well as statutory services. Both types of service provision are important as they meet the different needs of women who have suffered violence and are important components of the full collection of support that victims require.

For example, many women choose not to report the violence they suffer. As a result, women may be hesitant to go to a statutory service whose emphasis is on prosecution. Voluntary organisations fill this gap by providing services to all women, regardless of when the abuse or violence occurred, and outside of a criminal justice context. They provide essential support to women, which are currently not provided by the statutory services.