Surrey’s Police and Crime Commissioner has called for the Government to commit to further funding for organisations tackling domestic abuse and sexual violence – as the county’s police force dramatically increases its charging rate for offenders.
Speaking on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls, Lisa Townsend said some Surrey services are facing a funding cliff-edge.
Woking-based Steps To Change, which draws together experts from a range of organisations focused on violence in the home, opened this year after the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner secured £2million from the last government.
The hub, managed by Interventions Alliance, works with perpetrators to prevent domestic abuse.
Call to action
However, the new Labour government has not yet revealed its plans for further funding, with the current tranche for Steps To Change currently set to run out next spring.
Lisa, who recently joined the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, Jess Phillips MP, at a Downing Street roundtable, said many services are reliant on the Government’s support.
Lisa directly helps fund a number of Surrey-based services, including the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre, the Victim and Witness Care Unit, and the Surrey Domestic Abuse Partnership.
The Commissioner’s call for clarity comes as Surrey Police substantially increases its charging rate for offences specifically targeting women and girls.
- Find out more about offences involving violence against women and girls using the Commissioner’s Data Hub
“Dramatic” improvements
In the past 12 months, solved outcomes for serious sexual violence have almost doubled, and there has been a 59 per cent increase in charges for domestic abuse.
This time last year, Surrey Police was 32nd of the 43 police forces in England and Wales when it came to charges and summons for offences involving violence against women and girls. It is now seventh.
The Commissioner said: “Significant and dramatic improvements in the Force’s charge rate have been recorded in the past 12 months.
“Preventing violence against women and girls is a key priority for both myself and Chief Constable Tim De Meyer, and I am hugely proud of the considerable work that has gone into achieving these changes.
Funding cliff-edge
“Now, we need the Government to commit to funding the organisations that change perpetrator behaviour and support survivors of violence.
“While Surrey remains one of the safest counties in the UK, we know that nationally, violence against women and girls is an epidemic that policing alone cannot solve.
“Clarity and reassurance is urgently needed for those waiting with bated breath to find out whether they will face a funding cliff-edge next year.”