On the 3rd of March, the Chancellor announced the 2021 spring Budget. Respect welcomes the inclusion of £15 million within this to respond to perpetrators of domestic abuse across England and Wales. There has also been a subsequent announcement of £10m within a serious violent crime package to fund behaviour change work with perpetrators.
For over a year now domestic abuse organisations and professionals have been calling for a national response to perpetrators.. Over 125+ organisations and professionals have signed the call for a perpetrator strategy. This welcome money needs to be spent strategically to have the most impact, so our calls for a strategy are more important than ever.
Responses to perpetrators must be safe and effective and quality assured and victim services need to be well funded and supported for perpetrators services to work successfully.
The combination of funding for perpetrator work alongside funding for victim services, guided by a strategy, has the potential to make a huge difference to domestic abuse.