Domestic Abuse Commissioner warns that the government’s commitment to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) is at risk without urgent funding for specialist domestic abuse services.
Over a quarter of domestic abuse services (27%) surveyed in England and Wales are having to turn children away from vital support amid severe funding shortages, new research by the Domestic Abuse Commissioner has revealed.
The findings – published in a new report examining children’s experiences of domestic abuse – exposes how thousands of children are being left with nowhere to turn after being subject to abuse, or facing long wait times for support, as services struggle to stay afloat amid rising demand.
Of the services spoken to by the Commissioner, over half (51%) stated they had had to place children on waiting lists due to the number of referrals they were receiving, while others were forced to turn them away entirely. In some cases, this may have left children in unsafe situations and at risk of further harm.
The Domestic Abuse Act came into force in 2021, recognising for the first time that children are victims of domestic abuse too, rather than just witnesses. Yet the Commissioner’s report has revealed that the response to children experiencing domestic abuse has so far failed to meet this recognition.
Drawing on a survey of more than 260 domestic abuse services providing support to children, along with 168 statutory agencies responsible for commissioning domestic abuse services, the findings show the immense financial pressure specialist services are under and how children are paying the price.
Over half of the support services (56%) surveyed by the Domestic Abuse Commissioner had experienced cuts to their funding over the past five years. This had left over a quarter (29%) needing to make the difficult decision to stop providing a specialist support service to children. Similar concerns came from organisations that commission services, who reported that funding will be at risk of being cut or reduced for over 40% of services when the current allocation comes to an end.
All of this is being compounded by statutory services – such as education, social care and health – lacking the resources, training and guidance to provide child victims with the support they need, which forces already overburdened domestic abuse services to step in.
From counselling and play therapy to learning about healthy relationships or accessing emergency accommodation, for children subject to domestic abuse, specialist services are a lifeline during an incredibly difficult and traumatic time.
Without these services, children affected by domestic abuse are often at risk of long-term harm, including serious mental and physical health issues. Children forced to flee also experience repeated disruption to their education, and the loss of friendships, homes, pets and their communities.
When it took office, the government made tackling VAWG a key priority as part of its Safer Streets Mission having committed to halving it within the decade.
However, the autumn budget in October did not include the level of funding needed – particularly for specialist domestic abuse services that support children – to meet the scale of this ambition.
With the government now preparing for its Spending Review in early summer, the Commissioner is warning that without adequate funding for these organisations, more and more children will be left without support as services risk closure. Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Dame Nicole Jacobs, said:
“For too long child victims of domestic abuse have been failed – often treated as an afterthought and left to navigate their recovery alone which is having devastating consequences on their health, education, relationships – and futures. This has to change.
Providing children with the stability and support they need to recover – and thrive – is vital if the government wants to meet its commitment to halve violence against women and girls within the decade.
Investing in children’s futures must start now. The upcoming spending review is a critical moment for the government to provide specialist domestic abuse services with the funding they need to pull them back from the brink and ensure they can be there for any child affected by domestic abuse.”
Services at Women’s Aid, said that the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s report has highlighted the “critical underfunding” and “stretched capacity” of domestic abuse service provisions for children across the country. They said:
“While the findings of the report are alarming, Women’s Aid are, sadly, not surprised by this information. Since the introduction of the Domestic Abuse Act four years ago today, children have been legally recognised as survivors of abuse in their own right. Despite this, adequate funding commitments for specialist children’s support services have not been made, and children continue to be failed in the response they receive.
For example, a contact at all costs approach places abusers access to their children above the safety and security of the children themselves. Family decision making and group programmes for ‘low risk’ perpetrators are often run by unqualified unsupported staff without specialist DA training who will be under pressure to close cases and reach a ‘solution’. In many cases involving children and young people, whether that be in social care or children excluded from schools, domestic abuse should be a key consideration in decision-making. Local authorities and agencies should work with (both commissioned and non-commissioned) specialist domestic abuse services in an aligned but independent way to centre children’s needs.
Concerningly, our 2025 Annual Audit, which analyses service provision for domestic abuse across the country, found that 31.4% of organisations providing services for child survivors are operating without dedicated funding. Given that 1.8 million children experience domestic abuse last year alone, there is an urgent risk that without adequate investment in these services, the Government’s laudable commitment to halve Violence Against Women and Girls in a decade could see child survivors being left behind.”
Gemma Sherrington, CEO of Refuge, said that the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 rightly recognised that children are victims in their own right, but as the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s report reiterates, this has “not yet translated into sustainable funding for children’s services”. She continued:
“A lack of funding means Refuge’s services often rely on precarious, short-term grants for children and young people’s workers, who are crucial in delivering the support children need and deserve to rebuild their lives.
Domestic abuse can affect people of all ages, but the impact on children can be particularly significant. Children often experience abuse from a perpetrator they should be able to trust, which can lead to severe trauma. In 2023–24, children made up 52% of the residents in our refuge accommodation – a stark reminder of how many young lives are affected by domestic abuse.
All survivors of domestic abuse have the right to tailored support, and children are no exception. Refuge has been working closely with the UK Trauma Council to develop a holistic, trauma-informed support model, but this must be matched by increased, long-term funding for lifesaving children’s services. Supporting children effectively requires a multi-agency approach, so we echo the report’s call for a shared language framework that places the onus on the perpetrator and fully considers the child’s needs.
Every child has the right to live free from fear. Refuge calls for the report’s recommendations to be implemented by all relevant Government bodies without delay. And with the Spending Review on the horizon, now is the time to commit to sustainable funding for specialist organisations. Children’s wellbeing – and lives – depend on it.”
The Services at Women’s Aid said:
“Women’s Aid are urging the government to commit to specialist funding for children in the upcoming spending review through the introduction of a Children and Young People Support Fund of at last £46 million, to ensure that all specialist domestic abuse services, as a minimum, have a dedicated Child Support Worker. Alongside this, we need to see wider commitments to domestic abuse services, so that mothers and their children can get the support they need to rebuild their lives in safety. We support the recommendations made by the DAC in their report and call the Government to implement them with a matter of urgency.”
Victims in their own right? Babies, children and young people’s experience of domestic abuse and its accompanying reports can be found here.
