There are fears over the safety of domestic abuse victims in Salford amid plans to replace a specialist women's service after 40 years.
Salford Women's Aid (SWA) has provided support to survivors of domestic violence and their families since the 1970s.
But after the contract for domestic abuse services in the city was put up for tender, from April 1, 2022, the organisation will be replaced as the area's main provider.
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Salford Foundation and its partners, the Pankhurst Trust, TLC; Talk, Listen, Change, and Trafford Domestic Abuse Service (TDAS) have instead been awarded the contract.
Both domestic abuse survivors, and advisers who work for Salford Women's Aid have expressed concerns about what the change will mean for victims.
Dawn Redshaw has worked for the service for over 30 years, and now faces the loss of her job.
She and her colleagues campaigned for Clare's Law following the death of Clare Wood in Salford in 2009, and have helped make changes in the judicial system to make the process easier for victims.
"We are devastated," she said, speaking of the loss of their contract.
"At the end of the day we are just a small charity but our focus is on supporting the victims. My staff go above and beyond.
"A lot of the people we have had to tell are devastated as well. It’s about them, it's not just about our jobs at the end of the day, it's about our passion and mission statement.
"For us it’s about empowering the victims and their journey. We are the victim’s voice.
"I’m not saying the new provider might not do as good a job as us but we don’t know. We are going into the unknown."
Allyson Taylor, who works closely with Salford Women's Aid, said she doesn't believe Salford Foundation have the same specialist knowledge, and long history of supporting domestic abuse victims that SWA do.
"The bottom line is a highly rated and qualified service is being replaced with a lesser service, many will be out of a job and 2,600 victims of domestic violence will have their cases closed, and have to start again with another service," she said.
From March 2020 to December 2021, their team received 3,986 referrals to their service.
Salford Women's Aid also have two refuges for survivors and their families which is funded solely through public donations.
The change in contract means the organisation will no longer receive funding from Salford City, Salford NHS Clinical Commissioning Group and Greater Manchester Police.
A petition calling to 'save Salford domestic abuse services and refuges' has been launched by Salford Women's Aid, and has so far reached nearly 600 signatures.
Salford City Council said told the M.E.N it is 'completely inaccurate' to claim that the city is losing its specialist domestic abuse service.
They added that from April 1, there will be an 'enhanced service' for survivors of domestic abuse.
"We are committed to working with Salford Women’s Aid to ensure a smooth transition to make sure Salford residents continue to get the support they need and to protect staff, including the independent advisers, who will be offered the chance to transfer to the new service," they said.
But some victims of domestic abuse who have relied on the support from Salford Women's Aid say they fear the change in provider could mean that some women will 'fall through the cracks.'
One survivor, who has asked to remain anonymous, told the M.E.N that without the service she wouldn't have had the strength to seek justice against her abuser.
The mum is worried that if Salford Women's Aid is replaced as the main provider, she won't get the same level of support for when her case finally reaches court in June this year.
"I got recommended the service three years ago and they helped me secure my house by getting locks changed and alarms - which I would have had no idea how to do.
"My domestic violence adviser came down to help me when I was giving my statement to the police and they helped get me into a refuge to keep me safe.
"It was also just the mental support. They helped me get professional counselling really quickly and I've been on courses to try and meet other people in a similar situation.
"They've helped me at court because I've had massive issued with my case. By the time I get to court, because of covid, it will be over three years on from the abuse.
"If I didn’t have their support I wouldn’t be here now. I wouldn’t have a clue what to do."
The woman says she is concerned that Salford Foundation - the charity awarded the contract - won't be able to provide the same level of specialist support.
"I've been with this service for over three years and for it to get passed on to someone who doesn't know me or my case - that's not right," she said.
"This is real people's lives.
"It would make more sense if they just merged everything, but they are just disbanding the service which has been in Salford for over 40 years.
"I don't know if people realise how much this service has done for women and how much they can help. Are women now going to fall through the cracks?"
The survivor's case was due to be heard in December last year, but due to delays caused by the pandemic, the trial has been pushed back until the summer.
"The prospect of that support not being there for the trial - that's very emotional," she said.
"If it weren’t for having their support I wouldn’t have been able to get through it.
"You’ve got family and friends but for me it’s been three years and you don’t want to keep burdening other people.
"It’s just nice to know that I’ve got someone who is fully trained and is there."
What Salford Council say
Councillor David Lancaster, lead member for environment, neighbourhoods and community safety said: "It is completely inaccurate to claim that Salford is losing its specialist domestic abuse service.
"From April 1, in fact, there will be an enhanced service for survivors of domestic abuse with more long term support, more early work to prevent domestic abuse, more help for children and young people and more work with perpetrators to change their behaviour– all of which will be delivered by experienced, specialist providers.
"Our aim is to make this service accessible to everyone and link it to wider support services.
"The domestic abuse contract is funded by Salford City, Salford NHS Clinical Commissioning Group and Greater Manchester Police. No government funding is involved.
"In 2019 a specialist external assessment of Salford’s domestic abuse provision was carried out by the partnership and all the community services involved.
"Based on that the partnership proposed a new way of working with one organisation taking the lead in providing expanded specialist services.
"Among other things, this would avoid victims of domestic abuse having to tell their story over and over again to different organisations and provide all those working with them with a holistic picture of their circumstances.
"A very detailed and clear brief was put to the open market with full details of requirements. Bidders were required to show how they would meet this brief and provide evidence of their expertise in this field.
"The bids received went through a fair, transparent and rigorous assessment process which included representatives from the partners and people who have experienced domestic abuse themselves.
"Based on that assessment Salford Foundation and its partners the Pankhurst Trust, TLC: Talk, Listen, Change and Trafford Domestic Abuse Service (TDAS), were awarded the contract from April 1,2022.
"We are committed to working with Salford Women’s Aid to ensure a smooth transition to make sure Salford residents continue to get the support they need and to protect staff, including the independent advisers, who will be offered the chance to transfer to the new service.
"We want to reassure service users that they will continue to receive high quality services during the transition and into the future.
"The refuges have never been funded through this contract and we will continue to work with Salford Women’s Aid in providing that service."
What the new provider says
Phil East, CEO of Salford Foundation said: "I am delighted that we have been able to form such a great partnership, building on the different strengths and specialisms of our individual charities.
"Domestic abuse continues to be a significant issue in Salford, affecting people from all backgrounds and contributing to a wide range of harms, disadvantages and poor outcomes.
"Collectively we are determined to create a step-change in tackling domestic abuse in Salford."
Sam Fisher, CEO of TDAS said: "We have designed 'Safe in Salford' to be flexible and accessible, offering person-centred, trauma-informed safety and support.
"We will achieve this by working collaboratively with all our partners in the public, private and voluntary sectors.
"After a successful two years of supporting children and young people in Salford, we look forward to continuing to deliver the Harbour Project and strengthening our relationships within the city to actively address domestic abuse, enabling survivors to break free."
