Domestic abuse survivors at risk from councils’ failure to rehouse them

Stock photo of a young man’s fist set against a woman hunched in the background Photograph: Pekka Sakki/REX

People fleeing domestic abuse are being put in danger by local authorities who fail to provide housing for months on end, despite a law which should prioritise them, a new study shows.

Increased legal protections are failing to prevent the “systemic” blocking of support to those fleeing abusive relationships, the report by the Public Interest Law Centrefound. The situation puts survivors of abuse at risk of further trauma or returning to an attacker, the research said.