Victims of domestic abuse in Newcastle are facing “unacceptable” waits to get help.
City leaders have warned that support services for women and girls who have suffered from domestic violence are oversubscribed and operating with waiting lists. Councillors heard on Thursday that the trend was “deeply worrying” as the number of recorded domestic abuse crimes in the city continues to rise.
A report to Newcastle City Council’s overview and scrutiny committee stated that there were 5,345 recorded in Newcastle in 2021/22, an increase of more than 200 compared to two years earlier, and that 557 victims were identified as being at high risk. It reported that a city refuge service is “typically full” and outreach services are “consistently at capacity or with a waiting list”, as is sexual violence counselling service.
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Labour councillor Lesley Storey, the council’s cabinet member responsible for community safety, said: “Waiting lists are concerning, that is deeply worrying. Right across the country it is not unusual at all for there to be waiting lists in terms of getting the services that victims need.”
Warning that city authorities do not have sufficient funding to meet the demand for support, she added: “Domestic violence is an epidemic in our society. It is something we have worked on for a very long time to put the right things in place.
“But we don’t have the resources to put in place the services we would like and to ensure that all victims have the access to services that we would like them to have. All services are struggling with demand issues and we need more resources to put that in place if we are to address this.
“I can’t pretend that everything is wonderful – it isn’t. It is a really very difficult issue and you are right to pick up on the issue around waiting lists. It is unacceptable.”
Responding to questions from Liberal Democrat Wendy Taylor, Coun Storey said that the length of waiting times “depends on what service you are looking for” – but that any high risk individual would get help within three days.
A total of 41% of domestic abuse sufferers in Newcastle are repeat victims and there have been increased numbers of victims who are men, from minority backgrounds, and who are over 55. The areas of the city with the most reports of domestic abuse incidents are Byker, Walker, and Elswick, followed by Kingston Park and Walkergate.
The report adds: “The high cost of living, and energy cost increases are placing a strain on families which will increase the risk of those living with domestic abuse with the potential for more severity of incidents. There are currently long waiting times to access mental health services with the result that local domestic abuse services are holding cases where there are significant mental health concerns with limited options to refer to other appropriate services.
“We anticipate that Newcastle MARAC [Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conferences] will continue to deal with high numbers of high-risk victims of domestic abuse. We also foresee that demand for services/supports across both domestic and sexual violence service will continue to increase with potential for waiting lists across most services.”
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