Hundreds of pregnant domestic abuse victims escape their partners each year – but support for them is dwindling

More than 1,200 survivors who accessed support last year were pregnant, while a further 11,007 – 58 per cent – had children, according to Women's Aid

More than 100 pregnant women have been detained in UK removal centres in the past two years, despite a government-commissioned review recommending the Home Office ban the practice in 2016 (Getty)

One in 15 domestic abuse survivors are pregnant when they escape their partners, figures suggest, as campaigners warn that “squeezed” services are increasingly struggling to meet demand.

Data collated from 49 domestic abuse organisations in England show that 1,253 women who accessed support last year were pregnant, while a further 11,007 – 58 per cent – had children.

Women's Aid, which collated the figures, is warning that the domestic abuse services which offer a “vital lifeline” to mothers and their children are increasingly unable to meet demand, as "funding uncertainties and budget squeezes" force them to reduce the amount of support they can offer families.

The charity said the “ongoing funding crisis” had meant that nearly one in ten refuges and one in five community-based services who responded to its annual survey received no local authority funding in 2017/18.

More than half of responding organisations were running an area of their domestic abuse service without any dedicated funding, and just under a third of services had been forced to reduce the amount of support they provided to each survivor and her children since 2014.

The charity raised concerns that mothers were being threatened that their children would be removed from their care because of the abuse the family is experiencing at home.

Amna Abdullatif, Children and Young People’s Officer at Women’s Aid, said taking children into care was “not the answer” because “it only puts the survivor and her children at further risk”, and that the best solution was to support both the mother and her children together.

“Domestic abuse often starts or even escalates during pregnancy, while the majority survivors trying to escape their abusive partner will be fleeing with children,” she said.

Separate research by Women’s Aid found that just under half of refuge vacancies could accommodate a woman with two children, while less than one in five could accommodate a woman with three children, due to the size of the rooms available.

“No woman and her children should be turned away from the support they desperately need because the service does not have the space or capacity to support them. No woman and her children should be forced to face domestic abuse alone,” Ms Abdullatif added.

“That’s why this Mother’s Day we want to continue working with the government to find a long-term and sustainable funding solution with national oversight for all domestic abuse services. Only then can we ensure that every survivor and her children can get the specialist support they need to safely escape domestic abuse and rebuild their lives free from fear and abuse.”

It comes amid growing concern over a lack of support for domestic abuse survivors, with a recent report by the National Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence and Multiple Disadvantage Experts warning that opportunities to provide support were frequently missed amid a lack of “professional curiosity”.

Campaigners have also raised concerns that police forces are failing to protect victims by not using existing powers to tackle domestic violence, rape, harassment and stalking.

The Centre for Women’s Justice (CWJ) submitted a super-complaint to a national watchdog earlier this month which accused the police of a “systemic failure” to protect a “highly vulnerable section” of the population.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Domestic abuse is a devastating crime that shatters the lives of victims and families. We are determined to support victims and survivors and their children, and bring perpetrators to justice.

“Our landmark draft Domestic Abuse Bill and consultation response published in January includes measures to help the police tackle domestic abuse, including the creation of a domestic abuse protection order and the establishment of a domestic abuse commissioner, who will have a duty to consider the impact of domestic abuse on children.

“We have also committed £8m in funding specifically to support children affected by domestic abuse, in recognition of the significant impact domestic abuse can have on children.”