With your help, we will keep building hope for survivors of domestic abuse

Editorial: Readers of The Independent and all donors deserve to be applauded for the remarkable ongoing success of our Brick by Brick campaign, which has already paid for two new emergency refuges

The heart-warming success of The Independent’s Brick by Brick campaign means that, very soon, many more women and children will be able to escape domestic violence.

Sufficient funds have now been raised to cover the costs for the construction of another new purpose-built house, with all the comfort, safety and security features to give survivors of such abuse a base from which to restart their lives.

It may not be too much to claim that such places save lives, and certainly restore hope. The Independent is grateful not only to those who have responded so generously to the call but also to the outstanding work of the charity Refuge. With every £15 donated contributing, conceptually, to a single brick in a refuge, there is every reason to continue this work – because there is still so much of this abuse going on.

There has long been a grievous shortage of any kind of alternative housing for those escaping violence and coercion, a situation in more recent times exacerbated by the broader housing crisis and a general shortage of emergency local authority accommodation. But, brick by brick, the places are being created, and with them many more fresh starts for women and their families.

The work that Refuge and others in the field have done has also raised awareness, as have the efforts of politicians such as Theresa May and Rosie Duffield – and, not least, the support offered by Queen Camilla and other high-profile figures to the campaign.

It is an honour for The Independent to be praised by Abigail Ampofo, interim chief executive of Refuge, who says the charity has been “utterly blown away by the success” of the Brick by Brick campaign. She credits it as playing a key role in “kickstarting a national discussion” on domestic abuse.

Britain has come some way since the original refuge movement pioneered by brave women such as Erin Pizzey, who set up the first hostel for abused women in the world in London in 1971, and who also founded the Refuge charity, still going strong. Culturally, casual domestic abuse is no longer regarded as normal, and the police are more responsive to what they once dismissed as “just a domestic”. The Starmer government has committed to halving violence against women and girls within a decade, though it was disappointing that there was no interim target set at the time of the last “reset”.

The official data confirms that male violence against women and girls remains at horrifically high levels, with around 1.6 million women experiencing domestic abuse in the year ending March 2024. We should as a society be constantly pressing to bear down on such an obscenity. The case of Gisele Pelicot in France should also remind us of the gender-based sexual depravity apparently unremarkable men are capable of.

So, such progress as there has been since even darker times gives no cause for complacency, and it remains the case that the provision of high-quality housing support for domestic abuse survivors is grossly inadequate to the challenge. It remains the case that, on average, one woman is killed by a partner or ex-partner every five days, and one in four women are subjected to domestic abuse in their lives in England and Wales.

The chronic national shortage of safe spaces means a woman trying to escape is turned away from a refuge every two hours across the country. Around six in 10 women fleeing domestic abuse who requested a space in a refuge in England between April 2022 and March 2023 were denied a place.

Behind these statistics are innocent people living in danger. Without somewhere to go, a woman, and her children, are left trapped and terrified, at the mercy of their partner, with no hope of happiness – the mental torture as fearful as the physical pain. The harrowing accounts we report of the women affected are testament to this hidden evil.

It is entirely appropriate that, at this time of the year, such a special one for children, we should reflect on the achievements thus far and resolve to redouble our efforts on the Brick by Brick campaign. It is about building awareness of the scale of the problem and building hope as much as new homes for the survivors. With that thought, happy Christmas.

Please donate now to the Brick by Brick campaign, launched by The Independent and charity Refuge, to help raise £300,000 to build a safe space for women where they can escape domestic abuse, rebuild their lives and make new futures

Be a brick, buy a brick and donate here – or text BRICK to 70560 to donate £15

The national domestic abuse helpline offers support for women on 0808 2000 247, or you can visit the Refuge website. There is a dedicated men’s advice line on 0808 8010 327