Women's Aid Distributes Victim Fund

Women's Aid has agreed to distribute a new government fund aimed at supporting survivors of abuse who are impacted by the Early Release Scheme (ERS). The charity will work in partnership with Welsh Women's Aid, Rape Crisis England and Wales, and other specialist organisations to deliver the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Victims' Fund. This fund is intended to help survivors access necessary support through local services.

Farah Nazeer, Chief Executive of Women's Aid, said the fund is one of several measures needed to improve survivor safety and confidence within the context of the scheme. "Our mission is to be there when women and children most need us," she stated.

Partnership for Support

The partnership aims to address the anticipated increased demand for help from survivors following an offender's early release. Sara Kirkpatrick, Chief Executive of Welsh Women's Aid, emphasised the vital need for survivors to access support. Amelia Handy, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at Rape Crisis England & Wales, described the situation as "unchartered territory" and expressed extreme concern about the scheme's impact on survivors and specialist services.

Limitations and Ongoing Concerns

Women's Aid has been clear that this limited funding cannot eradicate the impacts of the early release scheme, including the increased danger survivors may face. The responsibility for managing these risks, the organisation states, rests with statutory services like probation. Nazeer argued that the fund cannot replace strong statutory systems or shoulder the risk that sits with those services.

The charity continues to call for robust risk assessments and additional safeguards to accompany the funding. Women's Aid firmly believes the correct approach is to exclude perpetrators of violence against women and girls from the Early Release Scheme entirely. It has called for an independent assessment from HM Inspector of Probation before the scheme proceeds.

Fund Launch and Next Steps

The government wants the Victims' Fund to be launched in October. Women's Aid is working to build the systems needed for delivery and will post updates on its website in September. These updates will inform organisations supporting directly affected victims about what help is available and how to access it. Survivors in need of support are directed to find details of their local service via the Women's Aid website.

The fund is seen as a practical step to help specialist services manage increased demand and improve liaison between state services and survivors. The goal is to ensure those managing risk have a fuller understanding of survivors' fears and experiences. However, Women's Aid remains clear that funding alone cannot make an unsafe early release scheme safe.