“Joint call for some of the most maginalised women in society…”

Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP,
Prime Minister
10 Downing Street,
London
SW1A 2AA

Cc Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP, Rt Hon Robert Buckland MP, Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, Rt Hon Priti Patel MP, Rt Hon Thérèse Coffey MP, Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss MP

2^nd April 2020

Dear Prime Minister,

We are writing as organisations working with and for the most vulnerable women in our society who are at the sharpest end of inequality. There are 1.2 million women and girls in England alone who have experienced extensive violence and abuse during their lifetime. They are much more likely to experience a range of poor outcomes throughout their lives; over half have a mental health problem, one in five experiences homelessness, more than half are living with a disability and they are disproportionately likely to be among the poorest in our society.

These women, those living with multiple disadvantage, are particularly vulnerable to Coronavirus and the impact it is having. We are extremely concerned about their safety. They have little access to money and food, limited means to protect themselves and are much more likely to fall through the cracks in a breakdown of services.

We understand that this is a period of unprecedented pressure, however that must not see the most marginalised women excluded from planning or exposed to the very worst consequences of the pandemic. In particular, we note the following:

• We welcome the continued efforts to protect people who are rough sleeping. We ask that the needs of women are considered in national and local plans, particularly as women are more likely to be “hidden homeless”, that is sleeping out of sight for safety and avoiding male dominated hostels where they are at risk of sexual violence, so may not be known to services. Funding must be allocated for gender specialist services able to find and support these women with safe, single sex accommodation.
• The need to self-isolate or undertake social distancing will have particularly detrimental impacts for victims and survivors of domestic abuse or other forms of violence against women and girls. This policy will also increase women’s vulnerability to exploitation, for instance in forcing women into survival sex, “sex for rent” arrangements or pushing them to form unsafe relationships in exchange for shelter. We ask that the capacity of specialist services that can provide an emergency response, single-sex accommodation and gender specialist support is increased to meet the demand that the Coronavirus outbreak presents.
• Services report that one of the biggest challenges facing women they work with is access to food. Women with multiple disadvantage are disproportionately likely to live in poverty and many struggle to engage with welfare services. It is vital that those administering benefits understand the impacts of abuse and trauma and consider this while they adapt to the restrictions that the pandemic presents. We welcome the announcement of the suspension of reviews and reassessments of disability benefits. There must be a pause on all sanctions and conditionality and resource must be made available to actively reach out to this group of women and ensure they have the financial support they need. There must be an end to No Recourse to Public Funds, which leaves migrant women destitute and can prevent them accessing vital support at a time of crisis.
• A high proportion of women in prison have experience of violence, abuse and poor mental health. They are likely to be even more vulnerable to the outbreak. We welcome the decision to temporarily release pregnant women and mothers and babies in Mother and Baby Units and we urge you to prioritise women in further plans for early release, ensuring they have appropriate support and accommodation in place.

Specialist women’s services, such as women’s centres, safety and advocacy services in the community, refuges and rape crisis centres, respond to the complexity of these issues every day. Many are under significant financial pressure, some even face imminently having to rebid to run their services, creating further drains on resource. To ensure we can reach all women it is vital these services, including specialist criminal justice services and by and for services such as those for Black and minority ethnic (BME), migrant, disabled and LBTQ+ women, are given immediate, emergency secure core funding to enable them to continue to run and adapt to the current environment.

We have highlighted just a few of the important ways in which it is essential to consider the needs of the most disadvantaged women. We hope this perspective will be systematically included in your planning and response to the crisis. We call for women’s representation in your strategic response, for instance by including the Domestic Abuse Commissioner and Victims’ Commissioner in decision making.

We recognise the scale of the challenge facing Government and our public services. We will continue to work closely with women and girls with direct experience of these issues, our members and other organisations to ensure every woman and girl facing addiction, poverty, homelessness, violence and abuse gets the support and protection they need and would welcome the chance to work with you to achieve that goal.

Yours sincerely,

1. Adrienne Darragh, Chief Executive, Hibiscus Initiatives
2. Aisling Duffy, Chief Executive, Certitude
3. Amanda Greenwood, CEO, Lancashire Women
4. Andy Winter, Chief Executive, BHT
5. Angela Everson, Chief Executive, The Women’s Centre
6. Anna Herrmann, Joint Artistic Director, Clean Break
7. Annie Emery, CEO, Manchester Action on Street Health
8. Chris Leeson, Director, The Griffins Society
9. Deborah Coles, Director, INQUEST
10. Donna Covey, CEO, Against Violence & Abuse (AVA)
11. Dr Jenny Earle, Programme Director, Prison Reform Trust
12. Dr Nicola Sharp-Jeffs, CEO, Surviving Economic Abuse
13. Emma Thomas, Chief Executive, YoungMinds
14. Gemma Sciré, Chief Executive Officer, Basis Yorkshire
15. Jemima Olchawski, Chief Executive, Agenda, the alliance for women and girls at risk
16. Jo Gough, CEO, RISE
17. Jo Meagher, Project Manager, Young Women’s Housing Project
18. John Poyton, CEO, Redthread
19. John Trolan, CEO, The Nelson Trust
20. Joy Doal MBE, Chief Executive, Anawim
21. Juliet Hope MBE, Chief Executive, Startup
22. Kate Paradine, Chief Executive, Women in Prison
23. Kathy Roberts, CEO, Association of Mental Health Providers
24. Laura Seebohm, Executive Director, Changing Lives
25. Linda Bryant, Chief Executive, Together for Mental Wellbeing
26. Lisa Dando, Director, Brighton Women’s Centre
27. Mark Winstanley, Chief Executive, Rethink Mental Illness
28. Michelle McHugh, CEO, KairosWWT
29. Naomi Delap, Director, Birth Companions
30. Nicki Norman, Acting Chief Executive, Women’s Aid Federation of England
31. Nik Peasgood, Chief Executive, Leeds Womens Aid
32. Paul Farmer, Chief Executive, Mind
33. Phil Bowen, Director, The Centre for Justice Innovation
34. Professor Sophie Harman, Queen Mary University of London
35. Rick Henderson, CEO, Homeless Link
36. Rokaiya Khan, CEO, Together Women
37. Sara Llewellin, Chief Executive, Barrow Cadbury Trust
38. Sarah Green, Director, End Violence Against Women Coalition
39. Sarah Hughes, Chief Executive, Centre for Mental Health
40. Sarah McManus, CEO, A Way Out
41. Sophie Walker, Chief Executive, Young Women’s Trust
42. Suzanne Jacob, CEO, SafeLives
43. Tessa Denham CEO, Womens Counselling and Therapy Service Leeds