Women escaping violence are staying in refuges for years due to a lack of alternative social housing, providers say
“Most people would say this is sort of an unprecedented time for refuges,” the refuge worker Julia Dawson said.“We get calls every day from women who are still not in safe situations and at risk of violence … but the women who are high risk get prioritised.”
Tracey Makoni, service delivery manager at DV Connect, said shelters are only funded to house people for up to 12 weeks – but they’re seeing women stay up to three years due to the current housing crisis. “We’re finding that there’s a limited availability of sheltered accommodation for new clients, that are still the escaping violence at any given point,” she said.In some cases, DV Connect advised victims to stay with family or place them in hotels until a space opens up.She said many of the women seeking refuge are not eligible for financial support due to their visa status. Others can’t compete with other would-be tenants when making rental applications, due to their incomes.
“The only thing holding them back is [a] lack of alternative [social] housing,” Makoni said. “But then there’s also the long waiting list … of eight years.”
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