We have published new research using our On Track national dataset into the reasons why referrals into refuge services are unsuccessful. We looked at data from 62 refuge services across England in the financial year 2022-23 and found three main reasons why referrals into refuge were unsuccessful. Out of all the unsuccessful referrals we found three main reasons why they were rejected: the refuge service did not have the capacity to support the client (40.6%), the survivor did not accept the refuge space (35.4%) and that the referral was inappropriate (18.0%).

Our research found that the main barrier to women accessing refuge is that they are under-funded and under-resourced and do not have the capacity to keep up with the demand for their service. In this environment, it is often the survivors who have multiple and intersecting support needs who face the most barriers to accessing refuge.

It is for this reason that we are continuing to call on the government to invest £427 million per year, as a minimum, to fund specialist women-led and ‘by and for’ domestic abuse services in England. A fully funded whole-system approach will contribute to more efficient referral pathways by increasing the number of bedspaces and specialist service provision so all survivors can access refuge when they need it.