Blog: Inside the room - the case for effective funding and collaboration to halve violence against women and girls

11 July 2025

Earlier this year, I had the privilege of speaking at the Home Affairs Select Committee on behalf of Hestia, alongside leaders from across the domestic abuse and sexual violence sector. We came together to share our experiences, raise the voices of survivors, and to urge the Government to address the ongoing challenges in funding for services to tackle Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG). 

Sarah Fulham at HASC roundtable

The Committee’s newly published report confirms what so many of us already know: violence against women and girls remains a national emergency. In 2022–23, VAWG accounted for 20% of all recorded crime. While we all welcome the Government’s commitment to halve VAWG within the next decade, this goal will only be possible if backed by sustainable investment and an approach that unites communities - and Government – in prevention and support.  

During the session, I sat alongside Ghadah Alnasseri (Imkaan), Ellie Butt (Refuge), and Leyla Buran (White Ribbon UK). We highlighted the immense pressures facing our services, the challenges of short term and fragmented funding, and what’s needed to truly to change the story for victims and survivors. 

You can read the full report here:

 Read the full report 

At Hestia, our work is focused not just on supporting survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence but also on supporting people to safety and preventing abuse before it escalates. Below, I’ve outlined our three key funding priorities that we believe will help turn the tide on VAWG: 

1. Awareness and early intervention  

Investment in public awareness to help individuals recognise abuse and access support early is vital. People experiencing abuse may endure up to 50 incidents before seeking help and 85% of victims sought help on average five times from professionals in the year before they got effective help[1].This can happen for many reasons – it takes time to recognise you are experiencing abuse, to muster up the courage to seek help, as well as to find out who to turn to for support. This is often compounded by  a lack of understanding amongst those who are approached for support – including the emergency services.  

To address these barriers, information and access to support must be available in ways that work for people - in person, on the high street, and digitally – as it is through Hestia’s refuges and community services, our Safe Spaces, Online Safe Spaces and Bright Sky App. 

Currently we finance our services for children who have experienced abuse philanthropic partnerships, despite clear public benefit and children being recognised in legislation as victims in their own right.  We have specialist child wellbeing practitioners and children and family workers in refuges who deliver CBT-based interventions, support parents, and build links to CAMHS and school support. This early intervention helps to families to rebuild their lives, break the cycle of abuse and prevent longer term harm.  

2. Sustainable funding for refuges as trauma services  

Refuges are more than a roof over peoples’ heads – they’re trauma recovery services. Women and children arriving at our doors have often endured years of fear and harm at the hands of their perpetrators and need holistic support, delivered by skilled staff in safe, healing environments. Yet too often, refuges are operating with skeletal teams and insufficient resources. 

We need long-term, stable funding that recognises the importance and complexity of this work and enables services to provide consistent care, recruit and retain expert staff, and to continuously build-on and improve what works. 

3. The role of employers and business in prevention  

An often-overlooked solution lies in the workplace. With 34 million people in work across the UK, employers have a powerful role to play both in supporting employees experiencing abuse and in reaching wider audiences through their platforms.  

Our national initiatives with business and employers at Hestia demonstrate this works. For example, our Everyone’s Business team has worked with 250 employers reaching 2.2 million employees to recognise and respond to abuse. And, together with banks and pharmacies, we offer 4,500 Safe Spaces on UK High Streets. 

We are calling on the Government to fully recognise the cost-effective and critical role that businesses can play in preventing violence and supporting survivors. 

Being in the room with the Home Affairs Committee was a reminder of how much dedication and expertise exists in our sector. But it also brought home the urgency of this situation. If we are to end – or even halve – VAWG, we need action, collaboration, and sustained funding.