BME women affected by budget cuts

The new 2016 budget cuts proposed by Chancellor George Osborne will negatively affect the lives of BME women in the UK according to an article published in the Guardian today.

The article describes how these cuts will potentially close BME specific services that aim to protect women from domestic violence. With rising numbers of violent crimes against women many women’s groups and BME organisations have protested against the budget cuts to services.

On 8 March the government launched a strategy to end violence against women and girls and announced £80 million funds dedicated to the efforts. But as Mary O’Hare, writer for the Guardian, reports:

BME-specific groups are stressing that the picture at a local level is growing worse by the month.”

Specialist services are struggling to find the funding to continue and abused BME women are suffering the consequences. While new government provisions may support larger domestic violence organisations that provide services to all women, it is still important for specialist services to protect BME women in a comfortable environment that they trust.

The article states

Specialist black and minority ethnic domestic violence services are already under strain. Without ringfenced funding, they will be forced to close,”

and without these services BME women will continue to be subjected to abuse and their needs disregarded.  

Original Story: http://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2016/mar/16/budget-cuts-domestic-violence-services-bme

Mary Schlichte