“No! There Must Be No Changes To Our Mealticket!”

Domestic violence refuges are being closed across the country in a crisis that is putting support for the most vulnerable women and children back 40 years...

Says…well, anyone we should listen to?

… leading charities have warned.

Ah. The usual rentseeking crowd. That’ll be a ‘no’ then…

And for once, it’s not a ‘crisis’ caused entirely by the ‘terrible Tory cuts’, but – in a delicious irony – partly by equality legislation:

Specialist safe houses for women and children – which were forged out of the feminist movement in the 1970s – are being forced to shut by some local authorities because they do not take in male victims. In other areas, refuges are facing closure in favour of preventive work and support in the community or being replaced with accommodation provided by housing associations.

There follows the usual tales of woe from all the usual suspects, especially those that support minority groups.

But it’s far from all doom and gloom:

… one of the biggest housing association providers in the UK, Home Group, said none of its 23 refuges had been closed. Rachael Byrne, director of care and support at the association, said: "Local authorities have the unenviable task of coping with shrinking budgets and increased demand for services. We've developed more flexible services, which include floating support for survivors of domestic violence, [many of whom] tell us they do not want or need to upturn their lives by moving into a refuge."

How terribly selfish of them! Don’t they realise that they are potentially depriving a graduate of Chip On Shoulder Identity Politics a job running a women’s refuge or DV outreach service?