North Yorkshire Deputy Mayor responds to call for coastal women's refuge
THE Deputy Mayor of York and North Yorkshire has not committed to delivering a women’s refuge in an area with the ‘highest rate of reported domestic abuse’.
The North Yorkshire coast urgently needs a women’s refuge, according to the MP for Scarborough and Whitby, but the county’s deputy mayor has not said if one will be delivered or is being actively considered.
Alison Hume MP recently highlighted that Scarborough has the highest rate of reported domestic abuse in North Yorkshire and her constituents need a women’s refuge on the coast to allow them to “move on from their isolating and traumatic experiences of domestic abuse”.
“I urge the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority to deliver a women’s refuge on the coast,” the MP said in Parliament last week.
Jo Coles, the deputy mayor for policing, fire and crime, said that “reducing violence against women and children is a key priority” for her and the elected Mayor, David Skaith.
However, she did not say whether delivering a women’s refuge on the coast was being actively considered by the authority.
“Over the last two years we’ve been working closely with specialist support services and local housing providers to ensure the right accommodation is available for anyone facing domestic abuse,” she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).
The Deputy Mayor added: “First and foremost, the priority should be to keep victims and children in the family home.
"However, other housing options are also often needed too, sometimes just for a short time.
“We will continue to work closely with IDAS and other partners to ensure we have the right balance of housing provision for victims as well as the other services and support needed to keep people safe on the coast and across York and North Yorkshire.”
Two women’s centres have been commissioned and opened by the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority in York and in Scarborough to provide “safe, women-only spaces offering holistic and trauma-informed support”.
Speaking ahead of the opening of the women’s centre in Scarborough last year, Ms Coles said: “The mayor and I are determined to tackle the levels of violence against women and girls in our region and to deliver safe places for all.
"It has been great to see so many partners sharing that vision at this week’s open day for our new women’s centre in Scarborough.
“One in four women will be a victim of domestic abuse during the course of their lifetime and last year in York and North Yorkshire support services worked with over 14,000 victims and survivors of domestic and sexual abuse.
“This new women’s centre will deliver a step change in the support available to women in Scarborough and the surrounding area.”