Women’s Refuge “ecstatic” at increase in funding

An announcement made this morning by Government for a significant boost in funding to social services, including the increase in funding for Women’s Refuge, has been met with relief and gratitude by the underfunded sector. At a breakfast hosted by the Salvation Army, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni announced an increase of 76.2 million over four years to fund the family violence sector service.

Women’s Refuge Chief Executive Dr Ang Jury says, “We are immensely relieved that this government is financially committed to addressing the chronic underfunding of these critical services to vulnerable women and children.”

The increase in funding, a 30 percent increase of their current funding level, comes as a relief to Women’s Refuge as they scramble to meet the increase in demand for their services.

“We over deliver on all our family and domestic violence services, and to be able to deliver these now without the pressure of accessing added funding means that we can extend our reach to more women and children wanting to live a violence free life.”

“Our baseline funding has remained static for the last nine years, and while the previous government has made significant progress in the justice area, particularly for victims of family violence, we are pleased to see this government adequately funding the vital services we provide around the clock to families around Aotearoa.”