(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The Trades Union Congress (TUC) warned that the cutbacks will weaken charities that help such victims to prepare written evidence of their difficulties, in effect leaving them wondering how to make a claim.
The TUC said the government is closing down or cutting support groups, charities and shelters, which help women suffering from violence, rendering them unable to provide the needed advice.
Under the 2009 Welfare Act due, to be implemented in the coming months, victims can receive jobseeker's allowance for up to 24 weeks without having the necessary requirement of actively seeking employment.
"The Government has paid lip service to the importance of violence against women services while at the same time forcing many to close their doors or scale back their work due to funding cuts,” said TUC general secretary Brendan Barber.
"As services are cut and closed, those suffering from domestic violence are left high and dry at a time when they most need support to escape violence and to rebuild their lives,” he added.
Victims are required to provide the written evidence of their situation by a doctor or their support group but that now seems to be problematic.
"Now the Government is decreeing that domestic violence victims must produce written evidence from these very same overstretched and hard-pressed services in order to qualify for a key JSA grace period,” Barber said.
Barber added that the situation around the unemployment benefits for those suffering domestic violence once more underlines the irresponsible handling of regulations and implementation of the cuts by the government.
"By cutting vital support services, and introducing new obstacles and needless red tape, the burden of the cuts is once again falling on some of the most vulnerable people in society," he said.
This comes as Nicola Harwin, chief executive of domestic violence charity Women's Aid, also criticized the squeeze on domestic violence services.
"Not only does this mean that fewer abused women and children will be able to access local services but there are less staff to work with those that do. In some areas there may be no local services at all,” she said.
She also expressed fears that requiring the vulnerable women to provide written accounts of their situation would further undermine their chances of ever receiving the unemployment benefit that is essential to give them enough time to resettle into a new life before they could get back to work.
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