A high-level meeting with Baroness Gillian Merron, Minister for Women’s Health and Mental Health, and Jess Asato MP, VAWG Advisor at the Department of Health and Social Care, has underlined the urgent need for sustained funding for specialist mental health support for survivors of domestic abuse, as demand continues to outstrip provision and women are left without life-saving care.
Despite repeated warnings, survivors still only have access to short-term, non-specialist NHS services that are not designed to address trauma caused by domestic abuse.
At the meeting, Baroness Merron and Jess Asato acknowledged the critical importance of trauma-informed, specialist mental health care and confirmed that women’s health will be reviewed as part of the forthcoming Women’s Health Strategy. Both recognised that without specialist pathways, survivors will continue to fall through the cracks.
Niki Scordi, Chair of Woman’s Trust, made clear that urgent, sustained funding is essential if women are to access life-changing specialist therapeutic and mental health support after abuse. Evidence from the Domestic Abuse Commissioner shows that counselling is the single most important need identified by survivors – yet it remains dangerously underfunded with no government-funded counselling support for domestic abuse survivors.
The need is immediate. Woman’s Trust says demand for its services now far exceeds available capacity, with twice as many survivors seeking help as the charity can support. At least one in two women referred to the service is currently unable to access the vital mental health care she needs.
As Woman’s Trust marks its 30th year, Niki warned that mainstream mental health services are not equipped to respond to the complex and long-lasting trauma of domestic abuse, leaving women trapped in cycles of crisis, repeat referrals and escalating risk.
She said the widespread reliance on short-term NHS cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is failing survivors. “Women are often offered just two or three sessions before treatment is being wound down,” she said. “It can feel like the plaster has been ripped off and they are left in agony, with no specialist support to help them heal.”
Niki also highlighted the stark reality facing women and girls, who are too often deprioritised within mental health services. With self-harm at record levels among young women and girls, and no clear focus on women’s suicide prevention, survivors experiencing repeated suicide attempts are being discharged without the trauma-informed care needed to keep them safe – and the cycle repeats.
Woman’s Trust provides specialist counselling for survivors of domestic abuse, typically offering up to 18 sessions tailored to each woman’s experience. This approach gives survivors agency, supports long-term recovery and is proven to be cost-effective, reducing repeat crises and pressure on already overstretched NHS services.
Jess Asato MP agreed that for survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence, CBT can deepen trauma and destabilise recovery. She called for improved data on survivor outcomes, clearer specialist pathways and suicide prevention training that reflects the lived realities of women who have experienced abuse.
The meeting formed part of Woman’s Trust’s ongoing Give Survivors Hope campaign. Alongside 100 sector partners, the charity has written to ministers demanding that specialist mental health support for survivors be prioritised within the Health Strategy, backed by dedicated funding of £27 million per year.
Baroness Merron has accepted our invitation to visit Woman’s Trust. Women and frontline staff will be able to speak directly about the real impact of the current funding gap and the urgent need for specialist, trauma-informed mental health support to be properly funded – not as an optional extra, but as a lifeline for women rebuilding their lives, and surviving, after domestic abuse.
Read the Give Survivors Hope report
