Refuges

A refuge is a safe place for you to stay if you need to leave home because of domestic abuse. You can take your children with you, if you have any.

Refuge provision comes in all shapes and sizes. There are three key types.

• Shared Refuges: a flat or house in which different families share facilities such as kitchens, living rooms and bathrooms. Shared refuges may also contain additional communal facilities, such as children’s rooms and on-site Women’s Aid offices.
• Cluster Refuges: a number of separate flats grouped together in the same building/complex. The flats may be shared or used to accommodate only one family at a time (‘single occupancy’), and as with shared refuges, clusters may contain additional communal facilities.
• Dispersed Flats: individual flats spread across an area, usually used as single occupancy accommodation.

It can be harder for you to seek help and escape from domestic abuse if you are disabled or have a disabled child. Although there are fewer facilities for disabled women and children, there are a number of refuges and Women’s Aid offices that have been specially adapted.

Even if your local group doesn’t have suitable accommodation, you can be referred to a refuge in another area that would be better suited to your needs.

If you would prefer to seek help from a group that specialises in working with black and minority ethnic women and children who have experienced abuse, there are two in Scotland:

Hemat Gryffe Women’s Aid

0141 353 0859

Shakti Women’s Aid

0131 475 2399

Confidentiality statement

Confidentiality is very important, the refuge addresses and telephone numbers are not made public, for everyone’s safety. You must be very careful who you give this information to, even if you trust them, they might be put in a difficult position if your abuser thinks they will know how to contact you.

If you have a mobile phone, you might think about keeping it switched off, so that you can’t be contacted.