DIRECT action group Sisters Uncut occupied one of the London borough of Hackney’s many empty council flats earmarked for demolition yesterday, in protest against a lack of safe, secure housing for victims of domestic violence.

Homelessness has skyrocketed in the city, with domestic violence cited as the main reason for homelessness by one in eight applicants to local councils.

Yet a “scarcity of secure social housing” and “deep cuts” to refuge funding means survivors are regularly being turned away or housed in unsafe temporary accommodation.

Domestic violence support worker Lean McNulty warned that the options available to women fleeing domestic violence are “insecure, disruptive and frightening.”

Ms McNulty warned that “councils across London place women and children in shared mixed hostels for years on end, palm them off to the unaffordable and insecure private sector or place them out of London.”

Women approaching local authorities for housing “are almost always turned away, unless they have children.”

Domestic violence charity Hackney Refuge is forced to turn away more than half of women seeking help, yet despite this the council has 1,047 social homes currently lying empty.

The council plans to sell 915 homes to developers, whose properties will almost certainly be unaffordable for local residents.

The all-female group, famous for other direct actions such as dying the Trafalgar Square fountains red in protest against cuts to domestic violence charities, have also warned that the Housing and Planning Act, rushed through parliament in May, will compound these issues.

They say the Act will “increase homelessness and polarise communities,” and cause rent rises and evictions.

A Hackney councillor has revealed that 700 council houses could be lost in the first five years of the policy alone. Sisters Uncut have occupied one of these empty homes and said they will continue to do so until Hackney Council meets their demands.

These include non-compliance with the Tories’ Housing and Planning Act, filling the empty homes, stopping the sale of social housing and stopping using hostels for survivors of domestic violence. Sisters Uncut have transformed the home, which is due to be demolished, into a community centre with the support of local residents. 

In response Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Housing Cllr Philip Glanville said: “We take our duty to survivors of domestic violence extremely seriously, and do everything we can to make sure they get the right support and appropriate accommodation. I look forward to meeting campaigners to discuss their concerns and how together we can press the government for better help and funding in tackling the housing crisis.”

“Despite government cuts, we increased spending on domestic violence support last year, as well as funding the third highest number of refuge spaces in London. We work closely with charities and other organisations to provide a safe place for anyone suffering domestic abuse, as well as training professionals to help more victims obtain court injunctions against violent partners.

“I look forward to a debate about how we continue to fight the Government’s damaging cuts to services in Hackney.”