Under updated statutory guidance the government is calling on councils to ensure that victims in refuges and other temporary housing are prioritised for social housing places.
This would help victims feel more settled and also free up refuge spaces for other victims, the guidance states. The move follows a report by Women's Aid in June, which found that women and children fleeing domestic violence are being forced to sleep rough or "sofa surf" due to a lack of support from councils.
It found that 121 of 264 women supported by its No Woman Turned Away project had been forced to sofa surf, of these 65 had children with them.
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