Black, minority ethnic and refugee women, domestic violence and access to housing

There is evidence that people from black, minority ethnic and refugee backgrounds find it difficult to access services, and are less likely to be aware of housing options available to them. This is particularly apparent for black, minority ethnic and refugee women experiencing domestic violence, who may face barriers to services based on their gender, ethnicity and social status. These problems may be exacerbated by obstacles to reporting abuse, such as protecting family honour or normalising and accepting violence. A lack of specialist refuge spaces and an absence of clear guidelines for involving specialist agencies in policy, service development and evaluation mean that there is often low recognition of domestic violence within housing policy.