Learn more & stay updated
Follow our progress and see how your voice is shaping this vital work.
Contact us
If you or someone you work with would like to be involved, please get in touch.
Email [email protected] or [email protected].
Routes to Safety
Enhancing referrals to make victims of domestic abuse safer, sooner.
Routes to Safety is new research from SafeLives that looks at how identity affects a survivor’s journey to safety. The study uses data from more than 30,000 cases and shows clear inequalities for survivors with marginalised or intersecting identities.
Funded by the Nuffield Foundation, the report reveals that a persons identity, such as race, disability, sexuality, and age, can significantly affect how long abuse lasts, how quickly survivors access support and that services are not set up to meet multiple, complex needs.
- New research shows that survivors of domestic abuse face stark inequalities in their journey to safety, with experiences shaped by identity.
- Disabled survivors experience longer abuse, higher risk, and worse outcomes across all measures.
- LGBTQ+ survivors are among the least likely to access support, and most report significant mental health needs.
- Older survivors (51+) from racially minoritised backgrounds experience the longest durations of abuse.
- Younger survivors can face shorter abuse periods but higher risk levels at first contact with services.
- White women endure domestic abuse for nearly 6 years before receiving effective support. For Asian/ Asian British women, the average duration is almost 7.5 years – and for Asian/ Asian British disabled women, it stretches to nearly 9 years.
- Perpetrators frequently weaponise identity, exploiting disability, immigration status, or sexuality to control survivors.
Read the full press release here.
Why this research matters
Victims/survivors with intersecting marginalised identities often experience additional challenges when seeking safety, such as:
- Discrimination within services
- Lack of culturally competent support
- Fear of being disbelieved or criminalised
- Barriers related to immigration status, disability, or LGBTQ+ identity
These barriers can mean victims/survivors do not receive the right help at the right time, leaving them at risk.
Our research provides critical insights to improve how victims/survivors are identified and referred across multi-agency settings, ensuring that no one is left behind.
By identifying these challenges, Routes to Safety will help drive systemic changes so that every survivor- regardless of their identity- can access safety and justice.