Time to build a better future – Brick by Brick

The Independent is proud to be able to thank its generous readers and partner organisations for the completion of a new bespoke safe haven for women and their families fleeing domestic abuse.

Our Brick by Brick campaign, launched last September in partnership with the charity Refuge, asked for a £15 contribution per nominal brick for the buildings – and there was an immediate and enthusiastic response to the appeal. Construction of the first purpose-built house has now been completed, with a second to follow soon.

As soon as Refuge’s all-female team of decorators have finished up, the first residents will be welcomed into their secure and safe new home. Of necessity, the location of the properties remains confidential, which will lend additional comfort to those who have been subjected to horrific mental and physical torture.

In particular, Refuge, the Persimmon housebuilding company and its charitable trust have devoted enormous effort and care to the design of these new homes – with flexibility in the accommodation for children and appropriate security measures. Especially thoughtfully, pets are also allowed. These will be places of kindness as well as safety.

In the words of The Independent’s editor-in-chief, Geordie Greig: “This is a monumental achievement, and I’m immensely proud of the role our readers and supporters have played in building this house – Brick by Brick.”

Many politicians, royalty and celebrities have put their status to good use by lending their names to our Brick by Brick campaign, including The Queen, Sir Keir Starmer, Dame Helen Mirren, Dame Joanna Lumley, Olivia Colman, Victoria Derbyshire, Andi Oliver, David Morrissey and Sir Patrick Stewart.

Despite the near ubiquity of domestic abuse, which takes many forms, it rarely dominates the news headlines – another reason why The Independent has backed this effort. It is so much more than an exercise in “raising awareness” – a phrase that is often used but rarely matches up to the challenge of the problem.

As so much domestic violence goes on behind closed doors, police and social services never get to hear of it – but the best estimates of the incidence of this type of violence and its effects are sobering.

Last month, it was revealed that between April 2023 and March 2024, 98 victims of domestic abuse took their own lives – on top of the 80 who were killed by a current or former partner, and the 39 killed by a family member. Coupled with the 354 suspected deaths by suicide following domestic abuse since 2020, that brings the total number of domestic abuse-related deaths this decade to 1,012, according to the government-funded Domestic Homicide Project. There will be many hundreds of thousands more similar cases that have gone unrecorded, if not millions.

One reason for these types of crimes – which are often described as an “epidemic”, and one with a long and often hidden history – is that it is just so difficult for women and children to get away from an abusive man quickly and safely. Without a refuge, they can become trapped in barbaric, controlling relationships.

Shelters such as those provided by Brick by Brick will go a long way to remedying that. From a safe home, damaged people can begin to repair themselves, and their lives. They can also more readily seek what help they can from the authorities, as well as legal advice that will secure them justice. Such things are also crucial in rebuilding lives.

More needs to be done, which is undoubtedly more difficult at a time when there is less money around. The social services departments of local authorities have suffered successive waves of austerity, as have police forces. Yet they are there to save lives and prevent injury, and there can be few better uses for taxpayers’ money. More purpose-built refuges would also be a fine investment, saving on temporary accommodation and trying to fix problems when it is far too late to stop the harm. The children, after all, carry the physical and mental scars for the rest of their lives.

In its election manifesto, the Labour Party tried to build on the pioneering work in this field done by generations of campaigners and some politicians who cared enough to make a difference, notably Theresa May, whose government passed laws on disclosure and “controlling coercive behaviour”.

Mercifully, even in these polarised times, this is not a partisan matter. Labour, in its turn, promised to “introduce domestic abuse experts in 999 control rooms so that victims can talk directly to a specialist, and ensure there is a legal advocate in every police force area to advise victims from the moment of report to trial”.

The party also promised to halve abuse against women and girls (much of it in the home) within a decade. Disconcertingly, the home secretary Yvette Cooper last November had to concede that she didn’t know how to measure “overall violence” against women and girls, nor “how you look at domestic abuse”. Of course, if any government sets a target (even one that may exceed its own lifespan), it needs to be able to quantify its success, but that should be no excuse for not getting on with the job and maintaining that momentum.

The creation of more safe refuges could be transformative in this effort, and it is something that should take its place in the ambitious housebuilding programme being overseen by the deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner.

There are women at the top of government who understand the problem of domestic abuse, are committed to improving the situation of women and girls and have the power and responsibility to do something about it. They should build a better future, brick by brick.