Domestic Abuse Supported Accommodation (DASA)

The DLUHC grant condition requires this money to be spent providing support for victim/survivors of domestic abuse in supported accommodation. It cannot be used for accommodation costs or for capital expenditure. It is intended that allocation to providers be via a contract.

The 2021 guidance describes domestic abuse support within relevant safe accommodation as:

This list of support is not an exhaustive list and other relevant support services can be put in place (based on victims' needs).

Authorities must ensure that support commissioned under this duty is provided to victims of domestic abuse, including their children, who reside in relevant safe accommodation as described in section (section A3) of this guidance.

The 2021 guidance also sets out definitions of Supported Accommodation. The guidance limits support to accommodation-based support and does not include other support which may be provided to victims of domestic abuse for example in community-based locations.

• Refuge accommodation - a refuge offers accommodation and intensive support which is tied to that accommodation. Victims, including their children, have to be refuge residents to access expert emotional and practical support.

• Specialist safe accommodation - safe accommodation which provides dedicated specialist support to victims with relevant protected characteristics and/or complex needs (also known as 'by and for'), such as specialist refuges for BAME, LGBT, and disabled victims and their children

• Dispersed accommodation - Safe (secure and dedicated to supporting victims of domestic abuse), self-contained accommodation with the same level of specialist domestic abuse support as provided within a refuge but which may be more suitable for victims who are unable to stay in a refuge with communal spaces due to complex support needs or for families with teenage sons for example.

• Safe (secure and dedicated to supporting victims of domestic abuse), self-contained 'semi-independent' accommodation which is not within a refuge but with support for victims who may not require the intensive support offered through refuge, but are still at risk of abuse from their perpetrator/s.

• Sanctuary Schemes properties with local authority installed Sanctuary Schemes or other similar schemes which provide enhanced physical security measures within a home. A Sanctuary Scheme is a survivor centred initiative which aims to make it possible for victims of domestic abuse to remain in their own homes, where it is safe for