Local government funding cuts have left women ‘fearing for their safety’, according to a survey.
A Unison poll of 7,550 UK women found over a third were concerned for their wellbeing as a direct result of cuts to council services, with more than half thinking local services had got worse in the last year.
Some 71% of respondents said street repairs had deteriorated, while 60% of leisure centre and park users thought their quality had declined.
The trade union said the situation would ‘only get worse’ as cuts continue to ‘devastate’ women’s lives.
Of respondents who use children’s centres, 60% said there was fewer types of support available.
A Freedom of Information request sent by Unison found £82m has been cut from children’s centre budgets since 2010.
The union is calling for a ‘needs-based’ funding system for local government, alongside greater resources and stronger powers.
‘The scale of the cuts in local services is having a disproportionate impact on women’s lives making them feel unsafe, isolated from their communities and preventing them from having a social and professional life,’ Dave Prentis Unison general secretary said.
‘Women are being hit hardest by the cuts. They are hit as workers in local government where they struggle with low pay, increasing workloads and the constant threat of redundancies. And they are also hit as service users as some mothers rely on children’s centres for childcare and other public services for their families.
‘Cuts to welfare, housing, childcare support and social care have already squeezed what women can afford. And the threat of further cuts will hold women back even more.’
