Did hundreds of domestic abuse cases in Cardiff disappear during the pandemic?
Current and former staff have accused domestic abuse service Cardiff Women’s Aid of manipulating waiting lists and dropping cases from nearly two hundred to barely five in 2022.
Staff have also raised major concerns about the treatment of survivors, poor working conditions and an underfunded support system.
By Oojal Kour. Cover image, CWA offices at the time of the alleged incidents.
*All names have been changed at the interviewees’ request.
Cardiff Women’s Aid (CWA), a domestic and sexual violence support service for women and children, has been accused of manipulating waiting lists so they appear shorter to their funder, Cardiff Council, leaving clients in the dark, desperately hoping for a callback.
Five former and current employees have alleged that senior management effectively deleted around 200 cases of women who still required vital support, and have revealed two such incidents since 2022.
Cardiff Women’s Aid have denied the claims, saying that: “We can categorically deny that CWA has ever manipulated waiting lists or dropped domestic abuse cases.”
Hazel*, who still works at CWA, told voice.cymru that the service ended up with year-long waiting periods for its clients in July 2022, which were suddenly reduced by clearing out cases to avoid interrogations from Cardiff Council.
“We’d been short-staffed for quite long, [so] we ended up having lengthy waiting lists for over a year,” she said. “Obviously, if the council questions it, if they start to dig deep, and they find we’re not meeting the needs of the client, that means the funding is not going to be extended.
“They just closed the cases on the system so we look like we don’t have any waiting list. It was a year-long waiting list, and we came down, I believe, from 200 plus in cases to 3-5 clients. The majority of the cases have been closed under the code ‘All support needs are met’. But this is not the truth.”
This was also alleged by former staff member Jennifer*, who said, “I remember thinking to myself, how the hell have we done that? I sort of came to understand that something quite odd had happened.”
Hazel explains how the staff first discovered that something was strange with the waiting lists. “We ended up having calls from clients literally every day, asking when will we be allocating a support worker, which is normal because you’re on the waiting list for one year.”
“One client was calling back and said, ‘I’m waiting for you guys to call me, there is no contact being made’. We were checking the case and found out that it is closed. So we discussed that at the office immediately, like, what’s going on? Instead of being honest and open, they [management] ended up closing cases.”
In order to protect the funding the charity received from the Council, there were times that the management would also prioritise Council referrals over others, according to Anna*, a former assistant manager.
“They’re so focused on keeping the funding, it didn’t matter to what extent,” Anna said, explaining how the management fiddled with the waiting list numbers to misdirect the Council about the amount of support being offered. “They just wanted to look good to the Council. There were many grievances [cases] that were not dealt with, they were just: Dismiss, dismiss, dismiss.”
Katie*, another former staff member at CWA, also recalls a similar instance. “I remember it was [in] July, and they wanted a full day of everybody coming together, being on duty, ‘smashing the inbox’ and everything. And all of a sudden, it [inbox] just went down to almost zero. This is quite concerning because most clients weren’t called.
Jennifer also raised the issue of data “retrospectively being changed” in some cases, such as false referrals to high-risk victims, and altering personal information when referring victims to the Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC).
A MARAC is a meeting where high-risk domestic abuse cases are discussed by representatives from specialist teams like the police, child protection, health, housing and independent domestic violence advisors. The primary focus of a MARAC meeting is to decide the next steps of how to protect the victim and decide an action plan for them.
Jennifer revealed that in one instance, even though the client database said that a MARAC form was filled for a high-risk victim, there was no such record of it on the system.
“You have to fill in information about being referred to the MARAC, but there was no information [on the case management system]. It was just filled in with no actual form, so there’s nobody to hold accountable for that.”
Despite questioning the higher-ups about it, she never received a direct response. “They made it look like something had been done when it hadn’t,” Jennifer said. “When you question, ‘When did this referral go out? Have we got any feedback from it? Are we referring it to the police or other services?’, they’d just be like, ‘Oh, I don’t know what that is, we don’t want to talk about it.’
“Nothing is ever explained to people on the ground. There’s a lot of reluctance to actually give you an estimate of how long things are going to take — a lot of the time you’d refer them [clients] and then the referral would magically go missing.”
“They wanted to delete the evidence.”
Although the staff were already aware of the management’s misconduct, another serious issue emerged when the client database system was replaced entirely within a month.
The problem wasn’t the new system, but the little room it left for personal client information like identity, age, address and health data to be properly transferred onto the next system.
Hazel suspected ulterior motives: “I have a feeling that it’s because they wanted to delete the evidence that happened indoors,” referring to the reduction of waiting lists and deleting domestic abuse cases. “On a new system, they can control which information they transfer.”
When the staff began raising concerns, the management instructed them to manually add all the personal client information. But when you deal with thousands of clients each month, recalling every single detail is nearly impossible.
The situation worsened when Hazel found massive information gaps in cases she had previously handled. “I remember I put this referral, I remember this information being there, but it’s not there [anymore].”
When confronted, managers dismissed these concerns with vague answers. “They [managers] were like, ‘Obviously there is no perfect system’. They shut you down straightforwardly. They know you know something.”
Cardiff Women’s Aid has denied this allegation, saying that “CWA has never closed cases to reduce waiting lists.”
The testimonies paint a grim picture for the domestic violence support service that prides itself on being a platform for women and “trusted to represent the voice of survivors of gender-based violence in Cardiff”.
“The service is supposed to be for people in really difficult situations,” Jennifer said. “It was completely lost on a lot of the management that this was supposed to be a crisis service, that these people are ringing us and they need immediate help. They weren’t worried about the waiting list; they were more worried about the KPIs and not meeting targets.”
“There’s no stability for clients.”
CWA runs three services: RISE, Cardiff Women’s Centre and Safe AS, which offer support through helplines, online chats and a drop-in facility at the Cardiff Royal Infirmary in Adamsdown.
However, the staff said that a lack of proper infrastructure makes it difficult for staff workers to meet their clients in complete confidentiality.
“The Cardiff Royal Infirmary keeps breaking down; it’s not purpose-built,” Anna said. “So they put everybody in another building, and none of the rooms are confidential. While somebody’s sitting in reception, you can hear the other person in the room crying. I brought this up with management, and their response was, ‘Well, put a radio on.’”
Jennifer recalls another typical instance she would encounter. “Sometimes there would be emails that were four days old, that had a voicemail attached to them from somebody saying, ‘I’m wandering around the streets at the moment, I just need somewhere to go. I don’t know what to do’. Four days old, and nobody has spoken to them.
“There’s no stability for clients. The only thing they need in the world is consistency and stability of having somebody support them.”
Katie recalls being forced to meet a client in a busy cafe despite having booked a meeting room in advance. “That room was taken up by the director and the managers.”
She adds, “My client was really distressed, and I had to take her to the Cardiff Royal Infirmary cafe when it’s really busy. You’ve got nurses, doctors, the public coming in. She was sat there in the middle, pouring her heart out to me. It’s not confidential, but there was nowhere else that I could take her.”
Cardiff Council said that they haven’t been made aware of any infrastructure or operational issues.
In another instance, Katie revealed that a high-risk PPN had come through, but when a worker tried making the call, they couldn’t get through.
A PPN, or Public Protection Notice, is a secure way to exchange information in domestic abuse incidents, which have been recorded by the police.
She adds, “We can only call the numbers that are put on the PPN, in terms of it being a safe number. If we can’t get through, we do not call any other number, we do not text. A line manager said, ‘Text her. We’re doing it differently now.’
“This client was actually put at a high risk.”
Ultimately, Katie believes that the refuge has just “lost its purpose” because “there’s nobody in the refuge to actually support the clients”. “Where’s this client meant to be with their child? Or if they’re heavily pregnant? Or if they have a disability? It’s just crazy how bad [the situation] is.”
Around February 2023, when waiting lists began to escalate again, the management decided to reduce the hour-long face-to-face support sessions to just 30 minutes over the phone.
Hazel said, “This is an emotional support [system]. It’s not about checking in with a friend over text. People are going through very difficult situations. Imagine not seeing the client because ‘it’s not important anymore’.”
On top of that, staff members were told to offer just 12 weeks of support to the victims, but Jennifer argues that “it takes longer than 12 weeks to get somebody out of their house, sort out bank accounts”.
“That’s not fair on them,” she says. “A lot happens in that period. They could’ve gone back to the relationship, left the relationship, found out they were pregnant. Life changes so quickly.”
Despite this, Jennifer said that the managers would brag about the volume of calls answered each month. “What about the hours we have spent with our clients on a one-to-one basis? What about the support we’ve actually provided? What about the appointments we’ve attended with them?
“No. It’s how many calls we’ve answered, that’s what’s important because that’s what goes into grants.”
“Working in that environment is oppressive”
According to Anna, there were no safety checks or protocols in place at CWA, including panic alarms. “On one occasion, a perpetrator had actually come into the building dressed as a member of staff.
“There should have been safety interventions in place to safeguard everybody. As a result, the management asked the staff to make sure the doors were locked.”
Anna gave another example where, due to late night shifts and having to walk back to the car park, workers were being threatened with knives – but again, nothing was done to ensure their safety.
“They [management] are working from home,” she said. “No matter how much you raise these concerns and issues, they don’t really understand. Unless you’re a frontline worker and you see the struggles that the girls and the clients are going through, nobody really gets it.”
But it wasn’t just about poor infrastructure or lack of safety mandates. Jennifer highlighted the severe impact it had on her mental health due to an “awful atmosphere”.
“There was this underlying, ‘Don’t tell them if there’s a problem going on at home because they’ll weaponise it.’ If you did have to tell them something was going on, you wouldn’t hear the end of it. It’s like you’re running into brick walls, whatever way you turn. I was just pushed and pushed and pushed. It was just an absolute mess.”
Hazel agrees. “If you express any concern about your health, either physical or mental, you’ll be criticised. At some point, they’ll try to get rid of you.”
She also describes feeling trapped and being treated unfairly. She feels she was deliberately held back from progressing or given better opportunities because of her mental health issues, background, and other differences.
“It’s more like, ‘Oh, we’re just going to tick a diversity box with you,” she says, adding that many others were made to feel that way due to a diversity checklist suggested by Cardiff Council.
“It’s like having constant anxiety, panicking 24/7, feeling sick all the time, challenging your own values on a daily basis. And feeling like you’re walking on eggshells because the HR is there to cover up for managers. It’s not to support the staff.”
Anna recalls being shouted at and humiliated in front of colleagues. “I started to become mute, almost. I would go into the toilet and cry, I would have panic attacks every time they’d send me an email because they’d make it so personal.”
At one point, it seemed like a mass exodus where many staff workers left within the space of a few months because they couldn’t cope with the pressure, said Katie, adding that one time, in a span of six weeks, she saw at least five or six people leave the organisation.
Katie also says that the charity was so short on the ground, they had people constantly come in for drop-ins, but they had to “turn away some of the clients” as they “didn’t have the capacity to deal with their case.”
“A constant crisis”
Cardiff isn’t alone with pressure in this sector. A 2017 investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism found that domestic abuse charities across England suffered from huge budget cuts of nearly 24% since 2010, despite more than a 33% rise in domestic violence cases registered by councils and the police.
Years later, the situation persists. A report by Women’s Aid found that government funding for domestic abuse refuges is facing a shortfall of £321 million, compared to the £516 million it needs to “properly fund specialist women’s domestic abuse services”.
In January last year, the Coventry Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre was forced to close its waiting list of around 500 people due to a funding cut of £195,000 from the city council.
This latest scandal at CWA raises serious questions about the way the domestic abuse support sector is funded, which isn’t built to cope with its rising demand.
Hazel says, “This support is supposed to be about breaking the cycle of abuse. We’ve got clients in our system since 2016 or 2017. Those clients go back, fall into the same cycle, and come back again. You are not raising enough awareness for clients to understand how to read red flags and avoid them.
“We’re not breaking cycles because we’re not giving enough time to clients. It’s a constant crisis. If I was a victim of domestic violence, I wouldn’t walk to RISE. And I’ve worked there. It’s so sad because I know how bad it is.”
Anna shares a similar concern. “When I think of CWA, it gives me such anxiety because people in Cardiff have got no other services to go to. They are all putting all their hopes into CWA, and people are being failed. Where are these women going? Where can they go?”
When contacted about the investigation, Cardiff Women’s Aid told voice.cymru:
“We can categorically deny that CWA has ever manipulated waiting lists or dropped domestic abuse cases. We further refute all the allegations. CWA has never closed cases to reduce waiting lists.
“At a very difficult time in and following the pandemic, things were stretched to almost breaking point as the pandemic exacerbated existing vulnerabilities for women and families, and the need for services went through the ceiling.
“The stark acceleration of risk factors and isolation created an extremely demanding and difficult situation, our colleagues went above and beyond to continue service delivery. We are proud that everyone at CWA did their utmost to support and provide refuge and services for women and their families.
“Three years on, we are still dealing with the rise of VAWDASV, and we are committed to putting women and their families first as always. We have and always will try to support our wonderful colleagues.
“Whilst we acknowledge during the pandemic and for the period you talk about, circumstances were very difficult, we still all did our very best. However, no malfeasance by CWA has ever occurred.
“Funding is always very difficult, over a 14 year period there has only been two real COL increases, however we work in partnership with Cardiff Council to ensure that we can safely and effectively deliver services.”
voice.cymru also contacted Cardiff Council for a comment:
“The council has received no evidence of manipulation of waiting lists. Cardiff Council closely monitors the RISE service delivery through regular meetings with staff at all levels. Anyone with evidence or concerns should bring them directly to us so we can conduct a thorough investigation if deemed necessary.
“The One Stop Shop facility at the CRI is a bespoke design specifically for the delivery of the specialist VAWDASV service. It has secure access throughout, including at the services’ front door and again at reception and is only open to female clients.
“Client confidentiality should not be compromised as there are a number of separate and soundproofed interview and meeting rooms to undertake assessments and support sessions. Operational policy relating to the service users and staff whilst in the building would be a matter for the providers, and the Council has not been made aware of any issues relating to this.
“The levels of demand are monitored closely between the Council and the providers. Cardiff Women’s Aid has led the specialist women’s contract for the past seven years, alongside two other providers, to deliver a comprehensive VAWDASV service to women and their children. The Council is due to recommission the service during 2025/26 and intends to retain the current level of funding, which comes from a number of sources.”
