Buttle UK has reported an increase of a quarter in applications for help

A charity has experienced a surge in applications for support from families struck by domestic abuse.

Buttle UK - a nationwide children’s charity which provides financial assistance to help youngsters in crisis – has seen a significant rise in the number of grant applications by families suffering from domestic abuse.

Figures released at The Anchor Project Conference in London this week show that the number of grants awarded by the organisation to families affected by domestic abuse rose by 25% between 2015 and 2016.

Over £1 million was awarded to families affected by domestic abuse last year alone. Nearly 10,000 children who applied to Buttle UK for financial help last year had been affected by domestic abuse – and 3,384 children affected were aged four or under. This represents an increase of 37% on the number of cases in this age group compared to the year before.

Gerri McAndrew, chief executive of Buttle UK, said: “Our findings are clear - domestic abuse is an extensive and largely under-reported problem across the UK.

“Support services often assume that a child’s needs are met by addressing the needs of the abused parent – this is clearly not the case. The increase in grant applications show us that the specific issues that children face in these situations are not being identified and met by existing care support. Children themselves need to be seen as a central part of the issue.”