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One little discussed issue in competitive tendering of specialist services for women subjected to men's violence is local authorities requiring high staffing levels for low levels of funding so salaries are capped.
Then they offer equivalent* jobs with the council at higher wages
Then they offer equivalent* jobs with the council at higher wages
There is no way that full cost recovery principles are used when councils compare the cost of them providing a service to the cost of a specialist independent women's organisation.
Most staff working in frontline jobs supporting women & children subjected to men's violence don't have he luxury of being able to turn up their noses at a few grand for the principles of independent services.
And so there's an expertise/experience drift from specialist services
And so there's an expertise/experience drift from specialist services
Yet research shows that women prefer independent specialist women only organisations, including but not only those led by and for minority women. *Many women* would prefer to go without accessing support than accessing council run support so women self exclude.
Back to the tweet 1 *
* no, they're not equivalent even putting aside the issue of trust, they're not independent, they're often not women-only, they're rarely feminist, they're far less likely to challenge other council run services for a poor service.
* no, they're not equivalent even putting aside the issue of trust, they're not independent, they're often not women-only, they're rarely feminist, they're far less likely to challenge other council run services for a poor service.
And I've yet to see a single council run service that holds the same industry quality marks that they require specialist services to hold when bidding.
