THOUSANDS OF women who leave their abusive partners are being turned away from the safety of refuges despite government pledges to tackle domestic abuse, the Sunday Herald can reveal.

Scottish Women's Aid has admitted turning away women and children from "safe houses" in more than 60% of cases in 2006-07, mainly due to lack of space.

The charity said it is struggling to cope with the rising numbers of women forced on to the streets by their partners, or who leave home, each year. Often they are sent to England to be housed in refuges there.

Case workers fear this puts them at risk, with many returning to their partners and further abuse. Labour MSP Johann Lamont, the party's communities spokeswoman, said: "I am shocked and really concerned about these figures, which represent women and children, in the most difficult circumstances, who are effectively refugees in their own country and need a safe place to live.

"There has been a shift in public understanding and recognition of the problem of domestic violence. This is a stark reminder that the problem still remains and is a very sharp one for women and children."

The figures were revealed after First Minister Alex Salmond last month signed a statement of intent by women's organisations at the launch of a zero tolerance campaign on domestic abuse and a government-backed advertising campaign for the festive season.

Crime figures also show one in five women has reported being assaulted by their partner, and there were 49,000 incidents dealt with by the police in 2006-07.

However, campaigners claim that not enough is being done to cope with the increase in demand for places, and have criticised the government's decision to allow local authorities to end "ring fencing" of finance for specific areas in return for a freeze on council tax.

The decision has left many women's aid groups, and other charities, facing uncertainly over their budgets from April. Lamont added: "We need re-assurance from the Executive it is not going to make financial decisions around other political commitments it has, such as cuts to council tax, that affect that provision."

Scottish Women's Aid collated figures for its annual statistics report from all but four of its 39 affiliated groups and will publish a detailed analysis this week.

Spokeswoman Jacq Kelly claimed long-term stable funding was needed for its work. She said: "These figures show that more women, with children, are coming forward wanting refuge space and are not able to get it.

"The government, and the communities minister Stewart Maxwell, is very supportive of our work and there's high-level political support to tackle violence against women.

"I don't think anybody in the government would be happy if these services were to suffer. This could happen as funding is going to be very tight this year for a lot of organisations with the removal of ring fencing.

"There isn't a long-term sustainable funding solution in place to secure services. Funding is currently decided every year, or three to four years. We would like funding for refuge provision to be always there because, like the NHS, there is a recognised need for women's aid."

Most groups accommodated fewer than one out of three women and their children who requested refuge last year. Kelly added: "Although violence against women is our primary concern, we are also concerned about its effect on children, particularly those who leave home with their mothers."

According to the study, the total number of women who sought refuge in Scotland was 5373, of whom only 1248 were admitted to refuges - representing 23%. Of the 6619 children, only 1354 (20%) were admitted to refuges.

It represents an 8% drop from the previous year for children, and the figures for women have dropped by an average of 1% each year since 2002.

The breakdown showed 52% of women who sought help from women's aid groups were not admitted because of the lack of space, the highest figure since 2002, when the figure was 58%. Although 9% of women were given housing association property and 4% private rental accommodation, 16% returned to their partners and, in 34% of cases, Women's Aid case workers do not know what happened to the women.

Kelly added: "It is not really acceptable to have women turned away from refuges because we don't know what happens to those women. Our groups are manned by staff and volunteers and it would be difficult for them to monitor what happens to people."

Although most groups rely on local authorities to provide homeless accommodation, this causes problems for domestic violence workers as they cannot guarantee their safety or anonymity.

Ross-shire Women's Aid refuge worker Marilyn Ross said some women are staying longer, typically two years, rather than the six months originally intended by the service, which is putting more pressure on refuge space.

She said: "We are looking at people staying for a year and a half to two years. It's an open-door policy, but it works both ways. We refer women to other refuges down south and have women coming from all over Scotland and England."

Dumbarton District Women's Aid refuses 60%-65% of women, and many return to their abusive partners if they cannot accept the council housing offered when they leave a refuge.

Co-ordinator Liz Gillespie said: "There's very little housing stock and much of what is available, isn't desirable. The council will only make two offers before it has fulfilled its obligations.

"Women from all social backgrounds come into our refuge. A woman from somewhere quite posh might go back to her partner rather than accept a flat with drug dealers in the close.

"We've had cases where women return to be abused, than accept what's been offered by the council."

Only two women's aid groups cater specifically for ethnic minority and eastern European victims of domestic abuse. At Edinburgh-based Shakti - the name is Hindi for "strength" - manager Girijamba Polubothu has an arrangement with the council to help women if there is no space at her refuge or at its sister centre in Glasgow. Should that fail, they are offered a place in England.

Polubothu, who is looking after 93 women, accused the government of failing to recognise the needs of domestic violence victims. She said: "The government is raising people's expectations by advertising that there is no excuse for domestic abuse. Then these women come and you have to say no.

"I don't know why they took away the ring fencing and we are concerned that we have no budget confirmed for next year. These women are not interested in politics and budgets. All they need is a roof over their heads."

Other campaigners are worried about the impact the lack of space will have on women coming forward for help, when figures show that on average a woman will be assaulted 34 times by her partner before she reports it.

Hazel Maider, co-ordinator of Wigtownshire Women's Aid in Dumfries and Galloway, added: "It's difficult to believe that a human being could put up with so much before they ask for help, and nobody would choose to live in a refuge."

Archie Stoddart, director of Shelter Scotland, the housing and homelessness charity, said: "We are not opposed in principle to the removal of ring fencing, but the speed with which this is being done may cause real problems.

"This will impact directly on services for vulnerable people. We call on the Scottish government to ensure that important projects which support vulnerable people are not placed under any threat."

A Scottish government spokeswoman said: "The government and local authorities have a shared commitment to delivering these vital services, and removing ring fencing enables this be done more effectively and efficiently. Funding has simply been absorbed within the main local government settlement.

"The government places huge importance on tackling violence against women. We have increased funding, which will enable us to take forward a significant programme of work to improve the lives of women and children in Scotland."