“We are seeing an increase in domestic abuse among younger people. Young men are more disrespectful, and violence [is seen as] more acceptable,” said Anna Smith at Advance. “We’re not getting into the values of young men, we’re not doing enough.”But there is also concern that rising poverty levels in the UK are endangering women’s lives. “We’re looking at a situation where people are becoming poorer and poorer and those stresses increase violence. But this government is not interested in looking at this section of society,” Anna continued. “We should be thinking about domestic violence as a national disgrace.”Polly Neate at Women’s Aid said a knock-on problem of Cameron’s cuts was that victims of domestic abuse no longer had legal aid, so were representing themselves in the family courts over access to children. Only one in ten separating couples end up in the family courts, but around 70% of those involve domestic violence. Victims often end up being cross-examined by their abusive ex-partner, and the vast majority of men continue to receive access rights regardless. Sometimes they’re asked to attend a course to address their behaviour, but the access is normally not dependent on it, and so men frequently drop out. She wants the family court system to remember it is there to protect the rights of the child, not the father.What’s so angering about the cuts to funding, and the lack of will to solve the issue, is that a properly managed intervention can transform a woman’s life, and that of her children. It can propel her back into society. After Rachel was helped by Advance she got a home of her own, had her baby and is positive about the future. Zoe, after 22 years in the beauty industry, has enrolled in college to study law so that she can help other women escape abusive situations.Until there’s a commitment from all of us to banish domestic abuse for good, Zoe’s new skills are going to be in demand. As Polly Neate told me. “Ultimately we still have a culture that gives permission to men to treat women badly.”