A pregnant woman who fled her home with her young baby due to domestic abuse has criticised Northumberland County Council over the temporary accommodation she has been placed in. The family, who remain anonymous for their safety, have been housed in shared, mixed accommodation with no private washing or cooking areas.
The mother described being chased down a corridor by an intoxicated male and having to barricade herself in her room. She said the building often smells of cannabis smoke, there is no separate bed for her child, and the window initially would not fully shut, leaving a draft overnight in cold temperatures. The building is unstaffed apart from a weekly visit from council officers, although the local authority has stated that out of hours support is needed.
Mother's account of unsafe conditions
The victim told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "An intoxicated male resident confronted and pursued me down the communal corridor. I was forced to flee and deadbolt myself and my sleeping baby inside our room."
She added: "There are zero private infant amenities inside our room, forcing me into shared spaces alongside unvetted adult males simply to wash my baby and sterilise bottles. Shared bathroom doors are fitted with exterior release slots that can easily be unlocked from the outside with a fingernail, and hallways persistently smell of heavy drug smoke."
"The council has a statutory duty to safeguard the wellbeing of children. My baby is being put in an unstaffed building with drug smoke. There's nowhere to bathe an infant, I have to sit him on the floor of a wet room - it's not safe, he could fall."
Legal concerns raised by the victim
The woman said placing a pregnant domestic abuse survivor in an unstaffed facility with unvetted adult males violates Part 7 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. She also stated that exposing an infant to substance misuse, unsecured bathroom locks, and no private hygiene facilities directly breaches Section 11 of the Children Act 2004.
She said: "Victims should never be placed in shared accommodation. I'm pregnant and have another baby and we're sharing bathrooms with intoxicated men. I'm not the only mother in this situation. There have been mothers here before me and there will be mothers here after us. I'm scared. They expect people to just get on with their lives until they're housed. The most important thing for me is that people hear about this."
Council response and next steps
Responding to the comments, a spokesman for the council said: "The safety of all victims of domestic abuse is of paramount importance and we are committed to providing as much support as possible."
"In this case we are working closely with the resident, through our homelessness and housing teams, and the plan is she will be relocated to permanent accommodation in the coming weeks. We have offered her the opportunity to move from her current property and she also has access to out of hours support should she need it."
