Lottery Criticised for Funding Cut
Last Updated: Friday 25th September 2020, 15:15
The National Lottery has been condemned this week for providing funding to help wife beaters at the same time as a charity for victims has had its budget slashed. The Domestic Abuse Counselling Service has been awarded almost half a million by the lotto to set up counselling sessions for the perpetrators of domestic violence but at the same time the Warwickshire Violence Support services have discovered that its £35,000 a year funding is to be stopped.
The Lotto cash for good causes for violent offenders aimed to rehabilitate offenders with counselling and then award them with a certificate to prove they have completed an anger management course.
The move to increase funding by the National Lottery for violent offenders while cutting budgets for victims support groups has been widely criticised, not least by women’s group Haven Refuge, they believe money should be going to victims, not offenders and feel this is a gross misuse of lottery funds.
It’s yet another contentious issue for National Lottery funding, after many eyebrows have been raised over the last year about where money from lottery tickets actually goes. We’ve seen cash go to gender groups, lesbian and gay groups, gypsies, immigrants and many more organisations that many people feel may not be deserving of it.
It poses the question about whether it’s time to only give National Lottery money to registered charities, or many allow lottery players to actually vote for where lottery money goes.
You can’t please everyone but it seems that this decision by the lottery is pleasing no one at all.