Women and children who are suffering from domestic abuse are routinely being made homeless by the services that are meant to help them, according to Scottish Women’s Aid.

The claim comes after the publication of a two-year study looking into women’s experiences of homelessness as a result of domestic and sexual abuse. It reveals that women were being let down by the system and “forced to choose between homelessness and abuse.”

Research carried out in Fife by the Women’s Health Improvement Research project discovered that the majority of women who took part felt they were given no choice about losing their home when ending a relationship with an abusive partner. They also felt they had little or no control in the process and even had their experience of abuse minimised by those who were meant to help them.

The SWA has now called for a new national strategy to specifically address enforced homelessness to meet the needs of women and children experiencing domestic abuse.

SWA’s chief executive Dr Marsha Scott said: “The findings from this research project raise serious concerns about housing options that are available to women who are at risk of homelessness due to domestic or sexual abuse and raises questions over whether the Scottish government’s policy on homelessness prevention is appropriate for women who experience domestic or sexual abuse.

“The system continues to punish women and children for being victims rather than perpetrators,” she added, “by forcing them to choose between abuse and homelessness.

“We want to see women’s rights and ability to remain in their home strengthened and additional action taken to remove and rehouse perpetrators and abusive ex-partners.”

The survey, which spoke to 45 women and 96 service providers, discovered that nearly half of the women who took part had already been made homeless more than once because of abuse.

More than half said they had not been told about other housing options and when they were it was limited to various types of homeless accommodation. Furthermore, many did not feel any safer once they had left their home as their ex-partner would often know their new address, in particular in cases where they had child access.

In the report the research team suggested that too many of the women who were suffering abusive relationships had been treated like “second-class citizens” by the system that was meant to help them.

“This is deeply unfair,” the report argues. “It leaves women to pick up the pieces, blaming them for what happened and gives power to the perpetrator.

Domestic abuse is the fourth most common cause of homelessness in Scotland, with 11% of applications attributed to it.

“Becoming homeless because of domestic or sexual abuse comes at enormous cost to women and their children, as well as the public purse,” Dr Scott said. “For many women, housing providers and particularly the local council are the first point of contact to get help and information, so it is absolutely vital that people who come into contact with women every day identify women who are at risk and provide them with an appropriate, safe and consistent response. Surely this isn’t too much to ask in a country that has made domestic abuse a policy priority?”

A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said: “We expect local authorities when they are making decisions on how they see services being delivered, to take the needs of those who use these services into account. We do not tolerate any violence against women and children and anyone who experiences domestic abuse should be able to access the support services they require, wherever they live in Scotland.

The Scottish Government provided £34.5 million funding between 2012 and 2015 to tackle violence against women, including domestic abuse.