The Salvation Army apologises for comments suggesting women fleeing domestic violence should not 'use and abuse' shelters
The Salvation Army has been forced to apologise after comments from one of its officers suggested women fleeing domestic violence should not "use and abuse" women's refuges.
The comments aired in a story on the ABC program Background Briefing on Sunday and were in relation to the Broken Hill women's refuge which is run by a Salvation Army husband and wife team - Lieutenant Phillip and Donna Sutcliffe.
The couple moved to Broken Hill two months ago after replacing the outgoing managers of the refuge.
In an effort to absorb recent funding cuts, the Salvation Army imposed stricter guidelines for women who accessed the centre forcing them to pay for their stay, or not be allowed back.
Mr Sutcliffe's comments about the change to the service sparked a social media backlash.
"Because of that, people are finding that it's not simply a service that they can come and use and abuse," Mr Sutcliffe told Background Briefing.
"There's actually responsibilities about them coming here now. We follow up on making sure they are making their payments for their accommodation, that they've come to stay here. It's not just a free service that they can just come in and go as they want.
"We've got clients on our list that have racked up hundreds of dollars of debt from our service.
"It's not just a use and abuse type service," he said.
Following the comments made on the program, The Salvation Army received a barrage of tweets questioning the "appalling views" expressed by Mr Sutcliffe.
In response the Salvation Army issued a statement saying the welfare of women and children were always their first priority.
"The Salvation Army would like to sincerely apologise for the comments made in an interview with a Salvation Army officer which was featured on the ABC Background Briefing program," the statement said.
"The comments made on the program do not reflect the policies and procedures of The Salvation Army when it comes to working with women and children escaping domestic violence.
"The Salvation Army works with women and children escaping domestic violence on an individual basis, and their welfare has and always will be our priority.
"The Salvation Army will continue to work with the management of Catherine Haven House to ensure that all policies and procedures reflect best practice when it comes to working with women and children in situations of domestic violence."
The Broken Hill women's refuge had recently changed from a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week service to only operating between business hours Monday to Friday.
