A WOMEN’S refuge in London received a 120 per cent increase in referrals and double the number of calls during the first few months of lockdown. Bromley and Croydon Women’s Aid (BCWA) said it would have been unable to cope with the rise in demand without donations of laptops and training software. The charity, which has nine refuges in south London that can house 54 women and 100 children, said the donations helped them adapt to remote working during the March and November lockdowns. BCWA CEO Constanze Sen said: “As soon as the first lockdown started we saw demand for our services shoot up. There was a 120 per cent increase in referrals and calls to our helpline doubled.