An insight into the unique value that specialist domestic abuse services provide to survivors and society By Phoebe Nicholson-Pallett, Research and Evaluation Officer As part of our Annual Audit 2024, Women’s Aid heard from 104 domestic abuse organisations [1], with the aim of better understanding the unique value that specialist services offer to survivors of abuse, including children, as well as to local communities and society. This includes specialist ‘By & For’ services that are run by and for particular groups of marginalised women. We found that specialist domestic abuse services wo ..read more

To read the report by the ONS in full click here. To read Women’s Aid’s analysis of the findings click here.   Why the definition of refuge matters Sarika Seshadri, Head of Research and Evaluation “For those three weeks, I didn’t eat anything. I was breastfeeding. And it was COVID, and the hotel didn’t give too much, just gave a cereal, a juice, and a cake. That was all my food for three weeks, while I was breastfeeding. And I didn’t have money to buy anything”. (Multiple types of TSA, Other ethnic group) The report “Women survivors of domestic abuse and their lived experiences of tempo ..read more

Women’s Aid shares findings on the impact of the Emergency Fund 2023 As Home Office and Women’s Aid look to launch a Flexible Fund at the end of January 2024, Women’s Aid shares findings on the impact the Emergency Fund 2023 had on survivors who received funding from the Emergency Fund.   On the 10th of May 2023, Women’s Aid launched an Emergency Fund to support survivors of domestic abuse with offered one-off payments. The fund allowed support workers to apply for either £250, for a single survivor, or £500, for those who had children or were pregnant on behalf of the survivors they supp ..read more

Joint letter in response to racist attack on Selma Taha, CEO of Southall Black Sisters Dear Commissioner We are writing in solidarity with and support of Selma Taha, CEO of Southall Black Sisters, following the sickening racist abuse she experienced on the 29th September 2023. We are horrified at this vile racist attack and disgusted that one of our colleagues was subject to this hatred. It is deplorable that a Metropolitan Police Officer stood by and failed to de-escalate the situation, intervene and do their duty. We are writing to you in our full support of Southall Black Sister’s call for ..read more

Looking for a qualification that is suitable for working in the domestic abuse sector? Then look no further. The National Certificate in ‘Tackling & Preventing Domestic Abuse’ is aimed at those working in the sector supporting women and children who are/have experienced domestic abuse. The qualification will add to your knowledge and skill set, enabling you to practice in a variety of roles, such as the IDVA role. The qualification is delivered over ten days, face to face and remotely and uses a variety of robust assessment methods to suit different learning styles, ensuring that you ge ..read more

New: Bystander training Have you ever wondered why people witness abuse, aggression, violence etc… in public places and don’t respond to help. Do you want your business or community to know how to do this safely? The purpose of bystander training Bystander intervention is built on the concept that we can all play a role in creating safe spaces for each other when we witness our friends/colleagues/strangers facing bias, discrimination, sexual and other types of harassment/violence. There are ways in which you can interrupt, collaborate with others, or report and record such behaviour safe ..read more

The Government published its Draft Victims’ Bill in May 2022 as part of the Conservative Party’s commitment to improving support for victims in the criminal justice system. On 19th January 2023, the Government issued its response to the Justice Select Committee’s pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Victims’ Bill, which Women’s Aid responded to in a statement published here. In its response, the Government rejected many of the recommendations made by Women’s Aid and endorsed by the Justice Select Committee that would have made a real difference in the experiences of survivors of domestic a ..read more

In June 2020 the Ministry of Justice published the Harm Panel Report, following an inquiry into risks of harm and the family courts in England and Wales. The report identified deep-seated, systemic problems with how domestic abuse is responded to in family court proceedings. Courts and professionals were found to be prioritising contact over children’s and non-abusive  parents’ safety. Despite attempts by senior judiciary and policy makers, over the past 20 years, to improve family court responses to domestic abuse, these issues have continued. Practice Direction 12J (PD12J) was implem ..read more

Women’s Aid and ITV have highlighted this week that the cost of living crisis is having a significant effect on specialist support services working with survivors of domestic abuse. New research from Women’s Aid has revealed the impact of the crisis on services and some of our members have shared their experiences with ITV. You can watch the ITV piece here. Nearly every member (96%) said they were experiencing at least one of the following financial issues: increased rent for premises, other increased costs (e.g. food or supplies), funding not rising in line with costs or another financial ..read more

With the cost of living crisis preventing women from fleeing abuse, the government must act now to support survivors. A blog by Farah Nazeer, chief executive of Women’s Aid, and Dr Nicola Sharp-Jeffs, CEO and Founder of Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA). We’re all worried about the cost of living crisis. From interest rates to groceries, utility bills to petrol, everything is getting more expensive. But for some women, this crisis could mean the difference between life and death. Lack of economic safety forces women to stay with abusers longer than they want to, meaning they experience more h ..read more