Our service users are subject to multiple and intersecting forms of VAWG. 74% are subject to domestic abuse, 69% to ‘honour’ based violence, and 24% sexual abuse. The women we work with are typically poor, lack routes to financial independence, and don’t have access to safe alternative housing. Nearly one in five (19%) of the women we supported in 2020-21 were destitute. Over half our users (56%) live in insecure or overcrowded accommodation.

We will employ an advocacy worker who will provide one to one information, advice and advocacy Support is most intense at the start of advocacy when needs, shock and decisions and reliance are greatest. Black and minoritized women, particularly migrants, face evolving challenges to recovery from crisis at each stage and significant systemic and institutional barriers to safety. Advocacy at the beginning is about alleviating immediate crisis and securing physical safety.