Women's Aid Federation of England, commonly called Women's Aid within

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, is one of a group of charities across the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. There are four main Women's Aid Federations, 3 for each of the countries of the United Kingdom, and one for the Republic of Ireland (not being part of the UK). Its aim is to end

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

against women and children. The charity works at both local and national levels to ensure women's safety from domestic violence and promotes policies and practices to prevent domestic violence. Women's Aid Federation of England is the sole national co-ordinating body for the England-wide network of over 370 local domestic violence organisations, providing over 500 refuges, outreach, advocacy and children's support services. Women's Aid campaigns for better legal protection and services and in partnership with its national network, runs public awareness and education campaigns. Any woman can stay at a refuge (and take their children) and proof of abuse is not needed to stay at a refuge. Women's Aid provides services through its publications and website, and runs a Freephone 24-Hour National Domestic Violence Helpline in partnership with Refuge. Former Spice Girl Melanie Brown became a patron of the charity in 2018 after leaving what she described as an abusive relationship and was made an MBE in 2022 for services to charitable causes and vulnerable women. Women's Aid has faced criticism for uncritically accepting all untested women's claims, including false allegations for financial gain or custody advantages, despite the significant repercussions for innocent men, children, benevolent individuals, and taxpayers.

History

Origins

Women's Aid was set up as a national United Kingdom federation to co-ordinate almost 40 services that had been established over the country. It was originally known as the National Women's Aid Federation, before the launch of Scottish Women's Aid in 1976, and both Welsh Women's Aid and the Women's Aid Federation Northern Ireland in 1978. The first Women's Aid federation was set up in 1974, shortly after the founding of the first refuge for women experiencing domestic violence. The organisation provided practical and emotional support as part of a range of services to women and children experiencing violence. The charity was instrumental in lobbying for the 1976 Domestic Violence and Matrimonial Proceedings Act, and for having women and children at risk of domestic violence to count as homeless under the 1977 Housing Act. During the 1980s, Women's Aid established the first ever National Domestic Violence Helpline service to meet the increasing number of calls to Women's Aid national office. The

Helpline A helpline, or switchboard, is a telephone service which offers help to those who call. Many helpline services now offer more than telephone support - offering access to information, advice or customer service via telephone, email, web or SMS. ...

not only provided help and support for abused women and children, as well as agency professionals seeking advice, it also became a national referral point for access to the national network of refuge and support services. The charity continued to lobby for greater consideration and support for women and children experiencing domestic violence. Through the 1990s, Women's Aid continued its lobbying work, as well as increasing its public campaigning. In 1994, the charity released the first ever domestic violence cinema advert, and supported the television soap opera Brookside in a long-running, high-profile storyline on a family affected by domestic violence. In 1999, Women's Aid launched the first comprehensive domestic violence website in the UK and The Gold Book, the first ever UK-wide public directory of local refuge and helpline services. Since 2000, Women's Aid has run a number of high-profile campaigns, continued its work lobbying government, and launched a number of educational resources aimed at schools and teachers to encourage the teaching of healthy relationships as a preventative measure against domestic violence. Katie Ghose was the CEO of Women's Aid, having started in July 2017. She took over the post from Polly Neate, and stepped down in February 2019, after complaints from a number of women groups after her public praise of UKIP.

Research

In 1978, Women's Aid carried out a study of 1,000 women living in refuges, in light of statistics demonstrating that 1 in 4 crimes in Scotland was 'wife assault.' This was the beginning of significant amounts of research performed by Women's Aid and a number of partners into issues around domestic violence, which has developed into the release of Women's Aid's 'Annual Survey of Members', which gives details of the services in England working to support women experiencing domestic violence, and the women who use them.

Supporters

Jenni Murray Dame Jennifer Susan Murray, (''née'' Bailey; born 12 May 1950) is an English journalist and broadcaster, best known for presenting BBC Radio 4's '' Woman's Hour'' from 1987 to 2020. Early life Murray was born in Barnsley, West Riding of Yo ...

, broadcaster *

Will Young William Robert Young (born 20 January 1979) is an English singer, songwriter and actor. He came to prominence after winning the 2002 inaugural series of the ITV talent contest '' Pop Idol'', making him the first winner of the worldwide '' Ido ...

, performer * Nicola Harwin CBE, Former Women's Aid Chief Executive *

Gordon Ramsay Gordon James Ramsay (; born ) is a British celebrity chef, restaurateur, television presenter, and writer. His restaurant group, List of restaurants owned or operated by Gordon Ramsay, Gordon Ramsay Restaurants, was founded in 1997 and has ...

, three Michelin star chef * Sarah Brown, wife of

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...

, former UK Prime Minister *

Fiona Bruce Fiona Elizabeth Bruce (born 25 April 1964) is a British journalist, newsreader and television presenter. She joined the BBC as a researcher for their current affairs programme ''Panorama'' in 1989, and became the first female newsreader on ' ...

, BBC newsreader * Charlie Webster, TV presenter *

Keira Knightley Keira Christina Knightley ( ; born 26 March 1985) is an English actress. Known for her work in independent films and Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters, particularly Historical drama, period dramas, she has received List of awards and no ...

, actress * Jahméne Douglas, British soul/gospel singer, and the first youth ambassador of the UK charity Women's Aid, for children and young people * Jess Phillips, British member of parliament and former employee *

Mel B Melanie Janine Brown, Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 29 May 1975), commonly known as Mel B or Melanie B, is an English singer, songwriter, television personality, and actress. She rose to fame in the mid 1990s as a member of the Pop mus ...

, singer *

Toby-Alexander Smith Toby-Alexander Smith (born 26 February 1991) is an English actor, known for portraying the role of Gray Atkins in the BBC One, BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 2019 to 2022. Early life and education Smith was born on 26 February 1991 in Lich ...

, actor

References

External links