Women's Aid
Encyclopedia
Women's Aid is a group of feminist
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
charities across the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. There are four main Women's Aid Federations, one for each country. Its aim is to end domestic violence
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
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 against women from occurring
Women's Aid Federation of England is the sole national coordinating body for the England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
-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.
Women's Aid provides services through its publications and website, and runs a Freephone 24-Hour National Domestic Violence Helpline in partnership with Refuge.
Origins
The first branch of Women's Aid was formed in ChiswickChiswick
Chiswick is a large suburb of west London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It is located on a meander of the River Thames, west of Charing Cross and is one of 35 major centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, with...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in Autumn 1971 by Erin Pizzey
Erin Pizzey
Erin Patria Margaret Pizzey is a British family care activist and a best-selling novelist. She became internationally famous for having started one of the first Women's refuges in the modern world, Chiswick Women's Aid, in 1971, the organisation known today as Refuge...
. It was world's first domestic violence shelter Originally. the organisation was a social meeting place for women who wanted to make a real difference in their communities at a local level and exchange ideas and wasn't concerned with domestic violence at all. However, the movement became focused on helping domestic violence victims early on, though very much by accident, when a bruised woman pleaded for assistance as no one else would help her.
Original Policies and Principles
The key policy for Women's Aid was that "no one should ever be turned away". This was known as the "open door" policy, but due to a lack of resources it therefore proved to be a source of many problems as shelters ended up being very overcrowded.National Federation
Women's Aid set up as a national United Kingdom federation in 1974 to coordinate almost 40 services that had been established over the country. It was originally known as the National Women's Aid Federation, but later the group fragmented when a separate Scottish federation was launched. This was followed by separate Federations for Northern Ireland and Wales.Research
As a pioneer in the field Pizzey and Women's Aid obtained many insights into the previously mostly unexplored area of domestic violence. Pizzey highlighted the way in which victims were so badly treated by government, passing from one department to another.After a year of operation, statistics on women staying at Chiswick Women's Aid helped to illustrate the complexities of the problem of domestic violence.
Activities
The charity supported a total of 143,337 women and 114,489 children (with over 40,000 women and children staying in their refuges) in 2001/2. 35,000 other individuals called their 24-hour helpline for information. In its financial year 2004-05, it received £2,052,814 gross income of which it spent £2,254,598. This compares to an income of £560,113 and expenditure of £565,050 in 1997–98.Taxpayers are the biggest source of income for Women's Aid, their accounts state that at least £780,000 in income came directly from this source in 2005.
Women's Aid was set up and is run by women, although it has obtained a dispensation from the Charity Commission
Charity Commission
The Charity Commission for England and Wales is the non-ministerial government department that regulates registered charities in England and Wales....
not to publish the names of its trustees, (The trustees of Women's Aid are freely avalliable through the Charity Commissions website along with audited reports follow the link; http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/ScannedAccounts/Ends54/0001054154_ac_20090331_e_c.pdf) and states that:
- Domestic violence against women is a violation of women and children's human rights, that it is the result of an abuse of power and control, and that it is rooted in the historical status of women in the family and in society. Women and children have a right to live their lives free from all forms of violence and abuse, and society has a duty to recognise and defend this right.
Women's Aid advocate for abused women and children in three main ways. Firstly, they aim to affect policy decisions and laws by working with local and national government. Secondly, they attempt to raise awareness of the problem of domestic violence by campaigning and running websites such as The Hideout. Thirdly, they provide services to abused women and children, for example UKROL and the National Domestic Violence Helpline.
Supporters
- Jenni MurrayJenni MurrayDame Jennifer Susan "Jenni" Murray, DBE is a British journalist and broadcaster. She attended Barnsley Girls High School and has a degree in French and Drama from Hull University...
, broadcaster - Will YoungWill YoungWilliam Robert "Will" Young is a British singer-songwriter and actor who came to prominenceafter winning the 2002 inaugural series of the British music contest Pop Idol, making him the first winner of the now-worldwide Idols-format franchise...
, performer - Nicola Harwin CBE, Women's Aid Chief Executive
- Gordon RamsayGordon RamsayGordon James Ramsay, OBE is a Scottish chef, television personality and restaurateur. He has been awarded 13 Michelin stars....
, celebrity chef - Sarah BrownSarah Brown (spouse)Sarah Brown is the wife of Gordon Brown, a former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. She is also the founding partner of Hobsbawm Macaulay Communications, a public relations company.-Early life:...
, wife of Gordon BrownGordon BrownJames Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
, former UK Prime Minister - Fiona BruceFiona BruceFiona Elizabeth Bruce is a British journalist, newsreader and television presenter. Since joining the BBC in 1989, she has gone on to present many flagship programmes for the corporation including the BBC News at Six, BBC News at Ten, Crimewatch, Call My Bluff and, most recently, Antiques Roadshow...
, BBC newsreader - Charlie WebsterCharlie WebsterCharlotte "Charlie" Webster is an English television presenter.-Early life:Webster attended Tapton School in Sheffield where she participated in elite junior athletics and went on to study Language and Linguistics at Newcastle University...
TV Presenter
See also
- Erin PizzeyErin PizzeyErin Patria Margaret Pizzey is a British family care activist and a best-selling novelist. She became internationally famous for having started one of the first Women's refuges in the modern world, Chiswick Women's Aid, in 1971, the organisation known today as Refuge...
- Scottish Women's AidScottish Women's AidScottish Women's Aid is a feminist charity campaigning to prevent domestic violence against women and their children in Scotland. It was founded in 1973 and is an umbrella organisation for the 39 affiliated local Women's Aid groups in Scotland...
- Mankind InitiativeMankind InitiativeThe ManKind Initiative is a domestic violence charity based in the United Kingdom and is at the forefront of providing support for male victims of domestic abuse and violence...
- Cut (advert)Cut (advert)Cut is a British advertising campaign launched in 2009 by the charitable organisation Women's Aid to promote awareness of domestic violence. The campaign was created by advertising agency Grey London, and centres around a 120-second commercial starring Keira Knightley. Supporting the commercial...
- What's it going to take?What's it going to take?What's it going to take? is a British print and poster campaign launched in 2007 by Women's Aid to boost awareness of domestic violence against women in the United Kingdom. The campaign, handled by advertising agency Grey London, comprised photographs of nine female celebrities made-up to appear as...