News

OPOKA CIO

OPOKA, an organisation dedicated to aiding women and children in the Polish community, has introduced a new Safe Housing provision. This includes a specialised service called 'Safe House' tailored to Polish women and their children, along with a 'Referral form with Guidance to Opoka Safe House'. Limited vacancies are still available. If you know someone in need of a safe haven and support in Polish, please refer them to OPOKA.

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ADHD Babes

Few spaces remain for a research study on the diagnosis of ADHD in Adult Black Women. This collaboration between ADHD Babes and University of Greenwich researchers aims to change the narrative around ADHD. If you are interested in taking part, please read more here and contact Julia Morgan at [email protected].

Women for Refugee Women

Women for Refugee Women is calling on its supporters to reach out to their Members of Parliament, urging them to endorse a letter advocating for the ending of the immigration detention of women. Detention inflicts harm, trauma, and retraumatisation, and every woman deserves to be free from confinement. 

Write to your MP here.

In honor of International Women's Day, Women for Refugee Women has produced a video commemorating refugee women and in recognition of Mother's Day

Watch it here.

The criminalisation of refugee motherhood persists. Explore first-hand accounts from Sara and Loraine detailing their experiences as refugee mothers in their blogs.

Sara's blog

Loraine's blog

This Ends Now

This Ends Now (TEN) held a successful art exhibition launch with Gallery 57, an independent gallery and shop in Newport, Wales.

The exhibition consists of feminist artwork inspired by TEN’s Words Matter campaign - a campaign launched to change the victim-blaming and misogynistic language used by the police and media when reporting on sexual offences and violence.

The launch was held on Thursday 7th March and attendees were treated to a complimentary glass of prosecco while listening to speakers from Gallery 57 as well as This Ends Now co-founder and director, Sydney McAllister.

The exhibition will be open until the 28th March.

You My Sister

Contact You My Sister now to reserve your place on their next Mental Health Recovery Course, Taking Back Control.

Location: Online
Duration: 2.5 hrs/week for 6 weeks

This can help any woman who has experienced abuse. We help you work out the tools that work for you to help stay on an even keel, manage panic attacks and even crises.

It is run online in small groups with trainers who have experienced abuse and who use the techniques on the course.

 

African Women Empowerment Forum (AWEF)

The African Women Empowerment Forum (AWEF) is proud to present AC-HUB: African Communities-Hub, an initiative designed to foster connectivity and provide support to African communities throughout Europe. AC-HUB is dedicated to empowering families, facilitating governance, and fostering economic growth within these communities.

Discover more about AC-HUB's goals and opportunities for participation in this transformative initiative, https://ac-hub.org/ 

 AWEF Academy Announces Exciting New E-Learning Platform

The creation of a cutting-edge online learning tool to aid with English language acquisition is something that AWEF Academy is excited to announce. This digital platform seeks to make education accessible to people in Africa, and beyond through interactive lessons, practice questions, and personalised learning routes. Click the link to find out how you can join this cause and become engaged, https://awefacademy.org/ 

Grandmother’s Kitchen: A Community Cooking Project with Refugee families in Nottinghamshire

The Family Mentors Association, in partnership with the University of Nottingham, recently hosted the second edition of Grandmother’s Kitchen on March 9, 2024, focusing on West African cuisine. This community cooking project celebrates diverse global food recipes while offering support for physical, mental, and emotional well-being, and promoting integration into the community. Join them for the next cooking series on 23 March 2024, at the Birch Park Community Hub.

 

IRISi

IRISi's National Report, covering data up to March 2023, shows that IRISi and ADViSE received 36,352 referrals! Through collaborative efforts involving our partner organisations, Advocate Educators, healthcare professionals and the dedicated IRISi team working together, we've identified, referred and provided crucial support to 36,352 service users.

 

Key findings include:

• Data collected from 4,487 service users, 87% experiencing multiple types of abuse concurrently.
• Emotional support provided to over 3,300 service users.
• 97% of service users agreed or strongly agreed that they were pleased to be asked about domestic abuse and/or sexual violence during consultations.

Read the report

 

Deaf Ethnic Women's Association

DEWA supported the Million Women Rise march on the 9th March, advocating for women's rights. They ensured full accessibility with British Sign Language (BSL) for a deaf women's group. The atmosphere was vibrant, with Asha meeting various organisations, including those from Palestine and Iran. Each organisation was given three minutes to present, and DEWA delivered a speech about domestic violence against deaf women, an important cause that has received funding.

Advance Charity

A report 'Her Story, Her Justice' by Advance scrutinizes the failures of the criminal justice system in addressing domestic abuse survivors and proposes solutions for better outcomes. Shockingly, only 4% of domestic abuse crimes result in prosecution, with survivors often lacking adequate information and protection post-conviction. Drawing from extensive experience supporting survivors, Advance advocates the evidence-based Whole Justice Approach. Analysis reveals significant improvements in arrest-to-charge ratios and conviction rates where this approach is implemented. The campaign calls for recommended changes to enhance outcomes for courageous women reporting their abusers.

Read the report

Sophie Hayes Foundation Employability Programme for Women Survivors of Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery 

 

Sophie Hayes Foundation is a UK-based organisation dedicated to ensuring that all women survivors of human trafficking and modern slavery achieve complete and sustainable freedom. Our sole focus is to empower survivors with the independence to live and work without fear, fostering a better future for each survivor and, consequently, for society as a whole. 

Employability Programme 

The Employability Programme supports survivors to develop essential life skills that will help with confidence building, followed by essential skills development for future employment and education. All of which are important for living independently, finding work, and remaining free. 

Referrals are being accepted for the next cohort of the programme beginning w/c 29^th April. Please submit a Referral Form as soon as possible (places are on a first come first served basis). Referrals close on Monday 15^th April. 

 

DEWA- International Women's Day Event

DEWA hosted a successful International Women's Day event on March 2nd, 2024, with over 100 deaf women in attendance. Featuring a guest speaker from Million Women Rise, the event included three workshops on henna art, weave doodling, and basic self-defense. Attendees enjoyed a mesmerizing belly dance performance and catering by the renowned deaf Punk Chef. A live debate on technology, social media, and accessibility, as well as body image and trends, engaged panel members of different age groups. The event was documented by a female deaf photographer and included the launch of DEWA's films addressing issues of isolation and financial abuse. Positive feedback was received from attendees across the country, from Brighton to Bradford to Birmingham.

Thrivin' Together CIC

Proudly announces successful funding bids from ROSA and The National Lottery Community Fund. As a women-only organisation, led by lived experience. Thrivin' Together supports women affected by gambling at any stage of their journey, including affected others. Established in 2022, our goal is to promote choice, voice, and change, fostering women's recovery with dignity.

With the ROSA fund, we will develop a report and webinar based on our 2023 focus group data in collaboration with our community of women, scheduled for later in 2024.

The 3-year Community Fund grant will facilitate the development of a women-centric activity program shaped by community feedback. Additionally, it will empower women to access decision-making roles within and beyond the gambling recovery landscape.

Director Nadine Ashworth said "we are incredibly proud to have received these grants to enable us to shape support and the storytelling of the realities of gambling addiction as a woman. Our community would like to pass on its thanks to both ROSA and the Community Fund for their support and recognising the value of our work with women."

Events & Training

ADHD Babes

Date and Time: Thursday, 28th March 2024 at 6:30 pm

Where: The Albany, Deptford, SE8 4AG

Join ADHD Babes for an evening of creativity and community at their  scratch night, a unique showcase of new work by artists from the ADHD Babes community.

Featuring an array of electrifying performances, including music, poetry, and stand-up, this platform for artistic exploration is an opportunity for artists to receive audience feedback to continue refining their work on stage.

You My Sister- Vision Board Class

You My Sister are thrilled to be hosting a free 'Vision Board Class'. This is a fun, 'out of the box' way of thinking about your dreams and aspirations.

You will need board, relevant pics from magazines or elsewhere, pens, glue, scissors etc

Open to women who have experienced abuse, allies and support workers.

 Book

Survivors' Network Training

Survivors and the Criminal Justice Process 

Date and Time: Friday, 5^th April 2024 at  9:30 am - 1:00 pm

The course is for anyone wanting to learn more about the way in which the systems in place responds to survivors of rape and sexual assault, and how these crimes may be dealt with. 

Sign up