Spotlight Interview- Cardiff Women’s Aid

Cardiff Women’s Aid offer lots of services for Women suffering any form of violence of abuse, including a 24/7 helpline, legal advise, counselling, coffee mornings, safety plans and so much more. Hear about they history, vision and their new campaign Rise and Take Action.

When was Cardiff Women's Aid set up?

Cardiff Women’s Aid was founded in 1974. We emerged out of the Women’s Aid Movement and were the first Women’s Aid to be set up in Wales. We are a member organisation of Welsh Women’s Aid, which was founded in 1978 and is an offshoot of the original UK federation of Women's Aid, as an equivalent body to the Women's Aid Federation of England (which continued to be known simply as Women's Aid), Scottish Women's Aid in Scotland and the Women's Aid Federation [of] Northern Ireland. Our first refuge was on Moira Street in Cardiff and was run by volunteers. Since then we have grown and expanded our services but still continue to offer refuge and support to women and children in Cardiff and the Vale suffering any form of violence or abuse against them.

What is Cardiff Women's Aid's Vision?

Our vision is- A world where women and girls are free of all forms of gender-based violence; in Cardiff and across the globe.

Our mission is - Cardiff Women’s Aid provides needs-based support and a place of safety for all women and children experiencing and at-risk of gender-based violence. We work alongside survivors to create change, raising awareness of the causes and consequences of violence against women and girls. We work in partnership with others to prevent gender-based violence and promote equality.

We are feminists and:

● We want to support and empower all women.

● We advocate for women’s rights and equality, using our influence to give a voice to women experiencing oppression and discrimination.

We work with others:

● We work in partnership with groups, organisations and individuals that share our

vision.

● We ensure the experiences of survivors are heard by people of influence.

We listen

● We thrive on learning from others through feedback. We reflect on it and use it to

shape what we do and how we do it.

● We actively listen to and value the experiences and suggestions of survivors of gender-based violence.

We are ambitious:

● We want to grow as an organisation and improve our quality services, giving high levels of support to anyone who needs us.

● We are trusted to represent the voice of survivors of gender-based violence in Cardiff.

... and we won’t give up.

In what ways do you support women and children?

At Cardiff Women's Aid we provide a range of services that support and empower women

and children. The best thing to do would be to give us a call on our main number and we

would be able to do an assessment and work out a woman's needs and how best to support

her and her children.

These are some of the services we offer:

  • 24/7 helpline for women to contact us on 02920 460566

  • Emotional and practical support and advice around violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence

  • 1:1 IDVA support in the community

  • Securing your property

  • Housing

  • Supporting letters

  • Legal appointments

  • Court support

  • Emergency accommodation (refuge)

  • Safety planning

  • Groups, workshops and 1:1 support for children and young people

  • Support in schools for children and staff

  • Your Space app for young people

  • Aftercare and recovery programmes

  • Domestic abuse awareness programmes

  • Peer support groups

  • Counselling

  • Coffee mornings (Safe Space Cafe)

  • Activities for wellbeing, education and personal development

  • Volunteering opportunities

  • Community engagement and outreach services

  • Women’s Library

  • Safe Spaces in pharmacies and banks

  • All of our services are free and trauma informed.

If there is further support that you might need that our service doesn't provide, we can signpost you in the right direction.

What is your new campaign called and what's it about?

Rise & Take Action is our latest fundraising campaign, encouraging everyone to run, jump, hike or cycle to support survivors of violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence (VAWDASV). VAWDASV can often feel like a large and unconquerable problem, however we believe that violence doesn’t have to be inevitable. Through early education and intervention, providing support and resources, and guided aftercare and recovery that is survivor-led and trauma informed, we can not only turn back the effects of abuse, but break the cycle all together. That’s what this campaign is about; by taking part in one of our Rise & Take Action activities and raising money for Cardiff Women’s Aid, you not only help us to continue running provision, prevention and recovery services, but you take a stand with survivors and against violence and abuse.

How can women and children access your services and how can others get involved?

We are available 24hrs on 02920 460566 and our websites are

rise-cardiff.cymru

cardiffwomensaid.org.uk

We also have a live chat service HERE.

Please contact us if you need any support or help.

In an emergency, please always call 999 and 101 to report anything to the police.

We also have many volunteering opportunities, so please have a look on our website HERE.

Where can people find you and social media links?

Follow us on our social media platforms to stay up to date with any opportunities, groups, events, activities and to read more about healthy relationships, feminist issues and domestic abuse.

Here are the links to our social media accounts:

INSTAGRAM

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

LINKEDIN

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