Led by Cross-UK Partnership Of Black, Minoritised and Migrant Women’s Organisations
Thanks to National Lottery players, a pioneering partnership of specialist by and for organisations led by Southall Black Sisters and comprising, Safety4Sisters, Latin American Women’s Rights Service, Bawso, Shakti Women’s Aid and Foyle Women’s Aid have received almost £5 million over five years from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest community funder in the UK. The funding will be used to create step-change for women from Black, minoritised and migrant communities who have experienced domestic abuse and violence.
This comes from The UK Fund, one of The National Lottery Community Fund’s first significant commitments as part of its new strategy, ‘It starts with community’, funding projects that support communities to come together – one of the funder’s four key missions.
This UK-wide partnership Project, formed of six grassroots organisations, is rooted in over 200 years of collective grassroots advocacy and frontline support experience. Together, the six organisations support approximately 12,000 Domestic Abuse (DA) and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) cases and enquiries annually. Of these, an average of 55% involve women facing immigration abuse and the No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) condition; over 70% experience homelessness and 80% live in poverty. The need is particularly acute in Northern England and the devolved nations, where migrant women face higher levels of unmet need but have access to significantly fewer specialist resources.[1]
This Project, which will be co-designed by migrant victim-survivors, seeks to transform the UK’s state response to migrant victim-survivors of DA and VAWG, dismantle intersectional discrimination and ultimately help save countless lives by addressing the longstanding and systemic state failures that continue to place migrant women at serious risk of harm, destitution, deportation and even death.
The Project will create lasting change through streamlined, ground-up advocacy for legal, policy and statutory reforms. Over the next 5 years, policy advocacy will take place at local, regional and national levels. Partners will collaborate on joint national policy advocacy while developing and disseminating scalable best practice models, with each partner leading in their area of expertise.
Press Contact:
Asmita Sood, Senior Manager – Policy, Campaigns and Partnerships, Southall Black Sisters, [email protected] 07775 178056
Quotes:
Selma Taha, Executive Director, Southall Black Sisters:
‘This first-of-its-kind partnership is informed by decades of grassroots campaigning, policy advocacy and frontline service provision, and reinforced by consultations, research and evaluation with migrant victim-survivors and key stakeholders. Our aim is to interrupt the dual harms of violence against women and girls (VAWG) and the hostile environment, which together trap migrant women and their children in prolonged harm, insecurity, and trauma.
This unprecedented project will build on this foundation by scaling up our proven approaches, delivering measurable changes through coordinated action and advocacy, and setting clear milestones for systemic reform across the UK – led by victim-survivors and grassroots organisations.
At a time of resurgent far-right rhetoric, and as the UK government continues to dismantle protections for migrants, this funding is a vital lifeline for chronically under-funded organisations. It will enable us to continue our life-saving work and ensure that no victim-survivor is prevented from escaping abuse because of her immigration status.’
Gisela Valle, Executive Director, Latin American Women’s Rights Service:
‘Changes to legislation and policy over the last few years have prioritised immigration control over women’s safety and access to justice. This has created an unfair two-tier system that heightens risk of violence and abuse for migrant women and forces them to remain in abusive situations for longer.
This partnership will bring extensive expertise directly from the frontline to evidence the detrimental effect of the recent changes to law and policy and its effects on black, minoritised and migrant women. This will help to inform current and future plans to eradicate VAWG from a survivor centred perspective ensuring the voices of those at the margins are heard to bring about the changes that are needed to protect them.’
Girijamba Polubothu, Chief Executive Officer, Shakti Women’s Aid:
‘Shakti Women’s Aid is proud to be part of a groundbreaking partnership focused on creating systemic change. This initiative centers on amplifying the voices of Black, Minoritised, and Migrant (BMM) survivors of domestic abuse, and it is led by grassroots frontline organisations.
This partnership is unique in Scotland as it is specifically designed for and led by Black and Minority Ethnic women. The funding will support two main objectives: first, to continue providing frontline assistance to all BMM women, irrespective of their immigration status; and second, to advocate for reforms addressing discriminatory practices against BMM survivors of gender-based violence.
Shakti, alongside its partners, is dedicated to strengthening the support system for BMM women affected by gender-based violence in the UK.’
Samsunear Ali, CEO, Bawso:
‘We warmly welcome and acknowledge the support of The National Lottery Community Fund in enabling this important programme of policy development. As a leading “by and for” organisation in Wales, Bawso works directly with migrant women experiencing domestic abuse and exploitation, many of whom face significant barriers to safety and support due to their immigration status and the application of No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) conditions.
Current legislative and operational frameworks can, in practice, create conditions that heighten vulnerability, including inconsistencies in the implementation of domestic abuse protections at local authority level. These gaps risk limiting access to essential safeguarding measures for some of the most at-risk individuals.
This timely funding, aligned with the UK Government’s strategic focus on tackling violence against women and girls, will support the meaningful inclusion of survivors with lived experience in informing policy and practice. It will strengthen the evidence base around NRPF and contribute to improved statutory understanding, with the aim of influencing more equitable and effective responses both within devolved contexts and across the UK.’
Marie Brown, CEO, Foyle Women’s Aid:
‘The Foyle Family Justice Center and Foyle Women’s Aid in Northern Ireland are delighted to be a part of this dynamic partnership and to have worked closely with Southall Black Sisters to support migrant women and children in this region who are not only impacted by abuse but face discrimination and a range of barriers that further impede their lives and full access to a range of services . We are delighted to have further resources because of this funding we can build our strong partnership and make a lasting and strategic impact across the region.
This work is crucial in Northern Ireland to ensure we work at the same pace as our partners in the UK. Jess Phillips the UK minister for Safeguarding and violence against women and girls made several significant comments during her appearance before the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee. She described violence against women and girls as “national emergency” and an “epidemic “noting that the femicide rates in this region are higher than anywhere in the UK or further afield. This partnership and the ongoing work will be a significant step to tackle violence against all women and girls.’
