NCJ Number
187543
Date Published
1999
Length
25 pages
Annotation
This chapter examines the role of Women's Aid in Great Britain in the development of multi-agency responses to domestic violence; the impact of multi-agency work on, and advantages and disadvantages for, Women's Aid's role and services; and the opportunities and challenges in developing effective responses to abused women and children.
Abstract
The chapter draws on the author's own experience in working locally and nationally with Women's Aid groups for the last 25 years, as well as on feedback from local Women's Aid refuges and individual activists through conferences, workshops, and informal surveys. For more than 25 years, Women's Aid groups scattered throughout Great Britain have provided practical and emotional support as part of a range of services to women and children who have been victimized by violence and other abuse from those with whom they are living. Women's Aid stemmed from the women's liberation movement of the late 1960's and early 1970's. The first Women's Aid groups were established to respond to women's need for a place to stay with their children in order to escape abuse from violent partners. Over the last 25 years, Women's Aid has developed and expanded the network of support services to women and children experiencing domestic violence. Although the services, management structures, and operational styles among Women's Aid groups vary across the United Kingdom, the groups are committed to the same objectives: to believe women and children and make their safety a priority; to support and empower women to take control of their own lives; to recognize and care for the needs of children affected by domestic violence; and to promote equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory practices. This chapter addresses Women's Aid and the development of multi-agency responses to domestic violence; the national roles of Women's Aid in multi-agency work; local Women's Aid experiences of the impact of public attention to domestic violence and multi-agency work; new opportunities for Women's Aid in multi-agency work; refuge development and multi-agency work; the challenge for developing effective multi-agency responses by changing the social policy framework; and government responses to domestic violence. 30 references