Women's Aid Federation of England - Activities

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 not to publish the names of its trustees, (The trustees of Women's Aid are freely available through the Charity Commission's website along with audited reports). Women's Aid 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.