Nia (charity)

Last updated
nia
the nia project
PredecessorHackney Women's Aid (1975–2003)
Formation1975
Merger ofClapton Women's Aid (1991)
Type Non-governmental organisation
02673624
Registration no.1037072
Purposeprovides services to women and children who have been subjected to sexual and domestic violence, including prostitution
HeadquartersHackney, London
OriginsHackney Women's Aid, 1975
CEO
 Karen Ingala Smith
Key people
 Onjali Q. Raúf, patron
Subsidiaries The Emma Project (2007)
The Femicide Census (2015)
Revenue£3,526,973 (2024)
Expenses£3,596,913 (2024)
Staff75 (2024)
Volunteers7 (2024)
Website niaendingviolence.org.uk
charitycommission.gov.uk

nia, or the nia project is a domestic violence and aid organisation raising awareness about femicide and supporting women and girls in London. Founded as Hackney Women's Aid in 1975, the organisation rebranded as the nia project in 2003 to reflect a widening provision of their services.

Contents

Background

Hackney Women's Aid was founded in 1975 as part of a larger consortium of women's domestic violence shelters in the United Kingdom. [1] In the beginning of the organisation's history, Hackney Women's Aid operated as a collective. Volunteers worked to outfit and maintain a series of residences initially provided by the Greater London and Hackney Councils. [2]

Hackney Women's Aid later adopted a more hierarchal structure, merging with Clapton Women's Aid in 1991. [3]

In 1998, Irish singer Sinead O'Connor opened the organisation's new drop-in centre in Dalston. [1] That year, Hackney Women's Aid opened one the first domestic violence advice centres in the United Kingdom. [4]

In 2003, in recognition of the organisation's widening suite of services, Hackney Women's Aid rebranded to the nia project, where they support over 2,000 women and girls yearly. [2] [5] The organisation's title is styled in lowercase. That year, the nia project operated seven shelters for vulnerable women in Hackney and Haringey, with an emphasis on supporting particularly vulnerable refugee and black, minority and Asian women. [6]

In 2005, the organisation was awarded a Mayor of London Award of Distinction in recognition of "outstanding and innovative work to further the London Domestic Violence Strategy". [4]

Following the 2010 general election, nia's survival was threated after losing considerable funding for service provision. The organisation had to cut their domestic violence helpline and significantly reduce their services. [4]

The Femicide Census

In 2015, nia project CEO Karen Ingala Smith launched the Femicide Census, a collaborative effort between nia and Women's Aid with support from Deloitte. [5] Smith was inspired to start the project after learning of the death of Kirsty Treloar, a 20-year-old mother that had previously been referred to the nia project for help. [7] [8]

The census tracks femicide deaths in the United Kingdom. [9] The project aims to profile women killed by femicide, collect robust data on femicide deaths, and raise awareness of its occurrence in the UK. [10] [11] [12]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Records of Hackney Women's Aid". archives.lse.ac.uk. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  2. 1 2 "Doing it themselves". East End Women's Museum. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  3. ↑ "Herstory - Our Journey - NIA | Ending Violence Against Women and Girls". 2020-02-15. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  4. 1 2 3 Smedley, Tim (2014-01-08). "The future of the voluntary sector: partnerships case study". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  5. 1 2 Hague, Gill (2021-05-26). History and Memories of the Domestic Violence Movement: We've Come Further Than You Think. Policy Press. pp. 162–164. ISBN   978-1-4473-5633-2.
  6. ↑ "Domestic violence charities". The Guardian. 2003-11-29. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  7. ↑ Smith, Karen Ingala (2021-04-25). "It's time to stop ignoring the real extent of femicide in the UK". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  8. ↑ "Teenager in court over Kirsty Treloar murder in Hackney". The Guardian. 2012-01-05. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  9. ↑ Alter, Charlotte (2015-02-18). "Someone is Finally Starting to Count 'Femicides'". TIME. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  10. ↑ "Free to kill: At least 21 men released on bail went on to attack women". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2024-08-29. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  11. ↑ Nishat (2021-09-30). "Research reveals one woman killed every three days in UK". Open Access Government. Archived from the original on 2024-10-03. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  12. ↑ McVeigh, Tracy; Colley, Claire (2015-02-08). "'We record all the killing of women by men. You see a pattern'". The Observer. ISSN   0029-7712 . Retrieved 2025-02-26.
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