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Founded | 1973 |
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Registered company no SC128433 | |
Registration no. | Charity number SC001099 |
Focus | Domestic abuse, women |
Location |
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Coordinates | 55°57′07″N3°12′06″W / 55.9519839°N 3.2016878°W |
Origins | Inspired by Chiswick Women's Aid |
Area served | Scotland |
Method | Helpline, website, advocacy, advertising campaigns |
Revenue | £1,018,250 |
Website | http://www.womensaid.scot |
Part of a series on |
Violence against women |
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Killing |
Sexual assault and rape |
Disfigurement |
Other issues |
International legal framework |
Related topics |
Scottish Women's Aid is the lead domestic abuse organisation in Scotland.
The charity plays a vital role coordinating, influencing and campaigning for effective responses to domestic abuse and supports a network of 36 Women's Aid services across Scotland delivering crucial support including refuge, counselling and outreach at a local level.
Scottish Women's Aid also took over management of Scotland's Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline [1] in 2016, a national helpline that works in partnership with the Men's Advice Line [2] to provide a 24/7 service to anyone concerned about their own relationship, or about somebody they know.
Women's Aid began in Scotland in the 1970s. Its roots were in the Women's Liberation Movement (WLM), a feminist social movement which emerged in many countries around the world (including Scotland) during the late 1960s. It brought together a diverse range of women who were angry about the limitations women faced in their everyday lives. Through creative forms of protest they made people aware of the inequalities women faced. They campaigned on a number of issues including equal pay, free childcare, financial and legal independence, an end to discrimination against lesbians, and free and safe access to abortion. They challenged the way women were viewed and talked about in society and were very important in encouraging women to be more confident in making demands.
The WLM in Scotland first emerged in Edinburgh, Glasgow, St Andrews, Dundee, Aberdeen, and Lerwick. Groups of women in these towns and cities got together to discuss their anger and frustration, and from these discussions ideas for political action emerged. These campaigns included lobbying for equal pay, spray-painting over offensive advertising, and demonstrating for women's right to choose. They set up a range of organisations and groups which last to this day, including Women's Aid.
For some WLM activists, focusing on tackling violence against women was a way to take practical action to challenge inequality. This resulted in the first Women's Aid groups being established in Scotland in Glasgow and Edinburgh in 1973. This was soon followed by Women's Aid groups in Dundee, Kirkcaldy, Perth and further afield. By 1976 it was agreed there was a need for an organising body to coordinate the growing network of groups, and so Scottish Women's Aid was founded the same year. Scottish Women's Aid was set up to nurture new groups as well as to support established groups through research, legal advice and campaigning for changes to the law.
Women's Aid in Scotland has been at the forefront of supporting women, children and young people experiencing domestic abuse; lobbying for policy changes; conducting research to enhance understandings of domestic abuse; and challenging negative attitudes. During the last 40+ years, Women's Aid has marched, protested, lobbied, and campaigned with the ultimate aim of ending domestic abuse.
During this time, Women's Aid in Scotland has gone through a lot of changes but at its core remains the focus on supporting women, children and young people who have experienced domestic abuse. Speaking Out: Recalling Women's Aid in Scotland, [3] a two-year heritage project coordinated by Scottish Women's Aid, sought to discover, record, and celebrate the history of Women's Aid in Scotland. [4]
In 2018, Scottish Women's Aid won their campaign for the introduction of legislation that criminalises psychological domestic abuse and coercive and controlling behaviour. This legislation came into force on the 1st of April 2019. [5]
Scottish Women's Aid receives the majority of its funding from taxpayers and a variety of project based funds. It also accepts donations from individuals through its website. [6] In 2009 it had an income of over £1 million. [7] in 2018 Scottish Women’s Aid was granted training funding of £165,000 from the Scottish Government as a Domestic Abuse Bill progressed through Parliament. [8] Scottish Women's Aid received funds in 2020 of £1,350,000 from the Scottish Government’s £350 million Communities Fund to ensure key support services were maintained [9] [10] In July 2021 a £5m fund to help support victims of gender-based violence was established and Scottish Woman's Aid benefited from new investment. [11]
Women's Aid Federation of England, commonly called Women's Aid within England, is one of a group of charities across the United Kingdom. There are four main Women's Aid Federations, one for each of the countries of the United Kingdom. Its aim is to end domestic violence against women and children. The charity works at both local and national levels to ensure women's safety from domestic violence and promotes policies and practices to prevent domestic violence.
Sex trafficking is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. It has been called a form of modern slavery because of the way victims are forced into sexual acts non-consensually, in a form of sexual slavery. Perpetrators of the crime are called sex traffickers or pimps—people who manipulate victims to engage in various forms of commercial sex with paying customers. Sex traffickers use force, fraud, and coercion as they recruit, transport, and provide their victims as prostitutes. Sometimes victims are brought into a situation of dependency on their trafficker(s), financially or emotionally. Every aspect of sex trafficking is considered a crime, from acquisition to transportation and exploitation of victims. This includes any sexual exploitation of adults or minors, including child sex tourism (CST) and domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST).
The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA) is a United States federal law signed by President Bill Clinton on September 13, 1994. The Act provided $1.6 billion toward investigation and prosecution of violent crimes against women, imposed automatic and mandatory restitution on those convicted, and allowed civil redress when prosecutors chose to not prosecute cases. The Act also established the Office on Violence Against Women within the U.S. Department of Justice.
Save Indian Family Foundation (SIFF) is a men's rights group in India. It is a registered, non-funded, non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO) and works with various like-minded NGOs in India.
Women's Aid Organisation (WAO) is a Malaysian non-governmental organisation that fights for women's rights and specifically against violence against women. It was founded in 1982 and continues to play a leading role in the Malaysian women's rights movement working within the fields of advocacy, public education as well as law and policy reforms.
Domestic violence is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. Domestic violence is often used as a synonym for intimate partner violence, which is committed by one of the people in an intimate relationship against the other person, and can take place in relationships or between former spouses or partners. In its broadest sense, domestic violence also involves violence against children, parents, or the elderly. It can assume multiple forms, including physical, verbal, emotional, economic, religious, reproductive, financial abuse, or sexual abuse. It can range from subtle, coercive forms to marital rape and other violent physical abuse, such as choking, beating, female genital mutilation, and acid throwing that may result in disfigurement or death, and includes the use of technology to harass, control, monitor, stalk or hack. Domestic murder includes stoning, bride burning, honor killing, and dowry death, which sometimes involves non-cohabitating family members. In 2015, the United Kingdom's Home Office widened the definition of domestic violence to include coercive control.
The ManKind Initiative is a domestic violence charity based in the United Kingdom and is at the forefront of providing support for male victims of domestic abuse and violence. Since becoming a charity in 2001, it has provided a helpline, training and support for statutory agencies and campaigns to ensure that equal recognition is given to male victims in the same way that recognition is given to female victims of domestic abuse. It is one of only a few charities in the country to help male victims.
Refuge is a United Kingdom charity providing specialist support for women and children experiencing domestic violence. It was founded by author and Men’s Rights Activist Erin Pizzey. Refuge provides a national network of specialist services, including emergency refuge accommodation (refuges), community outreach, independent domestic violence advocacy (IDVAs), culturally specific services and a team of child support workers. Refuge also runs the Freephone 24-Hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline. The National Domestic Abuse Helpline is only available for women.
Women in Malaysia receive support from the Malaysian government concerning their rights to advance, to make decisions, to health, education and social welfare, and to the removal of legal obstacles. The Malaysian government has ensured these factors through the establishment of Ministry of National Unity and Social Development in 1997. This was followed by the formation of the Women's Affairs Ministry in 2001 to recognise the roles and contributions of Malaysian women.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to domestic violence:
SAWA is a Palestinian, non-profit civil society organization established in 1998 by a group of female volunteers active in women's issues.
Domestic violence is prominent in Nigeria as in other parts of Africa. There is a deep cultural belief in Nigeria that it is socially acceptable to hit a woman as a disciplinary measure. Cases of Domestic violence are on the high and show no signs of reduction in Nigeria, regardless of age, tribe, religion, or even social status. The CLEEN Foundation reports 1 in every 3 respondents admitting to being a victim of domestic violence. The survey also found a nationwide increase in domestic violence in the past 3 years from 21% in 2011 to 30% in 2013. A CLEEN Foundation's 2012 National Crime and Safety Survey demonstrated that 31% of the national sample confessed to being victims of domestic violence.
Sisters Uncut is a British feminist direct action group that is opposed to cuts to UK government services for domestic violence victims. It was founded in November 2014, and came to international prominence in October 2015 for a protest on the red carpet at the London premiere of the film Suffragette. The group identify as revolutionary feminists and police and prison abolitionists, and is open to women, nonbinary, agender and gender variant people. The group aims to organise non-hierarchically and uses consensus decision-making. Sisters Uncut originated in London but has regional groups throughout the UK including Manchester and Leeds.
Domestic violence and abuse in the United Kingdom are a range of abusive behaviours that occur within relationships. Domestic violence or abuse can be physical, psychological, sexual, financial or emotional. In UK laws and legislation, the term "domestic abuse" is commonly used to encompass various forms of domestic violence. Some specific forms of domestic violence and abuse are criminal offences. Victims or those at risk of domestic abuse can also be provided with remedies and protection via civil law.
Victim Assist Queensland (VAQ) is an agency of the Queensland Government Department of Justice and Attorney-General that provides information, advice and financial assistance to victims of violent crime and domestic violence throughout the State of Queensland. VAQ also overseas the implementation of and complaints under the Queensland Charter of Victims' Rights, provides court support, and coordinates interagency referrals including with the Queensland Police Service.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic many countries have reported an increase in domestic violence and intimate partner violence. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, noting the "horrifying global surge", has called for a domestic violence "ceasefire". UN Women stated that COVID-19 created "conditions for abuse that are ideal for abusers because it forced people into lockdown" thus causing a "shadow pandemic" that exacerbated preexisting issues with domestic violence globally.
Amer Jamil is an Islamic scholar and co-founder of the Solas Foundation and iSyllabus programme, the latter of which he is currently the Project Director. He holds a (LLB) law degree from the University of Strathclyde and BA (Hons) in Islamic studies from the University of Wales. He was also previously the Muslim Chaplain at Glasgow Caledonian University.
Rape Crisis Scotland is a charity which provides a national rape crisis helpline and email support for anyone affected by sexual violence, no matter when or how it happened. There are 17 local centres across Scotland.
Emma Ritch was a Scottish women's rights campaigner who was the executive director of Engender, a feminist policy organisation working on women’s social, economic, and political equality in Scotland. She had been working there for 13 years when she died on 9 July 2021.