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Membership

Membership

The Faith and VAWG Coalition is a unique partnership of organisations across a wide variety of the VAWG sector and faith communities who are dedicated in working together to end violence against Women and Girls by building bridges within the community. It is important for us to centre the voices of our members and are dedicated to working together.

Becoming a Member

Currently, membership applications are suspended until further notice. The Coalition is in an exciting phase of reviewing our strategic plans for the next few years. As we continue to grow, its important to reflect and review our membership strategy to be able to provide the best space for our members.

Our Members

We are grateful to our members for their continued commitment to our coalition:

AVA (Against Violence and Abuse)
AVA (Against Violence and Abuse) is a feminist organisation committed to creating a world without gender-based violence and abuse. Our mission is to work with survivors to end gender-based violence by championing evidence based change. We are a national charity, independent and particularly recognised for our specialist expertise in multiple disadvantage and children and young people’s work. Our core work includes training, policy, research, and consultancy.
Back In Control Consultancy
Back in Control Consultancy (BiCC) provides advocacy, practical and emotional support to those that are or have been affected by domestic violence or abuse. We are specialists in supporting victims and survivors from faith backgrounds. BiCC is therefore working in partnership with faith institutions to enhance awareness of domestic abuse among Faith Leaders and within faith communities. We do this by offering bespoke Awareness Training for faith leaders, clergy and lay members to help them understand the challenges and barriers facing people of faith experiencing domestic violence or abuse, and respond appropriately. The training is delivered online by Veronica Simpson, BiCC’s CEO. Veronica has a wealth of experience in the domestic violence sector. She has worked for several of the main domestic abuse service providers and charities, and has trained GPs, NHS hospitals, social workers, other professionals, religious clergy, women’s groups and many others in domestic violence/abuse as it affects people of faith. She is a qualified Safeguarding Instructor, is accredited by Safe Lives as an IDVA (Independent Domestic Violence Advocate) and Educator, and holds a qualification in Psychodynamics and Psychotherapy also a qualified trainer. She was awarded a Women Appreciating Women Award in 2020 and was one of 100 Inspirational Women nominees in 2019. Veronica is a practising Christian.
FORWARD UK
FORWARD (Foundation of Women's Health Research and Development) is the African women-led women's rights organisation working to end violence against women and girls.
Huda Jawad
Huda is an intersectional Muslim feminist and co-director of Musawah, an international charity, leading the global movement for equality and justice in the Muslim family. She is co-founder of the Faith and VAWG Coalition a partnership of organisations and activists working at the intersections\ of faith, feminism, violence against women and girls. She is a founding member of the Anti-Racism Working Group, tasked by the women’s sector to create an anti-racism charter that can be adopted sector wide. Huda was born in Baghdad and left Iraq at the age of two. She travelled the Middle East throughout her childhood, settling in the UK in 1988. Her career spans over 20 years with a leading track record in campaigning, project management, training and systems entrepreneurship in intersectional work, violence against women & girls and anti-racist activism. She is former chair of the End Violence Against Women Coalition and former Lead Organiser of Women’s March London.
Juno Women's Aid
Juno Women's Aid is the largest domestic abuse organisation in Nottingham and one of the largest in the UK. They run a wide range of services including the 24-hour Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Freephone Domestic and Sexual Violence Helpline, emergency Refuge accommodation and the Pet’s Foster Project. In 2020-2021, Juno Women's Aid worked with 2,147 women, 375 children and young people, fostered 39 pets, and received over 17,000 calls on their Helpline. At any one time, they support 500-600 women and children in Nottingham and south Nottinghamshire. Juno Women's Aid have been helping women, children, and teens in Nottingham for over 40 years and are passionate about helping anyone affected by domestic abuse to stay as safe as possible and to recover from the harm of domestic abuse.
Latin American Women Rights Service
LAWRS is a human rights, feminist organisation run by and for Latin American migrant women living in the UK. LAWRS supports 5,000 women every year who are exposed to violations of their fundamental human rights, facing violence against women and girls, exploitation in low-paid sectors, trafficking, or enduring severe poverty and deprivation. Their direct support includes casework for women experiencing gender-based violence, counselling and emotional support, advice on benefits, money and debts, employment rights, family law and immigration, workshops and other integration activities. LAWRS also actively advocate for women’s rights, migrant’s rights and the rights of ethnic minorities at local, national and EU levels, working with sister organisations in the women and migrant sectors, as well as networks and campaigns, to tackle the vulnerabilities faced by Latin American women, who are affected by intersectional layers of discrimination.
Luminary Bakery
Luminary is an innovative response to a need we saw for women who have had a social and economic disadvantage. We are a social enterprise designed to offer opportunities for women to build a future for themselves. We provide a safe and professional environment where women can grow holistically – encouraging ambition, restoration and second chances. We use baking as a tool to take women on a journey to employability and entrepreneurship, equipping them with transferable skills for the working world. We offer courses, work experience and paid employment within our bakery, empowering women to build their career. By investing in and releasing them to realise their dreams - through training, employment and community - we aim to break cycles of poverty, violence & disadvantage once and for all.
Muslim Women's Network UK
MWNUK works to improve social justice and equality for Muslim women and girls through research, advocacy and campaigning. Alongside our work we run the MWN Helpline which provides a national specialist faith and culturally sensitive service that is confidential and non-judgmental, which offers information, support, guidance and referrals. We also have an online member platform, MWN Hub where our members can share their thoughts and feelings, impart their knowledge, support one another and build a movement for change.
Muslim Youth Helpline
MYH has been around for 20 years, supporting the Muslim community in the UK with a listening ear and emotional support. MYH is a helpline service for young Muslims, offering support and signposting seven days a week by phone, Whatsapp, webchat and email. This service is open seven days a week, 4 pm –10 pm. It is free and confidential. The helpline is a space to find faith-sensitive support and signposting for whatever challenges you’re facing. The volunteer team will support you with empathy, empowerment, and active listening.
Natalie Collins
Natalie Collins is a Gender Justice Specialist. She is the author of Out Of Control; couples, conflict and the capacity for change and CEO of The Women’s Liberation Collective. She set up Spark and works to enable individuals and organisations to prevent and respond to male violence against women. She is the Creator and Director of the DAY Programme, an innovative youth domestic abuse and exploitation education programme and of the Own My Life course, for women who have been subjected to abuse. She organises Project 3:28 (www.project328.info), co-founded the UK Christian Feminist Network (www.christianfeministnetwork.com), and has written a short Book on Gender Aware Youth Work,. She speaks and writes on understanding and ending gender injustice nationally and internationally.
Nikki Dhillon Keane
Nikki is one of the co-founders of the Coalition as well as a therapist, clinical supervisor, trainer and activist who specialises in working with survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence, and in particular, at the intersections of VAWG and religious faith. Nikki works for several organisations in the VAWG sector and in private practice. She is the founder of the Safe in Faith project with Caritas Westminster, which has an interfaith network of counsellors and psychotherapists working at the intersection of Faith, trauma, domestic abuse and GBV, and trains clergy to provide trauma-informed support to survivors. Her books include “Domestic Abuse in Church Communities: a Safe Pastoral Response” (rpbooks.co.uk/domestic-abuse) Nikki is also fluent in British Sign Language and is the founder of Signs of Hope Deaf Counselling Service, which is linked with Caritas Deaf Service. She can be contacted at nikkidhillonk@rcdow.org.uk
Project Dldl
Project dldl/ድልድል is a research and innovation project dedicated to the development and strengthening of religio-culturally sensitive domestic violence alleviation systems in Ethiopia, Eritrea and the UK. Dldl/ድልድል means 'bridge' in Tigrigna, a term that reflects the project's aim to bridge different disciplines, sectors and stakeholders to achieve a more reflexive, decolonial and integrated approach to addressing domestic violence in faith communities. The project is hosted at the School of History, Religions and Philosophies at SOAS University of London and is led by Dr Romina Istratii, who is UKRI Future Leaders Fellow. It involves numerous collaborators, partners and team members in the project countries, including Aksum University (Aksum, Ethiopia), the St Frumentius Abba Selama Kessate Berhan Theological College (Mekelle, Ethiopia), the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia), the Ethiopian Orthodox Church Development and Inter-Church Aid Commission (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia), Diversity Resource International (Brighton, UK) and its sister-branch Waniney (Asmara, Eritrea), the EMIRTA Research, Training and Development Centre (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia), the University of Bristol (Bristol, UK) and the University of Sheffield (Sheffield, UK). The project is funded initially for four years by UK Research and Innovation (Grant Ref: MR/T043350/1) and is supported with additional funding from the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation (Distinguished Scholars Award 2019).
Respect
Respect is a pioneering UK domestic abuse charity leading on the development of safe, effective work with perpetrators, male victims, and young people using violence in their close relationships. Our vision is a world where domestic abuse is not tolerated, where perpetrators are held to account and survivors’ safety and wellbeing is centred. Respect is a membership organisation, providing leadership and guidance to its members and the wider sector. This includes the accreditation of safe and effective services for perpetrators and male victims. The charity also works with a number of partners to push for strategic, well-funded, multi-agency responses to domestic abuse. Our partnership projects include CLEAR, Make a Change, and the Drive Partnership. Respect runs two helplines: the Respect Phoneline for perpetrators of domestic abuse and the Men’s Advice line for male victims.
Restored
Restored is a Christian Charity with a mission to speak up about the realities of violence against women and equip the Church to stand against domestic abuse and support survivors. The Restored Survivors' Network provides a community where women can find support and understanding not just of the abuse they have been subjected to, but of the specific questions and concerns that their faith creates. The Restored Beacon Church project equips, connects and empowers churches that are committed to standing against abuse and providing a beacon of hope to survivors in their communities
Sikh Women's Aid
The mission of SWA is to act as a stimulus to develop lasting positive change by actively challenging harmful belief systems and practices that act as the root cause of all forms of abuse within the Sikh and wider South Asian community. Our goal is to empower victims to take control of their own lives to become survivors by breaking free of toxic cultural practices that seek to disempower vulnerable members of the Sikh and South-Asian community especially those with language barriers, that prevent them from accessing the right kind of help and support.
Standing Together Against Domestic Abuse
Standing together against domestic abuse organisation that brings local services together to keep people safe.
THE SHIFT with Maryyum
The SHIFT (Social, Harmony, Intercultural & Faith Training) is a foundation that works towards the advancement of education for the public benefit in the subjects of social harmony, intercultural dialogue, and inter and intra-faith relations. In particular, it seeks to enhance religious literacy, and tackle gender-based violence, spiritual abuse and racism, by providing the tools, techniques and training to inspire innovative perspectives towards progressive outcomes that are rooted within faith and spirituality. The SHIFT’s flagship project, SAVE (Spiritual Abuse & Violence Eradication), is a survivor-centred initiative to spread awareness about the dangers of spiritual abuse, whilst simultaneously affecting change in both policy and practice, so as to put an end to violence perpetrated in the name of religion in faith-based spaces, with a specific focus on Muslim communities in Britain.
The Traveller Movement
The Traveller Movement (TM), formally known as the Irish Traveller Movement in Britain, gained charitable status in 2003 and directed their services towards marginalised Irish Travellers in the UK. In 2008, TM widened their network and services to engage with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people. Our work aims to advocate for and work with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people to tackle discrimination and promote equality. We have developed expertise in tackling local issues whilst shaping national policies. It has become a recognised bridge between the GRT sector, service providers and policy makers, stimulating debate and promoting forward-looking strategies to advance equality, civic engagement, inclusion and community cohesion.
Voicing Voices
Voicing Voices, founded by Ayan Said, is a social enterprise committed to humanising systems. We offer consultancy services to bridge the gap between diversity and inclusion so more disadvantaged women and girls have access. Our framework is systemic and inclusive as we use a wide-range of design tools to deliver deep-rooted and sustainable solutions that push forward gender equity on multiple levels. We work across sectors, geographies and social divides with empathy as our driving force against challenges.
Welsh Women's Aid
Welsh Women’s Aid is the national charity in Wales working to end domestic abuse and all forms of violence against women. We are a federation of specialist organisations in Wales (working as part of a UK network of services) that provide lifesaving services to survivors of violence and abuse – women, men, children, families – and deliver a range of innovative preventative services in local communities.

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