Refuge’s work has never been more important. When the first safe house for women and children opened in Chiswick in 1971, domestic abuse was largely seen as being black eyes and broken bones, something which happened behind closed doors. Now, it is recognised it can take many forms and can be more complex and difficult to spot. It can include abuse via technology, economic abuse, coercive control, emotional abuse, sexual abuse. The ways in which perpetrators are using technology to control, harass and harm women, for example, is something that Refuge is extremely concerned about and is working hard to address.
Over the past two years, we’ve had some significant successes at Refuge. At our core, we are the largest single provider of specialist domestic abuse services for women and their children across the country, and run the National Domestic Abuse Helpline, the gateway to frontline services. Every two minutes, someone turns to Refuge for help. As well as our frontline services, we also advocate and campaign for change.
We’ve recently changed the law to make threatening to share intimate images a crime, we’ve supported a successful campaign to increase the time limit survivors have to report common assault, we’ve ensured Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) is a strategic policing priority, and as I write this, we are campaigning to ensure the Online Safety Bill better protects women and girls. We’ve also been the leading sector voice in calling out police perpetrated abuse.
We have also developed and evolved our sector-leading specialist tech and economic abuse services. And have progressed out work on developing services that support children and young people.
Our work is more important than ever. In England and Wales, 1 in 4 women will experience domestic abuse at some point in their lifetime, and one woman every five days is killed by a current or former partner. This epidemic of violence against women and girls must stop.
This is a pivotal moment in time for Refuge. With a new Labour government in place that has committed publicly to halve domestic violence by 50% – this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for us to drive forward significant change.
Internally, we’ve also been through a significant period of culture change. This has included:
- Implementing clinical supervision for staff.
- Improving the way in which we communicate and engage with staff.
- Developing new organisational values.
- Implementing a new pay and grading system.
- Progressing our commitment to equality, equity, diversity and inclusion through the development of a strategy and action plan.
- Improving policies and ways of working.
This is a unique and special opportunity for the new CEO to take the strategic change we have started and take it up to the next level. We want to be in a position to inform and influence the government agenda, act as a key partner and be part of the conversations that will allow us to be ever more impactful in our mission for a world where domestic abuse and violence against women and girls is not tolerated, and where women and children can live in safety. Some of the key opportunities for the CEO include:
- Leading the development and delivering of a new strategic plan.
- Continuing to raise our external profile including developing and leveraging strategic partnerships.
- Maximising opportunities to increase our external impact.
- Leading the organisation to long term financial sustainability.
- Continuing to develop and embed a transparent and open culture which attracts and retains staff and where staff feel valued and respected.