We are dismayed by the statement issued by Welsh Women’s Aid on 5 th October in response to unspecified comments by UK Government Ministers. Welsh Women’s Aid was established in 1978 with a specific focus on supporting local Women’s Aid Groups delivering single-sex services to
women experiencing domestic abuse and give those women a voice within the policy and law-making process.
It was set up by women, for women. It acknowledged that those services had to be exclusive of men, male adults, to allow vulnerable women and their children to break free from male violence and abuse and heal their trauma. Women’s Aid offered women a place of safety and sisterly support. This has worked for decades and has a strong evidence base. The unique value of single-sex services is recognised by domestic abuse survivors themselves, practitioners and by experts including the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls, Reem Alsalem. Continue reading “Joint statement by Merched Cymru and Women’s Rights Network Wales in response to statement by Welsh Women’s Aid”
