ABOUT MANCHESTER WOMEN'S AID
Although domestic abuse can happen to anyone regardless of gender, sexuality and from any walk of life, women are more likely to experience domestic abuse.
The statistics are staggering with two women killed by a partner or ex-partner every week in England and Wales.
Domestic abuse is not just confined to violence or sexual abuse but can involve emotional abuse, coercive control, stalking, economic abuse, digital abuse, and many other forms of abuse which can overlap.
Manchester Women’s Aid, part of The Pankhurst Trust, exists to offer clients the confidential help they need and to provide a holistic, safety-first approach, where the prospect of a life free from abuse is possible.
Working together
The Working Together group started from a genuine need to understand service users’ perspectives and so that Manchester Women’s Aid could be shaped by their vision, expertise and lived experience.
Our Working Together Group governance structure captures all active groups across the organisation, including service users, volunteers, staff, management and the board of trustees, with the emphasis being on the service users as true authorities on their experience.
Our service users help to design and develop our services and we take care to implement their recommendations.
Our current areas of change are housing, health and wellbeing, work and skills and justice.
Our specialist domestic abuse services focus on increasing the safety, health, wellbeing and confidence of survivors and include:
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Refuge accommodation
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A wide range of specialist services delivered in health settings such as doctors’ surgeries and hospitals.
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Child-led play and specialist groupwork services for children impacted by domestic abuse.
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Community based outreach teams delivering one-to-one and whole family practical and recovery-based support.
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Specialist groupwork and mentoring services supporting the recovery and empowerment of survivors and families.
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Services supporting those who are statutory homeless according to Manchester City Council and who are also experiencing domestic abuse.
Support us
Please donate here
OUR HISTORY
50 YEARS AGO...
In 1972, the workers at the Women’s Centre on Upper Brook Street saw the need for an organisation that specifically advocated and supported women across Manchester.
They created a helpline where women could ring and receive advice, share resources and be offered a sympathetic listening ear about anything that was impacting them.
They soon realised that what they really needed was a physical space. A safe place where women could come together in person to be supported. A refuge from their reality. They found out about a property that had been vacant for years and took action.
THE FOUNDATION
Angela Cooper, Luchia Fitzgerald, Kath Caulfield and Fran Brody squatted the property and began spreading the word of their activism. The public supported their cause and within two weeks someone came forward to purchase the property for them.
This was the foundation of Manchester Women’s Aid (MWA) - the second ever refuge in the country and the first outside of London. It would take two more years for the local authority to formally recognise the refuge. That was in 1974, and 50 years later, we still use this property to this day to provide a home to women who have fled domestic violence.
We’ve expanded since then, and now have six refuges and four dispersed properties.
Our executive team
Gail Heath
CEO of The Pankhurst Trust (Incorporating Manchester Women’s Aid).
Gail leads a dedicated staff and volunteers who provide holistic services such as refuge, community-based provision, advocacy, and education to empower and protect service users.
She’s responsible for the strategic vision and direction of the organisation as well as the sustainability and growth of the charity.
Gail previously worked in housing as an Assistant Director at Manchester City Council.
Gail is always on the lookout for opportunities to collaborate with other organisations, agencies and individuals who share our vision and values.
Elaine De Fries
Director of Operations, The Pankhurst Trust (Incorporating Manchester Women’s Aid).
Elaine De Fries has over 30 years’ experience of designing and coordinating projects in the statutory, voluntary and community sector.
She has worked on creative projects developing voice and agency with women from the global majority and victims of domestic abuse.
Elaine has worked with communities where trust in statutory agencies is very low, and she worked with police and other agencies to combat serious organised crime and anti-social behaviour and with communities affected by FGM and with insecure immigration status.
She’s a strong believer in the importance of narrative in community development and activism.
CONTACT US
Manchester Women’s Aid's head office is situated at The Pankhurst Museum, the iconic building where Emmeline Pankhurst lived and started the suffragette movement.
Our address is
60-62 Nelson Street, Manchester, M13 9WP
For general enquiries about Manchester Women’s Aid, you can email
or call 0161 820 8414
If you’d like to visit the museum, you can find more information here.
Both Manchester Women’s Aid and The Pankhurst Museum are part of the umbrella charity, The Pankhurst Trust.
