About us

We provide safe and stable refuge accommodation for women and children fleeing high risk domestic abuse potentially at risk of homicide. PWA has delivered services since 1975.

The refuge accommodation comprises of 8 self-contained rooms for women and their children, supplemented by communal areas and facilities and on average supporting the throughput of approximately 31 women survivors and 50 children per year.

The refuge also has a dedicated provision for children and young people. Child Support Workers promote the welfare of children through providing appropriate levels of support to children e.g. helping children to express their feelings through play, and to cope with the changes in their lives.

Peterborough Women’s Aid has a specialist service for the Lithuanian Community in Peterborough. We provide awareness sessions for professionals around the barriers survivors from this community face. Our staff speak Lithuanian and support victims practically and emotionally.

We have an advice line, webchat and group work service for survivors who are living in the community. All our services are survivor-led and flexible to meet needs holistically. Our advice line is open to male victims.

Our mission

To provide a specialist response to domestic abuse and violence against women and girls; empower victims to be in control of their own future and create everlasting change.

Strategic objectives

We know that to make a lasting difference to the survivors of gender-based violence, we must offer a wide range of services that encompass the needs of the Peterborough community and surrounding areas. Peterborough Women’s Aid are committed to a whole system approach, prevention, awareness and intervention. Our strategic objectives reflect our passion to expand our services, ensuring all survivors have access to support.

Our values

These values shape the behaviours, culture and work of Peterborough Women’s Aid and they will strengthen our ability to support survivors of gender-based violence.

• Partnership We will work in partnership with statutory agencies, charities, community groups and sister organisations to achieve our mission
• Passion We will work with passion to support victims of gender-based violence.
  Empowerment We will empower victims to take back control of their lives.
• Impartiality We will work in a non-judgemental and non-discriminatory way where everyone is welcomed and valued.
• Peterborough We will provide specialist services tailored to the needs of the Peterborough community and surrounding areas.
• Empowerment We will empower victims to take back control of their lives.

At Peterborough Womens Aid we believe that everyone has the right to live free from domestic abuse, discrimination, racism and prejudice.

We recognise that racism and racial inequality can create additional barriers for people experiencing domestic abuse. People from racialised and minoritised communities may face discrimination, isolation, language barriers, immigration-related concerns, cultural pressures and other inequalities that can affect their ability to access safety and support.

We are committed to being an anti-racist organisation. This means not only challenging racism when we see it, but actively working to identify and address racism, inequality and discrimination within our services, our organisation and the wider communities in which we work.

We will:

• Listen to and value the experiences and voices of people from racialised and minoritised communities.
• Provide services that are welcoming, inclusive, accessible and culturally responsive.
• Challenge racism, discrimination, prejudice and stereotypes.
• Work to identify and remove barriers that prevent people from accessing our support.
• Learn from the people and communities we work alongside and continually improve our practice.
• Ensure that our staff, volunteers and partners understand their responsibility to challenge racism and promote equality.
• Recognise the importance of intersectionality and understand that people may experience domestic abuse alongside racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, poverty, immigration insecurity or other forms of inequality.

There is no place for racism in our organisation or our services. We are committed to creating a safe and respectful environment where everyone is treated with dignity and where survivors and their experiences are heard, respected and believed.

Our commitment to anti-racism is ongoing. We will continue to listen, learn, reflect and take action to ensure that our services are accessible and supportive to everyone who needs them.