Victoria Birch

Mental Health Awareness Week: Mental health reform will fail survivors unless domestic abuse is recognised as a specialist trauma issue

The Government’s new strategy to transform mental health care promises expanded access to therapy, earlier intervention and more community-based support.

These reforms are welcome. But there is a critical gap at the heart of the approach: generic, one-size-fits-all mental health provision does not work for survivors of domestic abuse.

Women who experience domestic abuse are more likely to attempt suicide, self-harm and experience PTSD. The figures are stark. There are more domestic abuse-related deaths by suicide than homicide, with at least two women dying by suicide every week following domestic abuse (NPCC, 2024).

Meanwhile, one in eight women in England and Wales experienced domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking in the year ending March 2025. Eight in ten domestic abuse survivors identify long-term counselling and mental health support as their top priority need, yet only four in ten are able to access support nationally.

Survivors of domestic abuse do not present with typical forms of anxiety or depression. Their distress cannot be separated from the gender inequalities, power imbalances and ongoing trauma shaping their lives. Many are coping with coercive control, post-separation abuse, stalking, family court proceedings, housing insecurity and financial control.

Yet too often survivors are routed into short-term, protocol-driven services, such as Talking Therapies, that are not designed around the realities of coercive control and traumatic abuse. Survivors are frequently misunderstood, misdiagnosed or retraumatised within mainstream pathways.

For 30 years, Woman’s Trust has specialised exclusively in the mental health impact of domestic abuse, supporting thousands of survivors and developing specialist expertise in recovery from coercive control and gender-based trauma.

Our intersectional, trauma-informed model is designed specifically around the realities of domestic abuse and meets women where they are in their lives right now. This means recognising the ongoing impact of coercive control, power, safety, inequality and trauma, rather than treating women’s distress as isolated symptoms detached from the realities of abuse.

Our experience demonstrates that survivors achieve better engagement, safety and recovery outcomes when support is delivered by specialist practitioners with expertise in domestic abuse dynamics.

Services must also recognise how survivors’ experiences and access to support are shaped by intersecting identities including race, disability, neurodivergence, sexuality, immigration status and poverty.

If the Government is serious about transforming mental health care, it must go beyond expanding generic provision. Trauma-informed care must include specialist, gender-responsive services designed around the realities of domestic abuse, alongside clear and consistent referral pathways into them.

As mental health services are reformed, specialist domestic abuse organisations must not simply be viewed as referral partners, but as essential experts in designing trauma-informed responses for survivors. Policy reform developed without specialist domestic abuse expertise risks repeating the very gaps survivors already face within mainstream mental health provision.

Without this, survivors will continue to fall through the gaps of a system not built around the realities of abuse.

Mental Health Awareness Week: ‘If you’re still breathing, you’re stronger than you know’

Woman’s Trust was featured on ITV News at the start of Mental Health Awareness Week, outlining the impact of domestic abuse as new figures revealed a sharp rise in domestic abuse offences across London.

Former clients Natasha* and Sarah* spoke with journalist Olivia Guthrie about the support they received from the charity, which helped them rebuild their lives.

Sarah said in the report: “If you’re still breathing, you’re stronger than you know.”

Sona Barbosa, Head of Therapeutic Services at Woman’s Trust, outlined the devastating psychological impact of coercive control and other forms of violence and abuse, and called for more Government funding.

Data from the Metropolitan Police shows more than 93,000 domestic abuse offences were recorded in the capital during 2025 – around 6,000 more than the previous year. Early figures for 2026 suggest the trend is continuing, with offences already up 7.6% in the first three months of the year.

Speaking as part of ITV’s report, Sarah described the difficulties of leaving her abuser. She said: “There were cameras in every room of my house. There were recording devices in every room in my house, so I couldn’t make a phone call safely. I knew that if I didn’t leave, I was going to die.”

The feature also highlighted growing concerns from Woman’s Trust that domestic abuse is becoming increasingly complex, psychologically harmful and severe, while many women struggle to access specialist mental health support after abuse.

Woman’s Trust is calling for greater investment in trauma-informed services and wider recognition of the link between domestic abuse, poor mental health and suicide risk.

Through its Living Without Hope campaign, the charity is asking for £27.5 million per year to fund specialist mental health support.

*Names changed.

Watch the programme here

Read the Living Without Hope report
Read our Open Letter to Ministers

This Mental Health Awareness Week, the Government’s recently renewed Women’s Health Strategy rightly recognises violence against women and girls as a public health crisis with profound mental health consequences and reaffirms its ambition to halve it within a decade. It commits to expanding NHS Talking Therapies for common mental health conditions in the general population, improving referral pathways and investing in services for survivors.

But there is a critical gap at the heart of this approach: generic, one-size-fits-all mental health provision does not work for survivors of domestic abuse.

Women who experience domestic abuse are more likely to attempt suicide, self-harm, and experience PTSD. The figures are stark. There are more domestic abuse-related deaths by suicide than by homicide, with at least two women dying by suicide every week following domestic abuse (NPCC, 2024).

Meanwhile, one in eight women in England and Wales experienced domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking in the year ending March 2025 (Women’s Health Strategy). Eight in ten domestic abuse survivors identify long-term counselling and mental health support as their top priority need, yet only four in ten are able to access support nationally (Domestic Abuse Commissioner, 2023).

Survivors of domestic abuse do not present with typical forms of anxiety or depression. Their distress cannot be separated from the gender inequalities, power imbalances, gender norms and expectations that shape women’s lives, experiences of abuse, and access to support.

Survivors are often coping with complex trauma, coercive control and ongoing risk. Many are also navigating post-separation abuse, stalking, family court proceedings, housing insecurity and financial control.
Yet too often they are routed into short-term, protocol-driven talking therapies that are not designed to address trauma of this nature. These approaches can individualise distress while failing to recognise the wider dynamics of power and control underpinning abuse.

Many women disengage, are judged resistant or ‘not ready’, or leave feeling disbelieved, blamed or misunderstood.

The Strategy’s focus on identification and referral is welcome, as is its commitment to trauma-informed care. Without specialist understanding of coercive control and traumatic abuse dynamics, survivors can be retraumatised by systems that minimise, misread or individualise their experiences.

Woman’s Trust is the leading mental health specialist for women recovering from domestic abuse. For 30 years, it has addressed trauma and helped rebuild lives long after the violence ends.

We see every day that recovery requires tailored, long-term support delivered by practitioners who understand the dynamics and impact of abuse. This requires practitioners trained not only in trauma, but in coercive control, post-separation abuse, risk, gendered power dynamics and the long-term psychological impact of abuse.
Services must also recognise how survivors’ experiences and access to support are shaped by intersecting identities including race, disability, neurodivergence, sexuality, immigration status and poverty.

If the Government is serious about improving women’s mental health and tackling violence against women and girls, it must go beyond expanding generic provision. Trauma-informed care cannot simply mean increasing access to standardised short-term interventions. It must include specialist, gender-responsive services designed around the realities of domestic abuse.

Specialist services improve safety, recovery, engagement and trust because survivors are more likely to feel believed, understood and appropriately supported.

The Government must invest in specialist services and ensure clear, consistent referral pathways from the NHS into them.
Without this, the promise of the Women’s Health Strategy will remain out of reach for the very women it aims to support.

Read the Living Without Hope report
Read our Open Letter to Ministers

A new national report has, for the first time, identified a suspected suicide following teenage relationship abuse, raising concerns that younger victims of abuse may be going undetected – and unsupported.

The Domestic Homicides and Suspected Victim Suicides 2020–2025 report from the National Centre for Violence Against Women and Girls’ Year 5, documents a case in which both the victim and the suspected perpetrator were under the age of 18. This is the first time a suspected suicide linked to abuse within a teenage relationship has been formally recognised.

The finding raises concerns that younger victims of abuse may be going undetected – and unsupported. A key issue is how domestic abuse is defined in law. The statutory definition applies only to individuals aged 16 and over, meaning incidents involving those under 16 may not be recorded as domestic abuse or domestic homicide. As a result, cases involving younger teenagers risk being excluded from official data and safeguarding frameworks, making them less visible for support.

Woman’s Trust is the leading mental health specialist for women recovering from domestic abuse. For 30 years, it has addressed trauma and helped rebuild lives long after the violence ends.
Laura McCarthy, a psychotherapist and Trustee at the charity, says the inclusion of a teenage case reflects a broader and deeply concerning trend.

“Domestic abuse today is nastier than society realises and it’s affecting younger victims too. Survival shouldn’t end in suicide.”

The charity warns that abuse is becoming increasingly psychological and coercive, with younger women and girls particularly at risk. Data shows those aged 16 to 19 experience domestic abuse at twice the rate of women over 25.

As well as Woman’s Trust’s support for women of all ages, it also provides specialist workshops and 1-1 counselling sessions for young women and girls.

This is for survivors who identify as being at risk of domestic abuse, or who have previously experienced abusive or unhealthy relationships.

Suicides after domestic abuse have outstripped homicides for the third year running, according to the report.
It found 150 suspected victim suicides linked to domestic abuse in the past year and 553 over five years, highlights how often warning signs are already known. In 88 per cent of suicide cases, the abuse had previously been reported to police.

Laura highlights a lack of specialist mental health support for survivors of abuse, with policy responses focused on housing and criminal justice. However, the psychological impact – including trauma, self-harm and suicide risk – remains insufficiently addressed.

Through Woman’s Trust’s Living Without Hope campaign, it is calling for £27.5 million per year to provide specialist mental health support for domestic abuse survivors.

Half of the women who approach the charity for specialist mental health support after domestic abuse are turned away due to chronic underfunding – leaving vulnerable survivors at heightened risk of suicide.

The emergence of a teenage suicide case within the dataset underscores the urgency of closing support gaps.
Without changes to how abuse among younger people is responded to, Woman’s Trust warn that some of the most vulnerable victims may remain effectively invisible – even as the consequences become more severe.

“Domestic abuse is destroying lives and it’s changing form,” Laura says. “We can’t afford to overlook what’s happening to younger victims and keep turning survivors away.”

Read the full NCVPP report

Read the Living Without Hope report
Read our Open Letter to Ministers

The Government’s new Women’s Health Strategy, led by Wes Streeting, recognises what too many women already know: the NHS has an “appalling culture of medical misogyny.”

This acknowledgment matters. It reflects the lived reality of countless women who have felt dismissed, unheard and disrespected within healthcare settings.

We look forward to welcoming Baroness Merron to Woman’s Trust to continue the conversation.
But as the strategy was unveiled, a critical issue was missing from the room.

Attended by Woman’s Trust CEO Alice Piller-Roner, the launch made no reference to violence against women and girls and offered no meaningful focus on women’s mental health beyond trauma linked to poor healthcare experiences.

We have not yet completed a full review of the strategy and will assess it carefully. But what is already clear is this: without explicit recognition of VAWG and the mental health impact of abuse, the strategy risks failing the very women it aims to support.

The omission cannot be ignored.

Domestic abuse is not a side issue in women’s health. It is a key driver of mental ill health, self-harm, and suicide.

One in four women experience domestic abuse
One in two women seeking support from Woman’s Trust are doing so because of domestic abuse

This is not marginal. It is central to women’s health outcomes.

For 30 years, Woman’s Trust has delivered specialist mental health support to women survivors of domestic abuse. Every day, we see the long-term psychological impact of abuse – trauma that does not end when the violence stops.

Yet too many women are still unable to access the support they need:
Half of women who come to us are turned away due to lack of funding
83% of survivors say counselling is their greatest unmet need

Mainstream NHS mental health services are not designed to respond to the complex and enduring trauma caused by domestic abuse. Too often, women are left cycling through crisis services, facing repeat referrals and escalating risk, without ever receiving the specialist support that could help them recover.

We welcome Wes Streeting’s call for greater collaboration with the voluntary sector. Specialist organisations like Woman’s Trust bring decades of expertise and frontline insight and we are ready to contribute.
This must be matched with meaningful investment.

Woman’s Trust is calling on the Government to commit at least £27.5 million per year to fund specialist counselling and therapeutic support for women and girls in the community.

Because without this investment, too many women will continue to be left without help and too many lives will be lost.

The Government has recognised the problem. Now it must act on the full picture of women’s health including the devastating impact of violence and abuse.

Read the Living Without Hope report
Read our Open Letter to Ministers

This case is devastating and it underlines something that those of us at Woman’s Trust have long known: domestic abuse is not just about isolated incidents of violence, it is a sustained pattern of coercion, control and fear that can leave women feeling there is no safe way out.

At Woman’s Trust, we see every day how the cumulative impact of abuse, physical, emotional and financial, can erode a woman’s sense of self, her independence and ultimately her hope. Kimberly Milne’s death is a tragic reminder of how dangerous these dynamics can become when coercive control escalates unchecked.

One survivor supported by Woman’s Trust tells her story candidly:

“There is no escape. That is what you believe.”

Erica* is clear: suicidal thoughts did not emerge from nowhere. They were cultivated.
“He would say to me, ‘Why don’t you just kill yourself and f*** off?’ He’d tell me I was unfit to make decisions. He’d threaten to take away our passports. You feel caged.”

Coercive control, she says, is like a psychological siege. The verbal degradation sinks in. “Because somebody told me those words about what I was, it seeps into your blood.”

When the physical assaults came, they reinforced the message: this can happen again. It will happen again.
“You would rather end it yourself,” she says quietly. “Maybe that feels less paralysing than staying in that situation. There is no escape. That is what you believe.”

Research has long shown that domestic abuse is a significant risk factor for suicide among women. But Erica believes the link is still misunderstood.

Stark figures show that there are more domestic abuse deaths by suicide than by homicide, with at least 2 women’s deaths by suicide a week (NPCC, 2024). Yet there has been only one criminal conviction for manslaughter in UK legal history where a woman has died by suicide following domestic abuse, and now the first in Scotland.

“If someone considers taking their life because they can’t take the abuse, someone is doing that abuse to them,” she says. “You have to ask why they did it. There is always a back story.”

The latest conviction in Scotland is significant. It sends a clear message that perpetrators can and will be held accountable for the full consequences of their abuse, including when it drives someone to take desperate actions to escape. But justice after the incident is not enough.

What is urgently needed is earlier intervention with mental health support, greater awareness of coercive control and sustained support for survivors.

Women must be able to access specialist mental health support and domestic abuse services BEFORE they reach crisis point. No one should feel that jumping from a bridge is their only option.

Alongside 100 sector partners, Woman’s Trust has written to ministers demanding that specialist mental health support for survivors be prioritised, backed by dedicated funding of £27 million per year.

Our thoughts are with Kimberly’s loved ones. Her story must be a catalyst for change, so that other women are heard, believed and supported to live free from abuse.

*Not real name

New research from UCL has revealed concerning levels of abuse, harassment and victimisation among young women in the UK, prompting a strong response from Woman’s Trust.

It finds unwanted sexual approaches and sexual assault are more common among Gen Z at age 23 than during their late teens, especially among young adults who have attended university.

A quarter of females have experienced sexual harassment, and one in seven have experienced emotional abuse from their partner.

The study, which tracked around 10,000 people born across the UK between 2000 and 2002, found that one in ten (11%) Gen Z young people reported emotional abuse and 3% experienced violence from a partner in the past year. It also highlighted a rise in sexual victimisation, with one in six (16%) reporting unwanted sexual approaches and 5% reporting sexual assault by age 23 – both higher than when the same group were surveyed at age 17.

Responding to the findings, Woman’s Trust said the data reflects what frontline services have been seeing for years: that abuse among young women is both widespread and often under-recognised.

As well as Woman’s Trust’s support for women of all ages, it also provides specialist workshops and 1-1 counselling sessions for young women aged 16 to 25.
This is for young women and girls who identify as being at risk of domestic abuse, or who have previously experienced abusive or unhealthy relationships.

The charity points to national estimates showing that one in four women and one in five children will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime, with young women aged 16 to 19 at the highest risk – experiencing abuse at twice the rate of those over 25.

Woman’s Trust emphasised that the nature of abuse affecting younger women is also shifting. Among those aged 16-25, sexual abuse is reported more frequently than financial abuse, a pattern that aligns closely with the UCL findings showing increased levels of sexual harassment and assault in early adulthood.
In its own service data, the majority of young women report experiences of sexual abuse, often alongside coercion and emotional harm.

The UCL study also found that young adults who attended university were twice as likely to report unwanted sexual approaches compared to their peers who did not. For Woman’s Trust, this underlines the importance of embedding prevention and support by holding workshops and groups. It is urging greater investment in early intervention and prevention, including education on healthy relationships, recognising “red flags”, and how to support friends who may be experiencing abuse.

It says its peer-led approaches and outreach in spaces young women already use – from universities to community settings – are key to improving awareness and engagement.
Lead author Dr Aase Villadsen warned that early experiences of victimisation can have long-term consequences for young people’s mental health, wellbeing, education and employment.

Woman’s Trust echoed these concerns, highlighting growing evidence linking domestic abuse to serious mental health impacts, including increased suicidal ideation. The charity says that for many young women, abuse coincides with a life stage already marked by pressure to become independent – making it harder to recognise harmful relationships or seek help.

According to counsellors at Woman’s Trust, young women often feel they should be able to “handle things themselves”, which can delay or prevent engagement with support services.
As a result, Woman’s Trust is calling for services that are more flexible and responsive – allowing young women to access help in ways that fit around changing routines and responsibilities.

It stressed that the new UCL data should be seen as a call to action. The rise in emotional and sexual abuse among young adults shows that the risks have evolved.
The organisation says that without targeted support and prevention, these early experiences of abuse risk shaping long-term outcomes for a generation of young women.

Through Woman’s Trust’s Living Without Hope campaign, it is calling for £27.5 million per year to provide specialist mental health support for domestic abuse survivors.
Half of the women who approach the charity for specialist mental health support after domestic abuse are turned away due to chronic underfunding – leaving vulnerable survivors at heightened risk of suicide.

See the Living Without Hope report

See the UCL report

Woman’s Trust has been awarded Gender Equity Champion of the Year at the Tower Hamlets Women’s Awards 2026.

The event celebrates the women and organisations who are helping to balance the scales for gender equity, and who are acting on the voices of women across the borough – recognising leadership, care, advocacy and impact in the community.

The ceremony, organised to mark International Women’s Day, brought together inspiring individuals and groups working across Tower Hamlets to create meaningful change.

This award is a recognition of the work we do every day to support women’s mental health and recovery after domestic abuse, and to ensure women are heard, believed and supported through trauma and beyond.
Since 2023, we have supported 174 women in Tower Hamlets on their journey to recovery.

This year marks 30 years of Woman’s Trust, making this a particularly special moment for us.
We’re honoured to stand alongside so many others working towards a more equal and just future for women and girls.

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Alice Piller-Roner as the new CEO of Woman’s Trust.
Alice is a dedicated advocate for social justice with over a decade of experience in the charity sector. She joins us from a young people’s charity and brings extensive experience working with women, as well as refugee and migrant communities.

Alice said:  “I am honoured to be joining Woman’s Trust at such an important moment in its history. For 30 years, the organisation has had a vital role in supporting women and children whose mental health has been impacted by domestic abuse. I look forward to working with the team, trustees and partners to build on this work, so that more survivors can access the support they need to recover and rebuild their lives.”

Niki Scordi, Chair of Trustees, said: “We are excited to welcome Alice, an experienced and passionate leader, to work with us towards a world where women and children are safe from abuse. Women’s voices and lived experiences remain central to our mission, to ensure that all survivors have the resources they need to recover from the trauma of domestic abuse.”

We look forward to welcoming Alice to the team in April 2026.

When a woman hears the words “I believe you,” it can be the difference between despair and survival.

This International Women’s Day, we honour the life-saving power of women supporting women – and the community and care that make recovery possible.

To mark International Women’s Day, Sara* shares how specialist support from Woman’s Trust saved her life.

“I remember walking in to see the therapist. It was the first time someone had said, ‘I believe you.’ I broke down crying. I wasn’t imagining it. The abuse was real.”

For Sara, that moment of being believed was life-changing.

In Woman’s Trust group workshops, she heard other women tell stories that sounded painfully familiar. “I thought, this abuse is all out of the same rulebook. It was incredible to hear.”

For the first time, she felt the isolation begin to lift.

“The relief of being believed was transformative,” she says. “It felt like a weight lifted. I felt safe. From that point, I could process what had happened. I became much stronger.”

Through specialist counselling and group support, Sara learned about coercive control, trauma and the impact of abuse on identity and self-worth. She began to understand that what she had experienced was not her fault. Education and therapeutic support helped her reclaim her voice.

It gave her the confidence to stand up in court, to challenge prosecutors and to insist on her voice being heard. “Without those foundations, I wouldn’t have got to that stage,” she says.

But Sara’s story is not unique.

Domestic abuse accounts for more than half of all violence against women and girls in the UK. Beyond individual incidents, the majority of sexual violence, stalking and abuse is perpetrated by intimate partners or family members as part of domestic abuse.

For 30 years, Woman’s Trust has delivered specialist mental health support for survivors. Yet too many women are still left without the help they need – and far too many lives are lost.

Without coordinated national action and sustained investment, survivors will continue to face long waiting lists, limited provision and barriers to accessing life-saving care.

That is why Woman’s Trust is calling for urgent action.

We are calling for the Government to provide funding of at least £27.5m per year to deliver specialist counselling and therapeutic support in the community, for women and girls.

The evidence is clear: specialist support saves lives.

In 2024/2025, 92% of the total women Woman’s Trust supported reported experiencing depression, 89% anxiety/stress, and 89% feelings of isolation before receiving our support.

However, after our support, 93% improved their self-esteem, 90% felt less isolated and 86% felt more control over their future.

This International Women’s Day, we honour the strength of survivors like Sara. We celebrate the power of women supporting women.

And we renew our call for a future where every survivor who reaches out for help is met with belief, safety and the care she deserves.

Today, we are also asking for your support.

A donation to Woman’s Trust will change a woman’s life and help her to rebuild for her future.

Please donate here

*Name changed to protect identity.

Woman’s Trust in the press:

Woman’s Trust has been in the spotlight, showing the lasting impact of domestic abuse and the vital role of specialist support.

For International Women’s Day, the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy featured our work, highlighting how domestic abuse is driving a mental health crisis – and recovery is being ignored.

The New Statesman shared a powerful story of a Woman’s Trust client let down by the probation system after abuse, illustrating the trauma caused when support systems fail.

And in The Big Issue, our Trustee, Laura McCarthy, called for mental health support to remain central to the Government’s VAWG strategy, ensuring survivors can recover and thrive.

These features reinforce why our work matters – so every woman affected by abuse can access the support she needs to rebuild her life.