“The sessions really helped me a lot at a time when I felt very sad and isolated.”
Domestic abuse is a national public health emergency of epidemic proportions – it leaves survivors struggling with long-lasting and devastating mental health issues and is a leading driver of suicide in women.
With 1 in 4 women and 1 in 5 children being victims in their lifetime, the prevalence of domestic abuse is now recognised as a national crisis.
This World Mental Health Day, we want to make it clear that no woman should suffer in silence or alone.
We offer free trauma-informed counselling to support women to rebuild confidence and move forward.
In 2024-5, we supported 833 women across all our services:
89% had reduced stress and anxiety
94% had improved self-esteem
70% no longer had suicidal feelings
71% had not self-harmed recently.
It is vital that we respond to survivors’ mental health needs and safeguard them from the psychological damage and trauma, to enable them to recover and rebuild their lives.
But Woman’s Trust’s Living Without Hope report, which evaluated evidence and research, exposed major gaps for support:
Domestic abuse is a key driver of women’s mental ill health, self-harm and suicides.
The lack of mental health support for domestic abuse survivors has devastating consequences.
The response of statutory services, including mental health, remains inadequate and ineffective.
With the Home Office due to publish its Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy, we’ve joined forces with over 90 charities to send an open letter to Government to make sure the mental health impact of domestic abuse is finally addressed, urging them to fund specialist, long-term mental healthcare.
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.
Healing is possible. Woman’s Trust will support survivors every step of the way.
If you want to support our work, Big Give is match funding all donations this week, October 8-15. To find out more see our story.
