Important statement on funding announcement by Mayor of London

CEO Naomi Dickson, 27 February 2019

Today, the Mayor’s Office of Policing and Crime Prevention announced £15m funding for domestic violence support services in London, following reports that domestic violence has risen dramatically.

Violence against women and girls is incredibly widespread, and more so than people realise in our community.  We welcome the Mayor’s renewed commitment to resourcing help and support for the women who need it.

Jewish Women’s Aid supported 600 women last year, and the number of women reaching out to us for support is rising annually.  We offer a combination of advocacy, advice and counselling for Jewish women across the breadth of the community, as well as therapeutic support for children.

JWA recently released figures stating that our service users on average lived in an abusive relationship for 11.5 years before seeking help, and this is over two years higher than the national average.

Responding to the fact that London’s Rape Crisis services were forced to close their waiting lists last year due to high demand, JWA is proud to announce that we have won prestigious funding from Comic Relief to establish the Dina Project, a Sexual Violence Support service for Jewish women, following research we commissioned in 2017.  The service will support Jewish women who have been raped or sexually harassed, and will open by summer 2019.