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Aims, Values & Principles
Aims
- to provide safe, secure, temporary accommodation and a counselling support service to women and children affected by domestic violence and abuse
- to provide advice and information to women survivors of abuse
- to raise awareness of the issues that face women and children survivors of abuse
- to ensure that women obtain the benefits to which they are entitled
- to provide appropriate play opportunities for children living in refuge and a safe environment for children to explore their feelings
Values and Principles
Birmingham & Solihull Women’s Aid will:
- Believe women’s and children’s experience of abuse.
- Give priority to women’s and children’s safety
- Enable women who have been disempowered by domestic violence to determine their own lives
- Recognise and address the emotional, educational and developmental needs of children affected by domestic violence
- Provide high quality services run by women and which are informed by listening to and involving women and children affected by domestic violence
- Challenge the disadvantage and social exclusion which result from domestic violence and women’s position in society
- Challenge discrimination, to support and reflect diversity and to promote equality of opportunity
- Develop partnerships and promote cohesive inter-agency responses to domestic violence
Partnership Working
Birmingham & Solihull Women’s Aid has extensive networks and makes links with other organisations active in the area of domestic violence. The organisation is a member of the Birmingham Inter-Agency Domestic Violence Forum. In addition, BSWA is represented on local Safeguarding Children boards. As a result of working within these fora it has been possible to participate in several partnership arrangements on specific projects.
The organisation is a full member of WAFE (Women’s Aid Federation of England). Staff are actively involved in WAFE activities.
Equalities
In line with the principles of social justice and the active promotion of genuine equality of opportunity for all, Birmingham & Solihull Women’s Aid has developed a policy of opportunity in its employment and personnel practices; the service it offers and the management of its activities. To ensure that this becomes a reality, we are adopting a code of practice which seeks to eliminate unlawful and unfair discrimination and promotes action to overcome the effects of past discrimination.
Through the implementation of this policy we aim to ensure that no applicant, interviewee, worker, volunteer, service-user, visitor or member of the public is discriminated against either verbally, physically or by intimidation because of their age, class, disability, ethnicity, HIV status, nationality, religion, sexuality, trade union activity or transgender status.
Where possible, staff will have access to training that will assist in their career/ personal development. This includes ensuring that everyone connected with the organisation develops and understanding of the effects of the different forms of discrimination that exist.
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