Women & Children’s Services

Changing Lives support women and girls around experiences where gender, the very fact of being a woman, is significant. This includes those who have experienced domestic abuse, sexual exploitation or have contact with the criminal justice system. We understand that the experiences of women often differ to those of men, but some universal services may not be able to meet the distinct needs of women.

We provide specialist support in safe and trusted women-only environments. We recognise the amazing resilience in the people we support, whilst understanding that the impact of childhood trauma and abuse which too often continues into adulthood requires long term support.

Underpinning all our services is an in-depth understanding of trauma and a focus on recovery, resilience and community integration.

Our Work

How we work

We support women and girls in our women’s centres, through outreach and in community hubs, maintaining a women-centred approach wherever we are.

This means:

women-only spaces
safe and trusted environments
trauma-informed approach, based on empathy, consistency, boundaries and an acknowledgement of the reality of each individual’s life
strengths based approach that fosters empowerment and choice
recovery-focused work, including peer support and opportunities to share common experiences

Our particular strength is to reach out to women with multiple disadvantages who may struggle to engage with the more mainstream support services.

We understand the common link between substance use, homelessness, mental health problems and domestic abuse, and ensure that we reach out to women who may be more at risk because of these inter-related vulnerabilities.

Who we help

We reach out and support women and girls who:

may be at risk
may come to us with a range of unmet needs

These often relate to experiences of childhood trauma and abuse, which can continue into adolescence and adulthood.

We provide services for women and girls:

with experience of survival sex, sexual exploitation and sex work
who experience domestic abuse
in the criminal justice system
in families
facing homelessness

Look at the expandable content below for more information on each.

We also have dedicated women’s centres that offer a wide range of services including skills courses and counselling to enhance self-worth and life-skills.

For information about our women and children’s services around the North and Midlands, visit our Service Directory.

Our Services

Survival sex, sexual exploitation and sex work

Changing Lives support women with experience of sex work, survival sex and/or sexual exploitation across the North and Midlands, as the largest national provider of services in communities and in prisons.

Our services are informed by long-standing experience supporting women whose experiences of survival sex, sex work and sexual exploitation are diverse.

We understand the stigma associated with sex work, survival sex and sexual exploitation, and risk of violence experienced by many of those we meet. Our services also reach out to those women and girls who may have been groomed for the purposes of sexual exploitation.

We support women through a journey of ‘being, becoming and belonging’ to meet immediate needs, validate trauma, learn new skills and develop healthy relationships.

Our approach comes from the voices of those who use our services, raising awareness through our unique peer research studies. See the Expertise page for more information.

Women with experience of domestic abuse

The thousands of women who use our services each year tell us that domestic abuse is the predominant harm in their lives.

We deliver a range of services to support women within their relationships and if they choose to leave.

We understand the impact of coercive control and violence on women’s safety, emotional wellbeing and sense of self.

We provide a range of specialist domestic abuse services including a refuge, independent advocacy for domestic abuse and sexual violence, and outreach to support women with a range of complex needs.

Women with experience of the Criminal Justice System

We support women involved in the criminal justice system to move past previous offending and build a stronger future for themselves and their families.

Women represent a small minority of those in the criminal justice system, and their reasons for offending are often different to men’s, often related to experiences of victimisation.

Despite this, many women are disproportionately affected through harsher sentences and separation from children.

Our experience is that solutions for women usually lie outside of the criminal justice system through:

We provide community and custody support as well as schemes to divert women from the criminal justice system altogether.

Our trauma-informed and strength based approach is focuses on empowering women to meet their individual needs, with the aim of diverting from prosecution and prison, and reducing the likelihood of reoffending.

Children and Families

Families who use our services often experience severe economic hardship which places an additional stress on family life.

Furthermore, the impact of past trauma results in additional support needs with relationships and parenting.

We deliver recovery services for families whose children are at risk of being placed in care and families facing extreme stress.

Our strength-based therapeutic family work has supported many families to stay together by building on skills and resilience.

Women experiencing homelessness

Our Partners

We work in partnership with other community organisations to provide a co-ordinated response to women in need. We believe that women’s services are often best delivered within local communities and all our projects are deeply embedded and led by those we support. We are firmly committed to supporting and working in close partnership with smaller specialist organisations.

Our partnerships

Women's Organisations

Collaborations

We collaborate with:

Safe Lives
Women’s Aid Federation
Women in Prison
Prison Reform Trust
Open Clasp Theatre Company
West End Women and Girls Centre
Tyne and Wear Museums and The Baltic Art Gallery
Nottingham Contemporary Arts

Our Director for Women’s Services sits on the Reducing Reoffending Third Sector group as women’s specialist, in an advisory capacity with Ministry of Justice. This role includes chairing the national Women’s Network Forum.

Work with us

We regularly develop new programmes based on the ideas and views of the women we work with, as well as input from specialist partners. If you’d like to discuss opportunities or find out more about our women’s services offer please contact:

Dr. Alex Shirley

T: 0191 2738891  E: alex.shirley@changing-lives.org.uk

Women & Children