Introduction to the Faith & VAWG Coalition

As specialist service organisations, activists and those who work with the intersection between faith communities and survivors of violence against women and girls, we welcome the recent consultations of the government regarding the Domestic Abuse Bill. We believe this an important step to address domestic abuse in society that plagues the lives of thousands of women, their families and their communities. Many survivors with a faith feel that some specialist services and society, in general, are unable to understand their experiences of abuse, and their barriers to accessing support, due to their religious identity, their faith community and any spiritual abuse that they may experience at the hands of their perpetrator. We wish to highlight the critical role that faith communities and religious groups play in addressing domestic abuse as they are often the first point of contact or help seeking for those experiencing abuse. Our organisations have vast expertise in developing meaningful change and building trust through the complex relationships between the specialist domestic abuse sector, survivors, religious and community groups. We would like to share that with the DVA Bill Committee.

It is crucial to seek out the unique views and expertise of organisations that work to eradicate DVA and VAWG in faith communities and work with women who identify with a specific faith.

We would welcome the opportunity to share evidence with the DA Bill team at the Home Office as you prepare final changes to the DA Bill to table in parliament.

Could our Faith and VAWG Coalition be considered make representations to your team?