New Quaker charity hopes to ‘fill gap’
Quaker Action on Domestic Violence is launched
Quaker Action on Domestic Violence (QADV) launched on 19 February, following a year of preparation.
Director Kate Mellor told the Friend that the new charity came about as a direct result of the work of Quaker Homeless Action (QHA), of which she is also director.
She said: ‘When I wanted to do a domestic violence project that wasn’t appropriate for QHA there was nowhere to go. There were no Quaker charities that deal with domestic violence issues.’
QADV’s first project deals with the issue of ‘no recourse to public funds’ (NRPF). The charity will work with women who are brought to the UK on legitimate spousal visas but left destitute as a result of domestic violence.
‘We hope to fill the gap between them becoming homeless and being put into a women’s refuge,’ Kate explained. This gap can last for several weeks.
QADV’s second launch initiative is an NRPF education project. This will highlight British cultural norms and laws around women, marriage, violence and sexual violence to both parties in a spousal visa application.
The charity’s six trustees include two Friends (a doctor and a social worker) and Savvas Panas, chief executive of Islington-based homelessness charity The Pilion Trust.
