The distinctive approach of Christian charities can help women facing abuse, trauma, sexual exploitation, poverty and other severe disadvantages and may help avoid the fatal consequences of inadequate support and care.
Many women in the UK face multiple and severe disadvantage, including mental ill–health, homelessness and isolation, yet the issues they face and the help available to them often goes unrecognised, with support limited.
Valuing Women: Making Women Visible – a new report, written on behalf of religion and society think tank Theos and being launched on International Women’s Day – explores what can be learned from how Christian charities provide support to women experiencing these disadvantages.
The in–depth study, undertaken during the pandemic, showcases the distinctive approach of staff and volunteers from six Christian organisations and how they made the women they worked with truly visible.
Key themes that emerged from the study included:
The trusting relationships needed to support women experiencing multiple and severe disadvantage
The way the faith and values of staff and volunteers informed the way they met women
The utilisation of prayer by some in their work
The tensions and opportunities found in resourcing helping services.
The report also explores the ways in which Christian organisations – though not without their own challenges – are well–placed to make visible the women they work with. Internally, their faith motivations and theological understanding of every human as made in God’s image encourage them to treat the women as of equal worth and in no way less deserving of stability, care and love.
Externally, Christian organisations are supported by their faith community who can act as added resource, including through raising much–needed funds for specific purposes, and enable the organisations to have a level of independence that helps them navigate the systems that are increasingly not fit for purpose.
Report author Dr Kathryn Hodges said: “When women are unable to access effective, trustworthy, and reliable helping services, there can be fatal consequences. Effective help for women needs to understand the impact of the things that happen to women, provide continuity of care, and build trusting, respectful relationships.”
Chine McDonald, director of Theos, added: “International Women’s Day this year asks us to imagine a gender equal world, free from stereotypes and discrimination and calls on us to collectively break the bias against women. Women all over the world face barriers, many of them suffering from extreme and intersecting inequalities including poverty and sexual violence, and barriers to progress.
“But closer to home, there exists a group of women often unseen, who face severe and multiple disadvantages, and who are being failed by health and social care, criminal justice, housing and wider policy in the UK unable to meet the complex needs these women face.
“We hope that by focusing on the important role Christian organisations in the social care sector can play in tackling the disadvantages women face, we can demonstrate the role of faith in society and how people motivated by their faith can contribute to flourishing communities.”
The report will be profiled in an online webinar and panel discussion at 12.30pm on Wednesday, 24 March, in which expert speakers will draw on themes that emerged from the research. Book your place here.
[Notes to editors]
Theos’ new report ‘Valuing Women: Making Women Visible’ will be launched on Tuesday, March 8th. An advanced copy of this report is attached under embargo.
The report online launch event is on 24th March. More information can be found here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/working-9-to-5am-work-and-its-limits-in-the-post-covid-world-tickets-160968239337
For more information, or to arrange an interview please contact Lizzie Harvey (Head of Communications, Theos) on 07778 160 052
Kathryn Hodges is a registered social worker with over twenty years’ leadership and practice experience in social care, research, and higher education. She co–founded PraxisCollab, a social enterprise providing social research, training, and consultancy. She is also a visiting fellow at the Bakhita Centre, St Mary’s University.
Theos is the UK’s leading religion and society think tank. It has a broad Christian basis and exists to enrich the debate about faith and society.
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