Each woman goes on a different journey with us, determined by her own unique needs and experiences.
Our vision is a safe, just and equal world for women and girls. Help us get there together by supporting our campaign. Its Her Story, but Your Action.
All donations will help Advance to support vulnerable women and girls. This could be advocating for survivors to access appropriate mental health support, standing alongside women through long court cases, and being there as she rebuilds her life free from abuse.
Sammy's story
He was on the loose for three weeks before finally being arrested. I was terrified during that time. So scared, I couldn’t eat. While I appreciate the police are busy, I don’t think this is a good enough reason why such a violent man – a man with a history…
Julia's story
I survived Covid, then in April 2022, my husband had a heart attack which led to him having a bypass. This signalled a ramping up of the abuse I was already experiencing. His heart attack was probably MY fault in HIS eyes. The anger and abuse continued daily and loudly.…
Annabel's story
I got arrested for drug dealing when I was still in my teens. At the police station, an Advance keyworker came to speak to me and support me. She was the first person to ask me about MY life, about what was going on in it. And how I was…
Anna's story
I started drinking a lot, to make the attacks less painful. My family contacted social services and neighbours constantly called the police when they heard or saw Ben attacking me. Then in August 22, he launched a particularly vicious attack on me in the street near my flat. As I…
Carmel's Story
I am a filmmaker and up until late 2020 was living in New York, travelling a lot with my work. On a trip to London, I met a man, fell in love and ended up getting married. I suffered low self-esteem for most of my life, and he was the…
Lee-Anne's Story
I was in my early 20s in love and happy when I fell pregnant. Then he hit me for the first time. And he carried on. The abuse escalated. He threatened me with a knife, a gun and even threw me out of a window.
Louise's Story
My domestic abuse situation was family – both of my parents, my sister. I lived with them and they were all abusive. There was all kinds of abuse except for sexual abuse. A lot of psychological torture. There was physical abuse, which was quite severe, quite frequent. Eventually that became…
Jasmine's Story
When Jasmine left her abusive husband, she ended up suicidal, homeless and in debt. Now, with the support of Advance, she’s taking steps to heal and create a new life for herself.
Hiya's Story
My husband treated me as a second-class citizen. I was not allowed my own bank account, despite holding down an office job. I could not spend time with friends unless granted by my husband. He would and tell them they were not needed.
Hafsa's Story
Five years ago, the abuse escalated, when Hafsa’s mother discovered she was in a relationship with a man her mother did not approve of. Her mother’s objection was partly due to her wish for Hafsa to marry the son of a family friend. Hafsa expressed concern that she could be…
Aaliyah's story
I was completely shattered – psychologically broken. I had no understanding of any support available out there for me but my doctor referred me to Advance. My husband beat me up, threatened me with a knife while I was pregnant – he wanted to leave me and get married to…
Christina's Story
Christina*, 50, reported her abuser and took him to court four years ago. She and her two children are safe now, but it was a long journey to get where they are today. She says: “One of the hardest parts was trying to explain, to police, an isolated incident that…
Lauren's Story
I’ve always turned to my faith to help me through hard times (rosary beads above my bed) but it was at this point I knew I had to reach out for help from Minerva. The fear of the unknown creeped in and I found myself really struggling being thrown out…
Miriam's Story
I cannot pinpoint a date when the abuse began. It started with him putting me down and then laughing when I would become anxious, calling me ‘worthless’. I could not see what he was doing was not alright, instead I felt there was something wrong with me. Before I fell…
Sam's Story
Sam became pregnant at 17. Her son is now six years old and is looked after by her mother under a special guardianship order. Sam has regular contact with him and they have a close relationship. Sam is grateful to her mother but also resents the fact that she was…
Sonia's Story
Sonia disclosed to the IDVA that she was experiencing emotional abuse from her partner, who did not try to stop her from harming herself and was telling her that she would not be able to do it and that she would be too scared. It was also said that Sonia…
Rachael's Story
Rachael’s keyworker writes a letter of support for her, explaining the issues women face in the criminal justice system and linking Rachael’s struggles to her offending behaviour. The keyworker goes to court with Rachael to hear her sentencing and supplies more information about Rachael’s circumstances to the court. This experience…
Covid 19 one year on: the impact on women’s mental health
At Advance, however, we know all too well about the other pandemic affecting women and their children, which did not result in lockdown restrictions, but was exacerbated by them. Some have called domestic abuse the invisible pandemic, but it is by no means invisible: far too many women and children…
Housing Domestic Abuse Advocate’s Diary.. Jessie
At 9:00am, since working remotely as a result of Covid restrictions, I start my day with a ‘Good Morning Check-In’ with my colleagues, manager at Advance and the Housing team in the borough I work in.
Advance’s Mental Health IDVA
Marie says that her favourite part of the job is being able to work on developing stronger relationships between mental health and domestic abuse services,
From the frontline: Beth, a Young Women's Keyworker
Over the last five years, Advance has developed its specialist Minerva community support for young women and girls aged 15-24 in contact with the criminal justice system.
From the frontline: Helena's Story
The peer mentor role is for women who have lived experience of the criminal justice system, to offer additional support to the women accessing our services at Advance’s Minerva. As part of Minerva’s Wrap-Around project, we specifically support women with multiple disadvantage alongside their experience of the criminal justice system,…