About us

Glasgow Women‘s Aid was established in 1973 as part of the second wave of the women‘s liberation movement. During this time women recognised that there was a need to provide support to women who were experiencing domestic abuse. Initially the focus was on the women‘s experiences but as the organisation evoloved our focus included children and young people. To begin with we relied completely on donations and volunteers however we are now funded through Glasgow City Council and the Scottish Government to provide 37 family spaces in 7 refuge bases across the city and employ 35 workers.

Our workers have the following remits:-

• Family Resource Workers (Women) - Work in refuge to support women with practical and emotional issues.(see Refuge Link)
• Family Resource Workers (Children) - Work in refuge with children and young people. They provide one to one support and group work sessions. (see Children and Young People Link)
• Follow-On Workers for Women and Children - When women and children leave refuge, Follow On Workers stay in touch and provide support until the family feel settled in their new home. (see Life after Refuge, Children‘s Follow On Service Link)
• Outreach Workers (Children) - Work with children and young people who have identified that domestic abuse is a part of their lives. Support is usually provided within the school. (see Outreach Link)
• Play Therapist - Works with children through play helping them to deal with their experiences. Our Play Therapist can take referrals. (see Play Therapy link)
• Crisis Support Worker - Based in our public access office to provide support and information to women.
• Accommodation Support Workers - Maintain the standards of the accommodation within the refuges.
• Training and Development Worker - Involved in external and internal training and awareness raising work.

We also employ the following workers:-

• Admin Worker
• Finance Worker
• Human Resources
• Children's Services Team Leader
• Women's Services Team Leader
• Manager

Glasgow Women's Aid works from a feminist perspective which acknowledges that the root cause of the abuse of women and children is the imbalance of power which exists within our society and allows men more power.  

The development of our service provision over the last 30 plus years has been guided by the women, children and young people that we have supported. They have been our inspiration. 

Our public access office is located at 30 Bell St, Candleriggs, in the Merchant city area of Glasgow city centre. This is where most women will make their first contact with us, whether in person or by telephone. This is a drop in facility, so no appointment is necessary. We have private support rooms where women can speak to workers with a play area incorporated for any children that they may have with them. Women can access our service for as long as they feel necessary.

As a voluntary organisation we are limited by financial constraints. We have many ideas and plans for how we would like to continue to develop the organisation to provide an even better service to women and children. One idea is to access funds and recruit Outreach Workers for women (this service exists for children and young people - see Outreach). It is not always possible or safe for women to come to our city centre office. Therefore, in recognition of this, we would like to make it possible for wokers to be available in more local locations, such as health centres.

We are affiliated with Scottish Women's Aid and are one of over 40 women's aid groups throughout Scotland (see Useful Contacts).

Glasgow Women's Aid Annual Report 2010-11

Annual Report 2010-2011