Vision,Mission and Values

Vision

Women’s Aid ABCLN is working towards a society where domestic abuse will not be tolerated and women and children can live free from the threat of violence.

Object & Aims

The purpose of Women’s Aid ABCLN is to provide a holistic service to women and children impacted by all forms of domestic abuse; to educate, challenge and co-operate with external agencies and the wider community with a vision to eradicate domestic abuse.

Our Aims

To provide services and temporary refuge to women and children experiencing domestic abuse, be that emotional, physical, financial, verbal or sexual abuse
To empower and enable women to determine their own future.
To recognise, respond and care for the emotional needs of children and young people.
To offer support and guidance to any woman who requests it, both in refuge and in her own community.
To educate, inform and challenge the public, the media, police, courts, social services and other authorities about the prevalence and effects of domestic abuse. We will always be mindful that domestic abuse is a direct result of the general position of women in our society and perpetrators’ decisions to meet their own needs without negotiation because they believe that they are entitled to.

Domestic abuse is a breach of human rights.

Ethos & Core Values

We operate within an ethos of empowerment with women and children. This enables women to shape their futures and make informed choices for themselves and their children. We are guided by a framework of equality and diversity.

Our core values - to respond with EMPATHY, COMPASSION and a NON-JUDGEMENTAL approach, are underpinned by a deep determination to work with all women to end domestic abuse.

Management Board

We are governed by a voluntary Management Board which is responsible for strategic planning and decision making, financial governance and probity, and employment responsibility for all staff.

Janice Hagan Chair
Jackie Fisher
Heather Leitch
Jenni McQuoid
Valerie Morris

Members of the Management Board are proposed at the Annual General Meeting. Office bearers are elected at the first Management Board meeting following the Annual General Meeting. Board members receive specialist training to assist them to fulfil their roles in relation to governance of the organisation.

Senior Management Team

The day-to-day management and operation of the organisation is carried out by a staff team, led by the CEO and Senior Management Team who report to the Management Board.

CEO – Gillian Creevy

Area Manager – Fran O’Boyle

Finance Manager – Karen McConkey

Communication and Engagement Manager – Arlene Creighton

Articles of Association

Women’s Aid ABCLN is governed by Memorandum and Articles of Association.

Annual Reports

Partnerships

ONUS is a social enterprise established by Women’s Aid ABCLN in 2007 to offer specialist training and consultancy services on domestic violence or abuse. We are a Platinum Safe Place Partner with ONUS.

White Ribbon has been championed by Women’s Aid ABCLN in Northern Ireland since 2007 encouraging groups and individuals to make the pledge to never commit condone or remain silent about violence against women and girls.

In 2021 partner organisation White Ribbon NI was launched to challenge attitudes and beliefs that lead to male violence against women with the pledge to never commit condone or remain silent about violence against women and girls.

Affiliation

Women’s Aid ABCLN is affiliated to Women’s Aid Federation NI which co-ordinates Women’s Aid Forum that meets on a monthly basis to discuss issues affecting all Women’s Aid groups across Northern Ireland.

Women’s Aid ABCLN is an affiliate of the Fundraising Standards Board.

Registered Charity and

Company Limited by Guarantee

Women’s Aid Antrim, Ballymena, Carrickfergus, Larne and Newtownabbey is a charity registered with The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland NIC105905 and a company limited by guarantee NI054434.