More than 70 women from minoritised communities have received support to flee abuse thanks to a specialist role funded by Police and Crime Commissioner Rupert Matthews.
The Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland PCC provided a £10k grant to Leicester based charity Zinthiya Ganeshpanchan Trust towards a part-time multilingual domestic abuse support and outreach worker to assist women from British, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities.
The role provides outreach activity targeted towards women who are facing abuse or are at risk of abuse in areas such Highfields, Belgrave and Rushey Mead, Green Lane and Hamilton.
Alongside providing one-to-one emotional support to women who disclose abuse, the role also delivers practical support including assistance with applications for social housing and supporting applications to the Home Office to secure emergency temporary accommodation grants for those with no recourse to public funding.
Funding has also been used to provide wraparound support for 79 women fleeing abuse while an average of 75 individuals have been attending drop-in sessions for more information and support.
The current project has been developed based on a scheme funded by the PCC in 2023 which helped host 12 outreach events, engaging more than 500 women in total. In the Belgrave sessions specifically, 20 agencies have attended to provide support.
Mr Matthews said: "Tackling violence against women and girls in all its guises is a key priority for me.
"We know that women from BAME communities are among the most vulnerable victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence in our communities facing multiple barriers to support services.
"The addition of a multilingual domestic abuse support and outreach worker is a huge step forward in improving services for these victims who have unique needs. Clearly, there is strong demand.
"I am pleased to be partnering with Zinthiya Ganeshpanchan Trust in increasing support for victims of these appalling crimes. The organisation has a wealth of experience and expertise, and its work is helping to increase trust and confidence within our racially minoritised communities which will encourage many more victims to come forward."
Zinthiya Ganeshpanchan, founder and chief executive of Zinthiya Ganeshpanchan Trust, said: "We are extremely grateful to the PCC for the support for the funding.
"The funding received previously to host monthly coffee mornings has been a massive success. Based on the learnings from that project, we are now extending our outreach to other areas in the city to continue our work to help women and girls fleeing abuse but also to raise awareness among our communities that will help reduce the risk of abuse."
Picture Shows: Zinthiya Ganeshpanchan with PCC Rupert Matthews
