About Us

Not so long ago, family violence was something many people pretended did not exist. As late as the 1970’s, women escaping violent family situations had no support from the law and no access to benefits or community agencies

In 1976, a group of a small group of women got together to do something about it. They started the Battered Women’s Support Group – a non-profit, voluntary support service for women in difficult or harmful relationships or situations.

That group became one of the original 11 Women’s Refuges which collaborated in 1979 to set up a national association of independent refuges – with the goals of providing safety and support for victims and children, and to increase public understanding of the causes and effects of family violence.

Battered Women’s Trust and the declaration of the Trust constitution was formalised in 1986. We opened our first safe house that year.

Over time Battered Women’s Trust has evolved, including it’s name, to offer a range of advocacy and education services as well as emergency safe housing and a 24-hour crisis line.

We are now the largest affiliated Women’s Refuge service in Aotearoa. We have a diverse and passionate staff of over 20, committed every day to upholding our values and the belief that our society can be equitable and free of family violence.

We wanted to represent ourselves anew – with a name that stands for all that we do alongside the amazing people who use our services. We want to focus on the future for our clients – coming away from being battered and bruised, moving into the light of a better life.

We are a place of Support, Healing and Empowerment for people who have been or are being hurt by the people who are supposed to keep them safe and love them.

We believe that victims can heal from their experiences and can become empowered to create safe and healthy lives for themselves and their families.

-Lesley Williams, CEO

Vision: An equitable society free of family violence.

Mission: To empower our community to create safe and healthy lives free of family violence.

Values:

• Together as a team we can make a difference.
• We empower, respect and include.
• We build collaborative and supportive relationships.
• We exercise creativity and resourcefulness.
• We walk the talk – we’re responsive and reliable.
• There is always more to learn – we continually improve.