Black History Month is a time to celebrate resilience, reflect on powerful contributions, and confront the challenges still facing Black communities today. One such challenge, often overlooked, is domestic abuse.
While domestic abuse affects people of all backgrounds, Black women and other minoritised survivors often face additional, complex barriers that make it harder to access safety and support.
The Barriers Are Real
Survivors from Black, African, Caribbean, Asian, and other ethnic minority groups often encounter:
- Cultural pressures – fear of shame, community rejection, or dishonouring the family
- Stigma and silence – abuse is often hidden or dismissed
- Institutional racism and bias – survivors report feeling judged, not believed, or mistreated
- Immigration and language barriers – practical challenges and fear of deportation
These overlapping obstacles mean survivors may wait years before seeking help, often only doing so after severe harm.
The Numbers Speak Loudly
- 1 in 3 black women are likely to experience domestic abuse
- 97% experience secondary harm from legal or support systems when they seek help
- 87% of minoritised survivors prefer culturally specific services
- In West Yorkshire alone, police recorded over 1,300 cases involving Black African and Caribbean survivors, with many more going unreported
This tells us that survivors aren’t just slipping through the cracks, they’re being left behind.
Why Culturally Informed Support Matters
Services that don’t reflect the realities of Black survivors can feel unwelcoming or even unsafe. But when support is culturally sensitive, trauma-informed, and survivor-led, it makes all the difference.
Good practice includes:
- Safe spaces that honour faith and cultural values
- Counselling that reflects community experiences
- Language support and professional interpreters
- Staff who reflect the diversity of the communities they serve
- Survivors need to feel seen, heard, and believed. Trust is essential and it has to be earned.
We are part of the Hope and Light programme, providing mental health support to the Black African, Black Caribbean, Central and Eastern European, and South Asian communities recognising the diversity within and beyond these groups through a range of culturally responsive services.
We put you at the heart of what we do. By listening to your experiences and respecting your values, we aim to address mental health challenges in ways that you can relate to and meet your unique needs. We’re here to find ways to address mental health challenges that respect your culture, value your input, and are designed specifically with your needs in mind.
Through activities such as group and one to one support, we create safe spaces in your community to help you access the right care.
Empowerment Through Choice
Domestic abuse takes away control. For many Black women, the pressures of culture, community, and systemic bias make it even harder to make choices freely.
Support services must be flexible, client-led, and responsive to different needs—especially when it comes to safety planning, legal help, and emotional recovery.
Empowerment means giving survivors the tools to reclaim their voice, their safety, and their future.
Moving Forward: What Black History Month Demands of Us
This month isn’t just about recognition, it’s about action. If we want to break the cycle of harm, we must:
- Confront systemic racism in services
- Build culturally competent, inclusive support
- Centre survivor voices in everything we do
We will help
If you are experiencing domestic abuse or sexual violence we will help. Call us on
0808 2800 999
Open Monday – Friday 9.30am – 4.30pm (Closed for half an hour at lunch at 1pm)
Our One Front Door helpline is completely free and confidential, and the call will not show up on itemised bills.