80 domestic abuse and sexual violence organisations sign JWA open letter in solidarity with Jewish community
Women’s Aid, Refuge, Rape Crisis and Muslim Women’s Network UK amongst organisations condemning rising antisemitism
Eighty leading organisations working to end violence against women and girls have backed a call to action against antisemitism led by Jewish Women’s Aid, the UK Jewish community’s sole support service for women and children affected by domestic abuse and sexual violence.
Major national organisations, faith based and minority groups from across the sector were among 80 signatories to the letter as well as London’s Victims’ Commissioner Andrea Simon.
Major bodies include: Women’s Aid, Refuge, Rape Crisis England & Wales, SafeLives and the End Violence Against Women Coalition. They are joined by a broad coalition of faith and minority community organisations, including: Muslim Women’s Network UK, Sikh Women’s Aid, Christian domestic abuse charity Restored, Kaur Lab UK CIC, Ashiana Network, Shakti Women’s Aid, Panahghar, Roshni and the Church of Scotland’s Integrity Task Group on Gender Based Violence.
The letter, which is published today, reads: “As organisations and leaders committed to ending violence against women and girls (VAWG), and to building a society rooted in safety, dignity and justice, we stand in solidarity with the Jewish community at a time of deeply concerning increases in antisemitism.
“Following the terror attacks in Heaton Park Synagogue and Golders Green, alongside the spate of arson attacks targeting Jewish spaces, we recognise that the Jewish community is experiencing heightened fear in their schools, synagogues, workplaces and public spaces. Antisemitism is not an abstract issue; it has profound emotional, psychological and physical consequences for those targeted by it.”
The letter, the first of its kind, goes on to recognise the double-impact of antisemitism on Jewish victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence.
It reads: “As leaders in the VAWG sector, we recognise that for women and children experiencing domestic abuse, these harms can be especially acute. Survivors who are already living with abuse and trauma should never have to navigate fear because of their Jewish identity as well.”
The signed letter continues: “We commit to actively challenging antisemitism wherever it appears, to ensuring our spaces are safe and inclusive for Jewish women and families, and to standing in solidarity with the Jewish community now and in the future. At a time of fear and uncertainty, we stand with Jewish Women’s Aid and send a clear message to the Jewish community: you are not alone.”
JWA chief executive Sam Clifford, who initiated the letter in a call for the sector to openly stand with the Jewish community, said: “At a time when many Jewish people are feeling frightened, vulnerable and increasingly isolated, this extraordinary show of solidarity means more than words can express.
“The recent attacks on Jewish spaces have left many questioning their safety and sense of belonging in this country. What this campaign has shown is that there are allies across every faith, background and community who are prepared to stand up and be counted. Almost 80 organisations answered our call, sending a clear message that antisemitism has no place in our society and that the Jewish community is not alone.”
Ciara Bergman, chief executive of Rape Crisis England & Wales, a charity working to end sexual violence and abuse and support survivors through its network of specialist centres, said: “Our organisations share a vision for a world in which women can live their lives free from violence, and survivors can access support and recovery services when the time is right. This vision will never be realised in a society which treats some communities as less worthy or in need of support than others, or in which dedicated and amazing women who provide those services are themselves unable to go about their daily lives, or work.”
She added that: “Rape Crisis knows that women’s individual freedom relies on our collective freedom. That’s why we’re committed to challenging all forms of racism and discrimination, and to supporting this letter.”
Susie McDonald, chief executive of Tender Education & Arts, which uses drama and the arts to help prevent domestic abuse and sexual violence, said the organisation “stands against antisemitism and in allyship with Jewish Women’s Aid. We do not tolerate abuse or violence of any kind, and we condemn the attacks on Jewish people and communities. There is no place for antisemitism, or any form of racism, in the UK.”
Huda Jawad, of the Faith and VAWG coalition, the UK’s independent authority on faith-literacy in VAWG, said: “Our country is experiencing a turbulent and challenging time. The rise in hate crime targeting people from different religious and racialised backgrounds is alarming and unacceptable. The rise in antisemitic attacks on our Jewish siblings and community has not gone unnoticed. One of the oldest forms of racism and hatred in Europe cannot be normalised, nor left to be weaponised by racist and regressive forces in our society.”
She added that the group was “proud to have created a space where individuals and organisations from different faiths, and those with none, can come together to work for justice, and to support women and families impacted by domestic abuse and gender-based violence. We stand in solidarity with all who fight the scourge of racism, of which antisemitism is one of its defining features.”
Ghadah Alnasseri, executive director of Imkaan, a UK-based black and minoritised feminist organisation, said: “Our solidarity goes out to Jewish communities who feel unsafe and fearful, where communities have endured a frightening escalation of antisemitic attacks. We also extend that solidarity to Muslim communities, migrant communities and all those who fear collective punishment for the actions of one individual.”
“These attacks do not exist in isolation. They emerge from a landscape of interconnected harm: rising antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-migrant rhetoric, and far-right ethno-nationalism. Violence is enabled by systemic failures that consistently betray the most marginalised communities. Ending violence in all its forms means tackling racism, misogyny and structural inequality together. Anything less risks leaving the most vulnerable behind.”
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