Experiences of Domestic Abuse Support
Among African and Caribbean Heritage Women
2025 Report
Sistah Space • 2025 Research
Hiddenin Plain Sight
Experiences of domestic abuse support among African & Caribbean heritage Black women. Over 2,200 voices. One urgent message.
2,208 Participants
England & Wales
2025
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0%
don't report despite wanting to
0%
lack confidence in fair treatment
0%
found agencies unresponsive
0%
know a Black woman affected
Key Findings
The numbers behind the silence
Click any finding to reveal the full story.
56.4%
personally experienced domestic abuse
More than half of all respondents reported direct personal experience. 89% personally know a Black woman experiencing abuse — revealing the community-wide scale of this crisis.
78%
experienced abuse on more than one occasion
The overwhelming majority experienced repeated abuse — across different relationships or extended periods. This pattern points to systemic failures in intervention, not isolated incidents.
76.4%
wanted to report but felt unable to
Top reasons: fear of retaliation (49.9%), fear of being stereotyped as a Black woman (47.8%), fear of not being believed (43.2%). A further 21.9% didn't know how or where to report.
“They make it hard for you to get justice.”
86.5%
found statutory agencies unresponsive
30% described services as “not at all responsive.” Interviews revealed officers laughing with perpetrators, evidence procedures unsuitable for Black skin, and social workers displaying racial bias.
“It took 3 years after making an emergency application. Every single statutory service failed me.”
54.2%
had not reported their abuse at all
Over half never reported to any service. Combined with the 76.4% who wanted to but couldn't, this reveals systemic silencing — where barriers to help are as damaging as the abuse itself.
97%
of Black women surveyed do not feel confident that reporting abuse would lead to fair or supportive treatment
When They Reported
Experiences with authorities
587 participants described interactions after reporting. The institutional response often compounds trauma.
~70–75% Negative
~17% Mixed
~12% Positive
Negative
Mixed
Positive
Survivor Voices
In their own words
Click to read each testimony.
Cultural ignorance
Retraumatisation
Being seen
Police failure
Stereotyping
Complexion
Weaponised identity
Cultural understanding
Strength as burden
Police racism
Cultural Pressures
Why culture keeps women silent
47.78% said cultural norms directly influence reporting. Click to explore the five themes.
1
The impossible choice between safety & racial solidarity
>35%
Seeking protection means potentially subjecting Black men to a racist criminal justice system. Women expressed deep guilt about contributing to criminalisation while needing safety.
“Before I'm a woman, I'm Black and we have to support each other.”
2
The culture of silence
~50%
“What happens in this house stays in this house” — a deeply embedded expectation passed through generations and enforced through ostracisation.
“Don't tell people your business — driven into me as a child and it's stuck.”
3
Normalisation of abuse as tradition
~33%
Violence reframed as love, discipline, or something previous generations endured. Many didn't recognise abuse because it had been normalised throughout upbringing.
“It was seen as a normal part of a relationship, it's what I saw growing up.”
4
The weaponisation of Black women's strength
>25%
The “strong Black woman” stereotype used against victims — creating the expectation to endure without complaint or vulnerability.
“Black women are expected to be stronger, therefore endure more than white women.”
5
The certainty of institutional betrayal
>40%
Overwhelming certainty that authorities would stereotype, disbelieve, or arrest them. Systems meant to protect feel as dangerous as the abuse.
“I would be seen as aggressive and mouthy as a Black woman and therefore provocative.”
The Path Forward
Six recommendations for change
Click each to see the rationale and actions proposed.
1
Develop Culturally Responsive Risk Assessment Tools
Current frameworks like DASH fail to capture unique risks
Risk assessment tools systematically underestimate the dangers Black women face.
Include specialist services in DASH framework reviews
Co-create supplementary tools with Black women survivors
Add questions about community pressure, cultural barriers, institutional racism
2
Mandate Anti-Racism & Cultural Competency Training
Institutional racism results in disbelief, stereotyping, arrest of victims
Services lack understanding of abuse manifestation in Black communities.
Mandatory training co-created by Black women with lived experience
Deploy specialist Black women IDVAs in police stations and hospitals
Require anti-racism training for all frontline professionals
3
Address Evidence Collection Disparities
Injuries on darker skin are systematically underdocumented
This prevents Black women from accessing justice through the legal system.
Train professionals on documenting injuries on darker skin tones
Develop visual guides for injury presentation across skin tones
Create standardised templates for culturally specific abuse
4
Validate Tools Through Community Testing
Tools developed without Black women's input perpetuate failures
Assessment tools must be tested by the communities they serve.
Pilot tools with Caribbean, African, and Black British women
Establish feedback loops with Black women's organisations
Create peer-led assessment options with trained survivors
5
Monitor Framework Effectiveness by Ethnicity
Without disaggregated data, failures remain invisible
Systematic failures can only be addressed through transparent, ethnicity-specific monitoring.
Mandate ethnicity-disaggregated data collection
Conduct annual audits comparing assessments with outcomes
Publish transparent reports with mandatory improvement plans
6
Invest in “By and For” Organisations
Black survivors overwhelmingly trust culturally grounded organisations
Grassroots services are best placed to overcome barriers from within communities.
Increase public funding for Black-led specialist services
Ring-fence long-term financial support nationwide
Prioritise accessibility in urban areas with large Black populations
Include Black women at every level of policy development
Take Action
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