Community Life

The Southall Black Sisters are an Asian and Black domestic violence group based in the heart of Southall, home to most of the Asians living in the borough.

In almost thirty years of service the group have received national and international recognition for the support they have given Black and Asian women in West London.

Defining moment

A case in 1990 was to define the role of their targeted service and even inspire a Bollywood film. 

Kiranjit Alhuwalia was serving life at Holloway prison for killing her violent husband. She was often beaten, raped and burned. She recalls:

“He put a hot iron on my face… I couldn’t take it. I thought… he gave me a scar on my face and he beat me, treated me so badly for the last ten years… now I want to hit him. He burnt my face so I thought I’ll burn his feet so he won’t be able to run after me.”

Not being able to articulate her defence in English, Kiranjit wrote to Southall’s Black Sisters for help. A letter that was to change her life altogether. Kiranjit’s conviction was overturned on appeal some three years later. The case also amended the defence of provocation.

Bleak future?

Language and cultural differences has often exacerbated the problem for Asian women, issues which until recently hadn’t been recognised.

Honour killings and forced marriages have made the news agenda and the government has also invested in campaigns to combat the issue. So is there still a need for a specialist service?

Ealing Council doesn’t think so. For over two decades Southall’s Black Sisters have received a grant of around £100,000 a year. A grant they will no longer be allocated but will now have to bid for.

Leader of Ealing Council says their domestic violence services need to reflect the changing face of the borough. Cllr. Jason Stacey says:

“We’ve seen a large migrant population from Eastern European arrive, Poland particularly, therefore as a Council it’s right and proper that we review this to see how we can deliver a service for everyone.”

This could mark the end of a high profiled legacy for Southall’s Black Sisters. For them the issues of yesteryear are as relevant today as they were then. Southall Black Sisters Hannana Saddiqui says:

“If Ealing Council cut our finding then we will have no where to go and we are very much fearful that many of these women may well die. Asian women are three times more likely to kill themselves than women in general population as a result of abuse." 

Southall Black Sisters are one of the four bids the council has received for a more inclusive service for the borough. It will make a decision on 1st April this year.

Your thoughts welcome. What do you think about specialist services? Can a general domestic violence service appreciate cultural sensitivities? What do you make of the council’s decision?

Email: ramaa.sharma@bbc.co.uk

Your views

As an organisation supporting women who have experienced many different forms of violence from all kind of background, Eaves firmly believes that all women should be able to access culturally appropriate, specialist support to help keep them, and any children they may have, safe at a very dangerous time.

Whilst domestic violence services are often culturally sensitive, most do not have the resources to specifically target women in different communities and earn the trust necessary for women to feel able to access their services.  Southall Black Sisters have successfully achieved this difficult task with dedicated work over 30 years.

Cost alone prevents many services from being truly inclusive, for example having translators or multi-lingual staff readily available and having enough money to translate forms and leaflets into community languages and then the information given translated back into English.  If a council wishes to terminate a culturally specific service, it is essential that all other services in the borough are provided with additional funding, time and support to enable them to meet the needs of the women who will need to access generic services.

Cat Whitehouse, Sexual Violence Resource Worker, The Lilith Project, Eaves