This is the last in a series of three blog posts from students on the module ‘Making History: Archive Collaborations’. Alex, Wenxuan and Yifan have been working with the Women’s Aid Federation of England Archive to research and celebrate the organisation’s 50 year history. Each student has explored a different research angle, and this week Yifan is sharing her thoughts on the first newsletters produced by Women’s Aid.

‘First newsletter for people planning on running a refuge for battered women and their children’ 1974, MS 2265/4/3/1. Images courtesy of the Women’s Aid Federation of England.

When I first went through the archives, I saw a quote in the first ever newsletter to be produced by Women’s Aid that made me shudder. It was from a Hungarian proverb, “You need to beat your wife twice a week – once for what she has done and once for what she might do”.  

It made me realize that domestic violence has existed for so long that people have turned it into a proverb like it’s a joke, which detracts from women’s painful experience. When Women’s Aid formed in 1974 their aim was to raise awareness of domestic abuse and campaign to help women and children in these situations. Women’s Aid workers put this sentence in the first line of their first newsletter to warn people to take this seriously. 

‘National Women’s Aid Federation Newsletter’ 1975, MS 2265/4/3/5. Images courtesy of the Women’s Aid Federation of England.

What shocked me was discussion around the response of police to domestic abuse, “taking a little or no action” as the newsletter said. In the context of the 1970s, the police often dismissed domestic violence as a ‘family matter’, which further proves that at the time the need for domestic violence legislation was especially important. This newsletter is calling out for women to provide accounts of their dealings with the police. This evidence could then be used by Women’s Aid to campaign and lobby for legislative change. 

‘Second newsletter for those involved with groups running or setting up centres for battered women’ 1974, MS 2265/4/3/2. Images courtesy of the Women’s Aid Federation of England.

The path for abused women who flee their homes is not always easy, and it can be difficult for them to get shelter and refuge. This means that these women are still at risk, which is a worrying situation for Women’s Aid organisations. This newsletter shows that it could sometimes be a long road to finding accommodation that could become a refuge. It shows that it is important to put domestic violence on the table, so that all sectors of society pay attention to domestic violence. 

‘National Women’s Aid Federation Newsletter’ 1976 MS 2265/4/3/10. Images courtesy of the Women’s Aid Federation of England.

In this newsletter, women were encouraged to bravely come forward to talk about their experiences of domestic abuse. They hoped to use these experiences to encourage other women who have been abused to escape their situations. Still to this day there is a safe space for victim-survivors to share their experiences on the Women’s Aid England website. 

‘Second newsletter for those involved with groups running or setting up centres for battered women’ 1974, MS 2265/4/3/2. Images courtesy of the Women’s Aid Federation of England.

Let me close with one of my favorite quotes I saw on a later visit to the archives. Women’s Aid made me see the power of women, much like the phrase “girls help girls” which is now popular. When I read these archives, I felt that the strength of women is like a reed, although it can appear weak it is difficult to break, and when many reeds are woven together they become a web that is difficult to be destroyed.