Lighthouse Women's Aid has a mission to support and empower women and children who have suffered or are at risk of suffering from domestic abuse or violence. We aim to do this by raising awareness, providing a safe, supportive environment and by developing and implementing preventative and therapeutic services.

An analysis of 10 separate domestic violence prevalence studies found consistent findings: 1 in 4 women experience domestic violence over their lifetimes and between 6-10% of women suffer domestic violence in a given year (Council of Europe, 2002 cited by Women's Aid). Given that there are 59,675 women in Ipswich (Census 2001), 14,919 would have been the victim of dometic violence. The work we do empowers these women to move on in their lives away from domestic abuse.

From our available evaluations, attending the Freedom Programme had enabled: 100% of women to no longer blame themselves for their experience of domestic violence, 90% to feel they could identify and avoid an unhealthy relationship, 90% to feel that they were more assertive, 80% to respond that they had more confidence. Other comments about what women had learned by attending the programme included: 'I have learned to live my life.I feel I know why I entered an abusive relationship.'