I’m Sophie and I have been a volunteer with The Pankhurst Trust (Incorporating Manchester Women’s Aid) since October 2022. As an MA Human Rights student, I was seeking a voluntary opportunity which aligned with my feminist ethics, and could also aid in the development of skills and experiences in the field of women’s rights. As someone who hopes to build a career within this field, I was excited to see that The Pankhurst Trust had an array of opportunities listed, which would allow me to work directly with survivors of domestic abuse to support and empower women.
When I joined The Pankhurst Trust, I first began volunteering within refuge, working directly with survivors of domestic abuse. Within this position I primarily acted as a wellbeing volunteer, running sessions which allowed service users and their children to enjoy arts and crafts activities. This experience was a great opportunity to explore my creativity, and I felt as though I was making a real difference to the lives of survivors. Additionally, this voluntary role allowed me to develop my communication, organisation, teamwork skills. I was given the opportunity to help plan and facilitate the sessions, as well as assisting with administrative tasks such as funding and housing applications within refuge.
After a year of volunteering within refuge, I have now begun a new voluntary role within the Communications team. I am really excited about the prospect of this role, and hope to gain skills within communications, research, and writing which will be transferable to a future role within the charity sector. The team at The Pankhurst Trust have all been incredibly welcoming and supportive, and I look forward to continuing to volunteer with them.
Overall, I have thoroughly enjoyed my time volunteering with The Pankhurst Trust. Through this opportunity I have gained direct experience of working with women at the refuge, and gained an increased understanding of how to support and advocate for survivors of domestic abuse. Through my experience with The Pankhurst Trust, I was also able to develop my masters dissertation, which was an analysis of the experiences of migrant victims of domestic abuse, and primarily considered the necessity of an intersectional perspective of domestic abuse support. During this project I visited many of The Pankhurst Trust’s refuges and met amazing members of staff who do incredible work to support survivors.
I feel incredibly proud to be involved in The Pankhurst Trust. As an organisation, The Pankhurst Trust does wonderful work to support and empower women and I hope to continue to be involved in their mission to ensure all those suffering from domestic abuse receive help. If you are considering volunteering I couldn’t recommend The Pankhurst Trust enough.
