Sistah Space the charity that supports Afrikan women and girls affected by domestic abuse is ten years old this year and is showing no signs up letting up with a new campaign to address the spike in domestic abuse that happens at this time of the year. It follows the release this summer of a groundbreaking report detailing the experiences of Afrikan women subjected to domestic abuse. The charity is also on the verge of opening the “UK’s first domestic violence refuge for Black women and children.” (1)

This work is all the more remarkable coming just two years after the very existence of the organisation was threatened – jeopardizing the lives of countless women – when the UK’s white nationalist media eco-system railed against it (and CEO/founder Sis. Ngozi Fulani in particular) for the ‘crime’ of exposing royal family racism. (2)

The manufactured poltical firestorm followed the successful ‘Valerie’s Law’ campaign, which in October 2021 sought to garner 100,000 signatures in a petition to institute Valerie’s Law that would mandate specialist, culturally appropriate training for all police and other government agencies that support black women and girls affected by domestic abuse. (3) The proposed statute is named after Valerie Forde, a domestic abuse victim and major catalyst for the creation of Sistah Space. (4) They are now looking forward to opening the refuge for which the land and the building have already been acquired. What’s required now is £350,000 to run it, targetting £100,000 of this in the next year. (5)

Sistah Space’s own research reveals that the need for the refuge as well as a comprehensive programme of support for Afrikan women and girls is both necessary and urgent. The “national emergency” around violence against women and girls tends not to reference the Afrikan community and has in fact been weaponised for certain political agendas. (6) Yet “Metropolitan Police figures show Black women and girls comprised 43% of London’s femicide victims in 2022, despite Black people representing only 14% of London’s population. Office for National Statistics data reveals Black women experience the highest domestic abuse rates nationally at 33.1%, while comprising just 4% of England and Wales’s population.” (7)

Sistah Space’s research based on the testimonies of over 2,200 Afrikan women revealed

• 89% of respondents stated that they personally know a Black woman who has experienced or is currently experiencing domestic abuse.
• More than half (56%) reported experiencing domestic abuse themselves.  Among those that had experienced abuse:
• 78% shared that they had experienced domestic abuse on more than one occasion or during more than one period of time.
• 76% of survivors said they had wanted to report abuse but felt unable to do so.
• 87% of Black women did not feel that statutory services were supportive enough when they reported their abuse.
• 97% stated they did not feel confident that reporting abuse would result in fair or supportive treatment from services such as the police or social care. (8)

The report makes the unequivocal case for specialised services for Afrikan women like those provided by Sistah Space, butressed by the implementation of Valerie’s Law.

However, there are also some searching issues for the community itself to address. The distrust of statutory services put some women in a dilemna about reporting a abuse and subjecting their partner to a racist system. Another aspect to this was the expectation that the “culture of silence,” – i.e. keeping business indoors and not splitting the family – be maintained. (9)

Other respondents highlighted the “normalisation of abuse as cultural tradition,” which led to some not even recognising their experience as abuse or at least placated by the argument that it is merely an intergenerational practice of “love” or “discipline” to be lived with. (10)

Much of the above is underpinned by the “strong Black woman” trope that functions internally and externally. (11)

Overall the report poses some searching questions for the community as a whole. If we accept the report and statistics from other sources then it is not only clear that Afrikan women are disproportionately subject to domestic abuse yet are reluctant to report it. Ultimately we cannot avoid exploring who is doing the abusing and why. Tales of a glorious pre-colonial history notwithstanding, we will need to examine when abuse became interpreted as “culture.” Moreover, if Afrikan women and girls are largely excluded from the ‘national conversation’ then it is high time that we had our own.

(1) Collctiv (2025) Sistah Space Winter Appeal. https://pay.collctiv.com/sistah-space-winter-appeal-58453; Enfield Caribbean Association (06/08/25) Sistah Space campaign exposes domestic abuse faced by Black women in UK. https://theeca.org.uk/news/sistah-space-campaign-exposes-domestic-abuse-faced-by-black-women-in-uk/; Sinai Fleary (12/11/25) £350,000  fundraiser launched for UK’s first domestic violence refuge for Black women. https://www.voice-online.co.uk/news/uk-news/2025/11/12/domestic-violence-refuge-for-black-women/
(2) Caroline Davies (08/03/23) Charity boss at centre of royal race row steps down over abuse. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/mar/08/ngozi-fulani-sistah-space-charity-boss-at-centre-of-royal-race-row-steps-down-over-abuse
(3) Afrika Speaks with Alkebu-Lan on Galaxy Radio (25/10/21) Making History Pt. 4: Can we make “VALERIE’S LAW” a reality? https://www.mixcloud.com/AfrikaSpeaks/making-history-pt-4-can-we-make-valeries-law-a-reality-251021/
(4) Ngozi Fulani (12/10/19) Story of Sistah Space. https://safelives.org.uk/news-views/story-of-sistah-space/
(5) Fleary. Op. cit.
(6) Lisa Salmon (23/07/24) Violence against women and girls a ‘national emergency’ – how to talk to teens about it. https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/violence-npcc-experts-police-tv-soap-b2584178.html; Amelia Gentleman (19/09/25) ‘Go-to trope’: how the far right is exploiting violence against women and girls. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/sep/19/go-to-trope-how-the-far-right-are-exploiting-violence-against-women-and-girls
(7) Ngozi Fulani, Naomi Bahru, Djanomi Robinson, Hannah Francis & Jessie Auguste (2025) Experiences of Domestic Abuse Support Among African and Caribbean Heritage Black Women. Sistah Space. p. 12. https://www.sistahspace.org/research
(8) womensgrid (17/11/25) Experiences of Domestic Abuse Support Among African and Caribbean Heritage Women 2025 Report – Sistah Space.  https://www.womensgrid.org.uk/?p=28139
(9) Fulani et al. p. 24
(10) Fulani et al. p. 25
(11) Fulani et al. p. 25-6

we ask the question:

How do we address abuse in our community?

1) Why does domestic abuse spike in the “festive season”?
2) Why are Black women so over represented in abuse statistics?
3) Are there aspects of our community practices that facilitate abuse?
4) Do we need to have our own ‘national conversation’ about abuse?

Our Special Guests:

Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka: Resident guest who is Spiritual Leader of the Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement and an Afrikan-Centred Education Consultant. Bro. Ldr is a veteran activist of almost 40 years standing and author of Mosiah Daily Affirmations and Education: An African-Centred Approach To Excellence.

Sis. Ngozi Fulani (CEO, IDVA, ISVA): is the founder member of Sistah Space & is the senior member of staff in charge of day to day running. Ngozi qualified as an Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA) & an Independent Sexual Violence Advisor (ISVA). Ngozi handles all the case studies and one-to-one surgeries.

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