Work Areas
Imkaan's primary aim is to advocate and represent on behalf of Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and Refugee (BAMER) Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) services. As a collective voice, Imkaan stimulates debate and work towards a co-ordinated response that highlights and protects the needs of BAMER women, girls and children experiencing violence and abuse, in order to strengthen the future development of refuge services.
Imkaan's key aims:
Policy Development: Imkaan advocates the needs of BAMER women, girls and children experiencing violence and abuse, by increasing the representation, profile and contribution of advocates from BAMER VAW services towards national, governmental, policy, funding and service planning initiatives.
Strategic Advocacy: Imkaan promotes equitable and accountable partnerships between strategic, statutory, second tier and front line services for BAMER women, girls and children.
Development Capacity Building: This project aims to secure long term, sustainable improvements within the specialist refuge sector through a targeted regional programme of advice, information and direct support for individual refuges towards maximising income, personnel and capacity resources.
National Network of BAMER VAWG Services Forum: This forum promotes partnerships and the active involvement of specialist refuge staff in national, regional and local policy and service development through a dedicated forum for development, peer exchange and learning.
Training and Education Programme: Imkaan's training programme strenghtens the infrastructure of specialist BAMER VAW services through the up skilling of refuge staff on issues related to policy, funding, legislative and operational management.
Professional Development Training Programme: Imkaan provides training for legal professionals who advocate and represent BAMER women, girls and children within the Criminal and Civil Justice System, through a CPD (legal) accredited training programme on areas of law including housing, family and immigration.
Publications: Imkaan produces annual policy briefing bulletins providing a summary of latest developments in policy, legal and strategic service changes.
Research: Imkaan develops a strong base for community led and community based research that reflects the true experiences of BAMER women, girls and children and that is relevant to women, VAW services, policy planners, service providers and funders.
Standing Conferences and Expert Seminars: Imkaan organises collective forums for strategic discussion and debate between government, mainstream and specialist service providers.
External Forums
Imkaan participate in a number of key strategic governmental and statutory forums
- Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) - Domestic Violence Project Board Meeting
- Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) - Domestic Violence Steering Group
- Women's National Commission (WNC) - Violence Against Women Working Group
- Greater London Domestic Violence Project (GLDVP) - Domestic Violence Forum
- National Forced Marriage & Honor Based Violence Steering Group
We urge organisations to participate and use us as a resource to continue lobbying and advocating on their behalf to these central bodies, through these forums.
International Work
We also participate in the international debate and developments that pertain to gender and violence.
- United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
- Women's rights under the United Nations Conventions and other Human Rights Instruments.
Violence against women, girls and children raises many issues, and brings together different agencies including:
- Police
- Housing
- Health
- Education
- Immigration
- Child Protection and so on...
