As the chief executive of Jewish Women’s Aid, to me ‘love’ is always about care, respect, trust and understanding – qualities that make people feel safe and valued. Too often at JWA, we see what happens when those qualities are absent from relationships. Every day, we work with women, girls and children across the UK Jewish community who have experienced domestic abuse and sexual violence. Their stories are heart-breaking and remind us why it’s so important to focus on the foundation of healthy, loving relationships.
Our work isn’t just about responding to crisis situations – though that is, of course, a huge part of what we do. We provide frontline support, counselling and advocacy for survivors.
But our commitment to creating a safer community for women and girls doesn’t end withour frontline services. It also includes the work we do across the community, with schools, youth movements, synagogues and beyond.
If we want to build a safer future, we need to start by teaching what respect, consent and healthy relationships look like. Through our Healthy Relationships and Consent programme, we talk to young people about how to recognise the signs of an unhealthy relationship, how to set boundaries, and how to ensure mutual respect in their interactions. We’ve also expanded this work to university campuses, where we collaborate with Jewish societies to reach students.