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To deliver systems change and empower women and children who experience domestic abuse.
In the UK, hundreds of thousands of domestic abuse crimes are reported each year, but only a small fraction result in a conviction. This is what led to the founding of Advance in 1998, a charity dedicated to improving the lives of female victims of domestic abuse and the criminal justice system.
Since its founding, the charity has set up community education workshops and centres to improve domestic abuse advocacy. Simultaneously, the Standing Together scheme was a sister organisation designed to improve the strategic and operational responses of agencies working with survivors.
The important work of Advance has since expanded into helping mentor vulnerable women who have been in the criminal justice system, as well as services for younger victims of abuse. It's proactive and engaged strategies have maintained the charity’s leading status as a safe haven for abuse and violence survivors.

Kirsty
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Bear Montique
(Co-Founder)Bear was born in Ireland and came to the UK in the early 60’s. She started work in the sector as a therapist, moving into refuge work in Hammersmith where, in the first partnership with police, she started the first borough outreach project for survivors.
Beryl Foster
(Co-Founder)Founding member of Hammersmith Women’s Aid who opened the first Refuge in the Borough in 1976, one of the first in London. Worked for Women’s Aid in many capacities until 1997 when she was seconded to LBHF Community Safety Unit to develop the unique partnership which became the ‘Standing Together Against Domestic Violence’ (STADV) project.