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About Apna Haq

Our name, Apna Haq, means ‘Our Right’ in Urdu. We support black and minority ethnic (BME) women and girls in Rotherham, South Yorkshire who are experiencing any form of violence, including domestic violence. Our long-term support helps women heal from the trauma of abuse and make the transition from crisis situations to safe, independent, violence-free lives. We are also very active in our work against racism and Islamophobia which so often amplifies the violence experienced by black and minority ethnic women.

Who we support

Our current work involves many BME communities in Rotherham including: Chinese, Thai, Iranian, African, Roma, Bengali, Caribbean, Indian, Yemeni, Pakistani, Muslim revert communities and others. We support women and girls in all their diversity, including from any religion or no religion, and of any sexuality, including women who identify as lesbian, bisexual, transgender or intersex (LGBTI).

How we started

We started in 1994 as a charitable organisation that supported South Asian Muslim women experiencing, or at risk of, domestic violence. However, in 2010 we expanded our focus to become a black and minority ethnic (BME) women-led organisation working to end all forms of violence in Rotherham and surrounding areas in South Yorkshire. This was in response to the changing demographics and needs in Rotherham, along with national policy changes and research findings.

Our expertise

We are a survivor-led organisation with many years of experience in the forms of violence that disproportionately affect BME women, as well as an understanding of the cultural issues that these communities face when seeking support, such as language barriers and community pressures. While we continue to work with women and girls who experience domestic violence, we have become sector-leading experts on experiences that can specifically affect BME women, including forced marriage and honour-based violence, child sexual exploitation (CSE) and other forms of sexual abuse. Our experience means we understand patterns of abuse, justifications within the family for certain behaviours, and why women do not escape.

Our services

Our work to support BME women in Rotherham is holistic and wide-ranging:
  • Safety
Our primary objective is to ensure the safety of women, managing the risks they may face. This involves general advice, signposting and referrals, as well as planning support more long-term. We also advocate for survivors of CSE and tackle peer-led hate crime.
  • Empowerment
Empowering women is key to them leaving a violent situation. Our range of confidence building courses aims to improve health and wellbeing. Specifically, we have an economic empowerment programme which entails a Hardship Fund, and a training and development programme which strengthens life skills and employability status.
  • Prevention and improved responses
By working in partnership with many agencies, we ensure the community is knowledgeable about how violence against women and girls affects the BME community. Our training courses raise awareness about the subject.
  • Voice
Giving a voice to survivors of violence is key to changing cultural norms, and so we support other groups to develop their capacity; lobby and campaign on policy issues that affect women; and undertake and participate in research projects.
  • Governance
Ensuring continued service user involvement in Apna Haq is key to our success as an organisation. Our training and development package for current and ex-service users ensures our work continues to be focused and relevant.

Our wider work

Alongside direct service provision, we campaign for ending the acceptance of violence against women and girls. This requires culturally appropriate advocacy work with, for, and by BME women experiencing any form of violence. We are active in our community, in local schools, and in the media to mobilise the change of community attitudes.