West Wales Domestic Abuse Service is an independent specialist domestic abuse charity which provides an integrated and holistic service, addressing the needs of survivors and their children from the point of crisis through recovery and onto independent lives. Our key underlying principle is to work holistically alongside survivors in their recovery from the trauma they have experienced, helping to build resources through a strength-based approach so that survivors are able to build safe and independent futures.

West Wales Domestic Abuse Service (WWDAS) believes that violence and abuse towards others is unacceptable and strives for a world where everyone can live their life free from all forms of domestic abuse.

Our Vision

West Wales Domestic Abuse Service will retain and strengthen its status as a leading provider of domestic abuse services within Mid West Wales. Through the application of strong ethical principles and belief in each individual we seek to empower people to reduce harm, maximise resilience, increase well-being, build inner strength, self-esteem and lasting positive change and enjoy healthy caring relationships.

The core values and principles that inform our work are founded on gender equality, human rights and non-discrimination. They guide all our work, including our internal conduct and our relationships with external agencies. Our core values reflect our history and have been developed in consultation with staff, service users, volunteers and trustees: We are:

• Working within a feminist framework. Recognising gender inequalities in society. We are women and children-focused due to an acknowledgement of the power imbalances in society, while also being supportive of all victims of abuse, regardless of their age, gender, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, ability, marital status or religion.
• Non-judgmental and accepting of individual beliefs and value systems.

• Empowering through empathy, education and support.

• Aware that perpetrators require support to help them change their abusive behaviour (although this is not a service that West Wales DAS currently provides). Committed to improving the wellbeing of our service users, staff and others with whom we come into contact.

• Social justice, improved wellbeing and human rights;
• Breaking the cycle of abuse and promoting individual growth and development;
• Service users having a central voice within the organisation and empowering their voice elsewhere by supporting and representing them;
• Supporting diversity and anti-discrimination in all its forms;
• Supporting feminist approaches that recognise the inequalities and imbalances in society across race, class, sexual orientation and gender;
• Collaborating with other agencies to develop a community-wide response to Domestic Abuse, Sexual Abuse and Violence against Women;
• Continuous improvement in the service we deliver;
• Supporting people’s right to live non-abusive lives and enabling them to take responsibility for such a life;
• Providing services that are value for money and offer an effective and efficient use of public and other resources;
• Innovation in tackling issues;
• Investing in and promoting staff wellbeing by monitoring workloads and ensuring that empathy, compassion and respect are integral features of the workplace culture;
• Providing opportunities for staff to engage in training and learning to develop relevant personal and professional skills.

They enable us to create positive safe futures for people affected by domestic abuse on every step of the journey from crisis to recovery and healing.

Our Award-winning services

We are renowned in Ceredigion for our innovative services and the exceptional quality of care we give survivors.

Our work makes an everyday difference in the lives of those affected by domestic abuse.

We are so incredibly proud to have been the

• 2021 Runners Up - GSK IMPACT Awards in Partnership with The Kings Fund
• 2018 Winners of the Supporting Survivors Award in the Welsh Promoting Independence Awards

Evidence shows us that violence against women and domestic abuse is based on gender inequality, and that discrimination of all kinds only further strengthens violence against women and girls. We believe in the approach that services need to be women centred and women-led. This means that we strive to develop services that are run in the majority by women. We understand that different genders experience abuse in different ways and we use this to inform the support we offer.

WWDAS is women centred and led by women.

To that end:

• Our Trustee board is 66/33 split between Women and Men, with both our Chair, treasurer rand company secretary being women.
• Our Management team is made up of all women.