Mums In Need: Charity calls out abuse of Sheffield women and fights for them.

The Star wrote an article about our charity and highlighted that leaving abusive partners is " only the start of a mums journey who many find themselves battling a legal nightmare which goes on for years."

To read the article please click here

The Tribune asked their readers to suggest a charity for their Christmas appeal. Mums In Need were lucky to be put forward and picked, and Dan Hayes interviewed our founder Laura. To read the article about Laura's story and how the charity started, please click here.

‘When you've got a child with someone like that you are never free’

A Sheffield Charity, Mums In Need, will feature in a new BBC2 documentary called Womanhood. The programme will hear from celebrities including Strictly Come Dancing Judge, Shirley Ballas, writer Chidera Eggerue, businesswoman Jacqueline Gold, singer Sinitta Malone and comedian Suzi Ruffell. Together, they want to explore the role of women and their place in society.

The celebrities meet with Laura Riley, Chief Executive of Mums In Need, to discuss coercive control and the importance of supporting women in the aftermath of domestic abuse. Controlling and coercive behaviour in relationships became a crime in 2015 and is punishable by up to five years in prison. It is defined as long-term controlling behaviour from partners, including bullying, degrading, gaslighting (tricking a person into doubting their sanity) and controlling someone's finances or alienating them from seeing friends or family.

Mums In Need provides emotional and legal support to mothers who have left emotionally-abusive partners but have children, so they have to maintain contact. The charity relies on grants and public donations to survive. It provides counselling, 1:1 caseworker sessions, legal support, financial advice, and well-being workshops for mums requiring their services.

Laura Riley, Chief Executive of Mums In Need, said: 'It's great to see a spotlight on the subject of coercive control, and more importantly, understand some of the signs in which to identify it. It's a common occurrence in the UK, amplified during this pandemic, and to hear from celebrities who can relate to our work is humbling. I am a survivor of a coercive relationship, and I hope the programme helps women in a similar situation, encouraging them to contact organisations like ours for help.'

The documentary aired on the 26th November 2021 on BBC2.

For more information, call 0800 852 7414 or Donate

FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES OR TO ARRANGE AN INTERVIEW

CALL LAURA RILEY ON 07903 421 224