Theos Report on Valuing Women

A new report from Theos has been published, this one on valuing women:

Kathryn Hodges and Sarah Burch, Valuing Women: Making Women Visible (London: Theos, 2022).

Here are some paragraphs from the Theos website:

‘The experience of abuse, trauma, mental health problems, homelessness, isolation, poverty, and sexual exploitation, is a reality for many women. These experiences, and the women who live through them, commonly go unrecognised, and the support available is often limited. When women are unable to access effective, trustworthy, and reliable helping services, there can be fatal consequences.

‘This report, written on behalf of Theos by Kathryn Hodges and Sarah Burch, explores what can be learned from how Christian charities provide support to women experiencing multiple and severe disadvantage. The in-depth study, undertaken during the pandemic, showcases the distinctive approach of staff and volunteers from six Christian organisations and how they made the women they worked with truly visible.

‘Four clear themes emerged from the research: the trusting relationships needed to support women experiencing multiple and severe disadvantage; the way the faith and values of staff and volunteers informed the way they met women; the utilisation of prayer by some in their work; and the tensions and opportunities found in resourcing helping services.’

More information can be found here, and a pdf of the full report is available here.