WAITS Women Acting in Todays Society

WAITS Women Acting in Todays Society Creating a future where all women are empowered to make positive change. Our vision is to create a future where all women are empowered to make positive change.

WAITS (Women Acting in Today’s Society) is a registered charity (No. 1135026) established in 1993. Our mission is to enable diverse women within the West Midlands to develop themselves and others. We currently deliver 2 main areas of work to them:

1) Empowering Women (Community Organising) - building the leadership skills of local women to engage more effectively with other women, groups, network

s, government and policy makers.

2) Women’s Support and Development Services – supporting women affected by domestic abuse, female offenders, in particular BAME and Chinese women, through advocacy, counselling, consultations and accommodation.

A huge thank you and congratulations to Sonia Mann from WAITS for her riveting and useful employment Empowered Futures W...
21/08/2026

A huge thank you and congratulations to Sonia Mann from WAITS for her riveting and useful employment Empowered Futures Workshop delivered on 16 July 2026!

Sonia Mann is a career and life coach with over 15 years of experience in corporate human resources and career coaching; she is deeply passionate about empowering her clients to unlock their full potential and achieve meaningful results in both their personal and professional lives.

Sonia Mann came to WAITS to deliver her talk to give women who were or are victims of domestic abuse tips on how to find employment.

This talk included the following topics:
• The lotus model (from reflection to clarity to confident action)
• How to craft strong CVs and cover letters
• Learn where and how to hunt for job opportunities (sites included)
• How to prepare for interviews
• How to use LinkedIn to search for jobs and to network

Overall, it was an incredibly inspiring talk and the feedback from our ladies was overwhelmingly positive. According to our surveys, the majority found the overall experience very good, extremely useful, and learnt multiple new things that they will use in the future (including how to make CVs and cover letters as well as prepare for interviews). Furthermore, all the respondents said that they had no suggestions for improvement or future workshops!

Are you interested in networking with your fellow women?WAITS Sister Circle is an exclusive club for businesswomen, wome...
21/08/2026

Are you interested in networking with your fellow women?

WAITS Sister Circle is an exclusive club for businesswomen, women in the public eye and philanthropists who meet quarterly to network and build new relationships. The aim of the Sister Circle is to fundraise and support the valuable work of Women Acting In Today’s Society, who provide frontline support to women experiencing domestic abuse.

We are honoured to welcome our speaker, Dame Beverly Lindsay OBE, a Birmingham-based entrepreneur, civic leader, former nurse and midwife, and member of the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce's Chamber Council and Global Chamber Committee. Her talk will be on “Breaking Barriers: Leadership Lessons from a Lifetime of Firsts.”

Here are the details:
• Date: Tuesday, 15th September 2026
• Time: 6pm to 8pm
• Location: Regina’s Restaurant, 11 Newhall St, Birmingham, B3 3NY
• Price: Single ticket - £35, Membership - £360

There are various advantages to being a member.
• An invitation to attend our 3 in-person events hosted each year held at fabulous city venues, with inspiring speakers and opportunities for networking
• A sense of satisfaction and pride for helping to make a valuable difference
• Nominated for a WAITS award to be announced at our annual Ball
• Exclusive discount of 15% off for all other WAITS’ events
• Your name and organisation listed on our website, where we recognise and thank our Sister Circle members
• Raising your charitable giving profile through association with WAITS
• Updates on our work and share your valuable contribution with our community
• Opportunities to support wider fundraising initiatives, campaigns, and events

To purchase your tickets, please click this link: https://buytickets.at/waits/2328494

Women

What is the cycle of domestic abuse, and why is it important to understand how it works? The cycle is a predictable patt...
17/08/2026

What is the cycle of domestic abuse, and why is it important to understand how it works?

The cycle is a predictable pattern of harmful behavior(s) that is often seen in abusive relationships. Understanding this pattern helps people realise why abuse is so hard to spot early on and why leaving isn’t always done cleanly.

Here are the four stages:
1. Tension building:
This is where pressure starts to grow.
Communication breaks down
The abuser might become easily annoyed, overly critical or controlling
Small situations/arguments can escalate
The victim may feel overly anxious.
Most victims might try to keep the peace or avoid conflict at this stage.
2. Incident:
This is the point where the abuse becomes more obvious
Verbal, emotional, physical or financial abuse
Threats, intimidation, violence.
This stage is the harmful one, though the intensity varies depending on the abuser.
Reconciliation/ Honeymoon phase:
3. After the second stage, the abuser might try and fix the relationship.
He uses apologies, promises to change, gifts, affection, attention, blaming external factors (stress and alcohol) and denying what has been happening.
This step can feel very confusing because it very different from the last stage.
4. Calm:
Things appear to return to normal.
Conflict seems to die down
The relationship feels steady again
However, if real change or accountability does not happen, the cycle may restart from the beginning.

This cycle can make abuse very hard to recognise and even harder to leave. Moments of kindness or calm can create hope, making it feel like things will improve. But over time, the cycle often becomes shorter and more damaging. Understanding the cycle is a powerful first step in recognising abuse!




Exciting news: WAITS Annual Fundraising & Award Evening! Tickets now on sale!!!Join us for a magical night themed "A tou...
14/08/2026

Exciting news: WAITS Annual Fundraising & Award Evening! Tickets now on sale!!!

Join us for a magical night themed "A touch of Pink, join us in our Pink Carpet" filled with fun, style, and elegance while fundraising for a great cause! Hosted by John Smith (Upfront Comedy Club) with music by TC Connection and sponsored by Park Regis, it will be an unforgettable evening!

Here are the details:
Date: 7th November from 6 pm to late
Venue: Sky Gallery, Park Regis Hotel, 160 Broad St., Birmingham B15 1DT
Ticket Prices: Early bird individual: £60, Normal ticket: £65, Table of 10 early bird: £585
Table of 10 normal ticket: £650
Dress code: Formal with a touch of pink

If you are interested in buying tickets, please visit: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/waits/2195020

All proceeds will go to providing welcome packs for women who face homelessness, children’s Christmas presents, counselling and workshops for women experiencing domestic abuse as well as funding for WAITS refuge services. The sales of both our limited early bird individual and table tickets end in August, and tickets are selling out fast. Please buy your tickets now!

In our last post, WAITS discussed what financial abuse is and how it traps domestic abuse survivors. Obviously, the next...
14/08/2026

In our last post, WAITS discussed what financial abuse is and how it traps domestic abuse survivors. Obviously, the next question would be: is it possible for survivors to build financial independence after abuse and how should you go about it?

Building financial independence is very much possible, but it most likely won’t be fast or easy (especially if there is credit card damage, debt or continuing ties with the abuser involved). Keep in mind that your focus shouldn’t be automatic recovery but eventual control and stability.

This is what the process should look like:
1. Safety and separation: First of all, make sure that your accounts are completely secure. Open a new bank account that the abuser cannot access and change all of your important passwords (banking, emails, benefits, phones).
2. Understand where you are financially: Make sure you have a clear idea of what your financial position is by looking over your credit report (including your debts and accounts) while tallying income, benefits and essentials.
3. Be strategic with debt: Remember that you don’t have to fix debt right away, but you can make use of free debt advice services and ask about breathing space schemes, payment plans, or write-offs.
4. Build income and stability: This might take time. Look at benefits that you can use, look for work (either part-time or full-time) and look for employment support/training programmes.
5. Rebuild credit slowly: Once things become steadier, pay your bills consistently and open a basic bank account.
6. Try to minimise financial ties: Shut down/separate joint accounts and handle shared bills or other financial ties. If necessary, get legal advice if assets or debts are shared. This is key to freedom from abusers.

We know that it isn’t easy to do this and that rebuilding financial independence often doesn’t happen in a straight line. Just try to take it one step at a time and get specialist support if you have to. WAITS is always here to support you!



What is financial abuse, and how does it trap domestic abuse victims?Financial abuse is an ordinary but often ignored fo...
12/08/2026

What is financial abuse, and how does it trap domestic abuse victims?

Financial abuse is an ordinary but often ignored form of control within domestic abuse. It doesn’t happen independently, but often works alongside emotional, psychological and physical abuse to keep someone dependent on their abuser.

It involves controlling a woman’s ability to earn, use, or maintain money. This includes:
• Barring access to bank accounts or cash
• Tracking or demanding receipts for everything that is bought
• Refusing to let somebody work or sabotaging their job
• Adding debt in the victim’s name: loans, credit cards, bills.
• Hoarding the woman’s salary, benefits or savings

Financial abuse doesn’t usually stop when somebody breaks off an abusive relationship. It can “track” or limit survivors. Problems include:
• Debt as a tether: Abusers sometimes leave their victims with debt in their names. This debt can manifest in credit scores, making it harder to get housing, necessities or loans. This can mean constant monetary surveillance in credit systems.
• Shared financial systems: Joint accounts and mortgages can let an abuser monitor spending and meddle with finances even after the relationship has been broken off.
• Legal and administrative control: Abusers delay or control divorce settlements, refuse to pay child support or manipulate court processes to exhaust financial resources.

In short, financial abuse works so effectively because it limits choices. Domestic abuse victims need resources—housing, legal help, transport, childcare— to leave an abusive relationship. With no financial control, leaving is nearly impossible.





Are you wondering how Byron Batten’s cycling challenges are going?WAITS recently posted that one of our ambassadors, a c...
10/08/2026

Are you wondering how Byron Batten’s cycling challenges are going?

WAITS recently posted that one of our ambassadors, a cyclist named Byron Batten, is taking on three cycling challenges to raise money for WAITS.

Byron has already completed the first two challenges and his next cycling challenge will the London-to-Brighton ride on the 13th of September, 2026. However, Byron decided to complete the 28-mile Black Unity Ride on the 1st of August, 2026. Founded in London in 2020, it celebrates Black joy, community, health and wellbeing, while encouraging more Black people to get involved in cycling and active lifestyles.

This is how Byron described his experience:
“The easiest way to describe it is exactly how the organisers do – it really is a carnival on bikes.
There were well over a thousand cyclists riding through London with music pumping from huge speakers attached to bikes, people laughing, chatting and cheering each other on. Every time we stopped at traffic lights it almost turned into a street party. Someone would turn the music up and, before you knew it, hundreds of people were singing reggae, dancehall or Afrobeats together. It felt like one giant flash mob choir on bicycles.
Another highlight was simply seeing so many Black people, families and especially women out cycling together. In many of the cycling events I've done over the years, Black cyclists are often underrepresented. Seeing so many people enjoying cycling together was genuinely inspiring.
The Black Unity Bike Ride did exactly that. It reminded me that cycling isn't just about getting from A to B. It's about bringing people together, building community and creating moments of joy that stay with you long after you've got off the bike.
The atmosphere was electric from start to finish.”
If you are interested in supporting both WAITS and Bryon Batten, please donate at the secure JustGiving link below.

Please donate here: https://www.justgiving.com/.../br-X3YYQBY23RYR-the-tour...


On the 1st of August 2026, St. Mary’s Lodge No.3879 invited W.A.I.T.S CEO Marcia Lewinson to the Physician Restaurant fo...
08/08/2026

On the 1st of August 2026, St. Mary’s Lodge No.3879 invited W.A.I.T.S CEO Marcia Lewinson to the Physician Restaurant for the Worshipful Master’s Luncheon along with two other recipients of Charities Monies (two other charities). Marcia was invited to give a short talk on what W.A.I.T.S. does, and she was presented with a cheque for £1,000 that St. Mary’s Lodge No.3879 had raised by collecting money through donations throughout the year. W.A.I.T.S. would like to officially thank St. Mary’s Lodge No.3879 for their generosity because every donation makes a huge difference to W.A.I.T.S. and the women we help!

How should employers and businesses help lower or get rid of domestic abuse in the workplace?Domestic abuse is a problem...
05/08/2026

How should employers and businesses help lower or get rid of domestic abuse in the workplace?

Domestic abuse is a problem that can spill over from the home to the workplace, and it affects the lives of thousands of working women every day. Statistics show that one out of every four women is a victim of abuse at some point in their lives, so this means that many workplaces often have workers who are currently experiencing abuse or recovering from it. This means that business employers have an important responsibility to help create safe working environments.

Here are some things that business employers can do to help:
• Have a Domestic Abuse Champion: Implementing Domestic Abuse policy in the workplace to make sure that workers feel protected and safe.
• Implement education to raise awareness: Training managers and workers on how to identify abuse can be very helpful so that domestic abuse victims can receive support.
• Open discreet support options: Workers who are being abused might require additional support, flexible work schedules, or referrals to domestic abuse services.
• Work with local organisations: Working closely with organisations like WAITS who can deliver training to educate people about domestic abuse as well as support victims appropriately.

If you are a business manager who wants advice on how to get rid domestic abuse in the workplace or are a woman suffering from domestic abuse that is trickling over to your work environment, we are always here to help you at WAITS. Remember, supportive environments can make a huge difference!

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Have you ever thought about how you can share your skills with WAITS and make a real difference in the lives of women wh...
03/08/2026

Have you ever thought about how you can share your skills with WAITS and make a real difference in the lives of women who are survivors of domestic abuse?

Here are two volunteer roles and their descriptions:
1. Befrienders: Befrienders volunteer to be listening ears to women who have escaped domestic abuse.
2. Admin: Administration volunteers perform day-day administration tasks. They need to skilled in Microsoft Office.

If you are interested in supporting us, please email us the role that you are interested in and your CV to [email protected]. WAITS relies heavily on our volunteers, so please get involved!




Address

Wesleyan Building 3rd Floor East, Colmore Circus
Birmingham
B46AR

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+441214401443

Website

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