Ada’s core values

Ada Women’s Shelter and Young Women’s Empowerment Centre is a politically and religiously independent feminist non-profit organisation that provides support and protection to abused women, teen girls and children. We are not a government authority.

We believe that all teen girls and women have the common experience of living in a patriarchal society and in a reality where men and boys as a group have more power than women and girls as a group. One example of this is the way that women and girls are limited when out in public. From an early age, women and girls need to learn to deal with the risk of being a victim of crimes such as sexual assault, and learn to adapt to norms related to areas such as their guilt and the way they dress and act. The harm caused by male violence against women goes beyond the direct victim. It also affects women and girls who live with the fear of becoming a victim and who make changes in their day-to-day lives to reduce their risk of being subjected to male violence. In this way, all women and girls suffer from male violence to varying degrees and with different experiences of the violence in their own personal situation.

Ada’s approach to women and girls follows the principle of help to self-help. Through counselling, we help and support the individual as they decide what to do and how to deal with their experiences. We believe that each person we meet is an expert in their own life and has the power and ability within themselves to handle and change their situation.

If you turn to us for support, you have the option of remaining completely anonymous. This means that you can come to us for regular counselling or live in our emergency shelter anonymously. We do not keep records. The only exception to this is if Social Services has granted assistance for living in our emergency shelter, as we are then obliged to keep records. In such cases, you will be able to access and view your records, and you will be given a copy of them. If you have any opinions on the keeping of records, we will also note these in your records.