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Sistah Space provides culturally specific domestic abuse support for Black women. From crisis response to policy change, their work is vital and urgent.
“Dignity is not a luxury. Safety shouldn’t be either.”Founded in 2015, Sistah Space was created to meet a need long overlooked – culturally specific, trauma-informed support for Black African and Caribbean women experiencing domestic abuse.
Activist Ngozi Fulani, alongside her daughter Djanaomi Robinson and senior adviser Rose Lewis, has spent the past decade building a lifeline rooted in community care, advocacy, and cultural understanding.
Sistah Space was founded in response to the murder of Valerie Forde and her 22-month-old daughter Baby RJ, who were brutally killed by Valerie’s former partner in 2014, despite multiple attempts to seek help from authorities.
Their deaths exposed the systemic failure to hear and act on Black women’s warnings, and became the catalyst for creating Sistah Space: a space where women are believed, protected, and supported before it’s too late.
“Domestic abuse isn’t a women’s problem — it’s everyone’s problem.”
This year, that lifeline has come under increasing strain.
The charity has faced a string of setbacks that highlight how fragile specialist services can be, especially those serving marginalised communities. Sistah Space’s Hackney shop, a vital part of their outreach and funding model, was targeted in a traumatic burglary.
Volunteers say laptops, shop takings, and essential resources were stolen, and the shop was vandalised. The financial losses estimated at close to £20,000, landed at a time when reserves were already stretched thin.
For a small organisation heavily reliant on donations and community support, the impact was significant.
The burglary only amplified long-standing challenges. Ongoing funding shortfalls and the threat of eviction forced Sistah Space to scale back its physical presence, terminating a space many service users viewed as vital and sacred.
Still, the team never stopped.
They continued to run the phone advice line, deliver emergency food parcels, and offer advocacy support to women escaping abuse. It’s a testament to their resilience but also a clear reminder of how much is being carried by under-resourced frontline workers.
Despite everything, there have been quiet moments of rebuilding.
In December, Sistah Space’s shop reopened, marking a significant milestone after months of disruption. But this isn’t your typical charity shop and that’s intentional.
Instead of selling second-hand donations, the shop offers brand-new items at affordable prices, specifically for women starting over. The philosophy is simple but powerful:
Survivors of abuse deserve new things too.
This is a space designed to restore choice, pride, and normalcy not just provide essentials. As staff put it:
“Dignity is not a luxury.”
Behind the scenes, volunteers have continued to hold things down from distributing “fresh start” packs and emergency food, to running seasonal drives and events adapted around security limitations.
Over 1,000 gifts were donated for children of service users during the festive season.
This work becomes even more urgent during the holiday season.
Domestic abuse is known to increase at Christmas, a time when financial pressure, isolation, and forced proximity can heighten risk. While public generosity spikes in December, Sistah Space is clear:
Safety shouldn’t be seasonal.
Survivors need support all year round, not just during moments of crisis.
Musician FKA twigs, an ambassador for the charity, has publicly backed their work and donated to help offset the burglary losses, boosting funds and visibility. But Sistah Space is clear, one-off interventions aren’t enough.
“Even though we support Black women specifically, everybody has a duty to keep an open eye.”
Despite the year’s challenges, the team has remained highly visible on the national stage, leading calls for Valerie’s Law, which advocates for culturally competent training across police and statutory services.
Their message is unwavering: without specialist, culturally informed support, Black women will continue to be failed by systems that don’t recognise their lived experiences.
Sistah Space’s story reflects a wider issue across the domestic abuse sector, where services for marginalised groups operate on shoestring budgets, leaving them uniquely vulnerable to disruption, targeting, or erasure.
As they continue to push for long-term investment and hope to open a dedicated refuge, their call to action remains clear:
Protecting Black women requires more than crisis funding — it takes consistency, care, and collective responsibility.
Sistah Space is powered by community. Here’s how you can show up for them:
Because every woman deserves safety, dignity — and someone who listens.
See how Sistah Space is protecting Black women and fighting to make support safer, earlier, and culturally informed.
"These are the people who show up. This is TSB Hidden Heroes."
Know a community hero or local org making real impact? Tag us @TheShadeBorough or email us — we’re always looking for the next story to spotlight.
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