Refuge In Literacy UK encourages authors throughout the UK to donate signed copies of their books to children and young people in domestic violence refuges in their local communities.

CEO and Founder of Refuge In Literacy UK, Anne Stairmand, brings thirty years of extensive experience to writing. Anne has taught key stages 1-4, led English departments, worked as an education advisory consultant, worked as Director of Humanities College and member of SLT in secondary education, and worked with organisations such as the National Literacy Trust, Cognition, training business, and FE institutions.

In addition, we support refuges with literacy resources so that children, young people and parents are given the opportunity to become literacy confident and knowledgeable, enabling children and young people to access the curriculum with greater self-belief, and for parents to make improved life choices.

Key data:

• — There are over 350 Domestic Violence refuges in UK, and all are continually in use.
• — In 2020, an estimated 2.3 million adults between the age of 16 and 74 were abused (1.6 million women and 757,000 men). ^ref-1
• — In 2020, over 387,000 children were in domestic abusive homes and two women per week were killed. ^ref-1
• The ‘Counting Dead Women’ project, led by Karen Ingala-Smith, reported 16 domestic violence killings of women and children in the UK during the first three weeks of lockdown. ^ref-2
• — Two women per week are killed by a current or previous partner in England and Wales. ^ref-3