Our aim is to eliminate Violence Against Women & Girls

Founded in 1980 in Coventry, the name Panahghar is an Urdu word meaning ‘safehouse’ and was specifically chosen so that Asian women could understand what we stood for; a place of safety and protection. We believe that every person has the right to live a life free from abuse, yet we recognised that there are many barriers for women from different cultures.

Panahghar began as a women-led charity to provide safe refuge to Asian women in Coventry. Over the years, as communities grew and diversified, we were able to expand our services to include refuge, support, advice and outreach to our Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) victims and their families. We have also expanded our reach beyond Coventry to Solihull, Leicester and Leicestershire. We are proud to be a by (BME) women for (BME) women organisation and continue to grow in our reach across communities.

We exist to address all forms of violence, abuse, distress and maltreatment including domestic and sexual violence, Honour Based Violence, forced marriage, FGM (female genital mutilation) trafficking and stalking, from spouses, family, communities and/or institutions and structures – to promote humanitarian, educational, developmental and environmental awareness - to relieve poverty and encourage social and economic well-being amongst vulnerable groups, primarily but not exclusively, women and girls, children and young people from Black Ethnic Minority backgrounds, locally, nationally, and internationally.