Southall Black Sisters has been supporting migrant women as well as minoritised locals in West London
A domestic violence charity which has provided safe accommodation to hundreds of migrant women in London fears for its future after funding was cut by City Hall.
Southall Black Sisters (SBS), which supports migrant victim-survivors with no access to public funds, will see their current funding stream from the Mayor’s Office for Policing And Crime (MOPAC) end later this month. This will leave the charity without stable financial support for six months until next April, prompting concerns over its immediate future.
Selma Taha, of SBS, said: “While we’ve managed to bridge the gap for now, the future remains incredibly precarious. Under the rules of the Mayor’s restrictive new funding model, organisations like ours which work in partnership with multiple other small, specialist organisations won’t be eligible.
“That’s why we’re launching a public petition urging the Mayor to act now to ensure long-term future funding to continue the lifesaving support we provide to migrant victim-survivors and minoritised women.”
Hosted on the London Lib Dems’ website the petition can be found here.
Hina Bokhari, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group in the London Assembly, said it was “utterly shameful that this Mayor allowed a funding crisis that put hundreds of the most vulnerable women in London at risk” and claimed City Hall had “abandoned” them.
She added: “The Mayor’s own Violence Against Women and Girls strategy commits to supporting the most vulnerable, including migrant victim-survivors and those from minoritised backgrounds, yet cutting off public funding for six months and threatening the survival of this lifesaving service directly contradict these promises.”
‘I find it offensive’
At Mayor’s Question Time yesterday (Thursday, September 11), Sir Sadiq Khan told the London Assembly: “What MOPAC announced in 2019 was two years worth of funding – the work undertaken with this limited funding was so life-changing that I extended it from 2021 to 2025.
“Because of less money from the Ministry of Justice we don’t have the ability to carry on with the wraparound service. We’ve made sure there are other grant funding services available to groups like SBS. I’m more than happy for my team to work with SBS to continue providing services for the community, from the community.
“I don’t want to politicise this like the Lib Dems have done – we want to work with this great group to help them in the interim. The impression that I’m not committed to groups like this – I find it offensive.”
When asked by Ms Bokhari if he would directly meet SBS members – nine of whom attended City Hall yesterday – the Mayor refused to answer.
Ms Bokhari said: “Southall Black Sisters battled the Tube strike to get to City Hall today to ask the Mayor for his help – it’s incredibly disappointing that he refused to either meet them or acknowledge the funding crisis that threatens the survival of this essential London service.”
It’s understood that SBS has managed to scramble together emergency money to keep going until March 2026, but group members are calling for reforms to City Hall’s funding model to avoid “further funding cliff edges”.
Labour Assembly Member Bassam Mahfouz, who represents Ealing and Hillingdon where the charity is based, told the LDRS: “For decades, Southall Black Sisters have carried out life-saving work, supporting women and children through the most difficult of times, and I pay tribute to their tireless commitment. I’m pleased that the efforts of the MOPAC Violence Against Women & Girls team mean Southall Black Sisters have been successful in securing an award that will support the sustainability of this programme.”
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