Organisational Aims

 

London Black Women’s Project (LBWP) is a specialist and dedicated BME woman only organisation.

 

It is committed to securing the highest level of quality services provision towards protecting, promoting and developing the rights and resources of women and children from BME (Black Minority Ethnic) communities.

 

Principles and Practice

 

LBWP incorporates the following principles into all aspects of its services including staff and volunteer recruitment and development and service improvement and future development. LBWP will:

 

• Develop support services based on a definition of community need that encompasses and values professional, social and life skills, physical and mental well-being, economic and personal independence.

• Integrate the concept and practice of self-advocacy and empowerment in all aspects of employment and service delivery through careful support, information and training.

• Stringently adhere to equal opportunities in the widest sense including appropriateness, accessibility, linguistic and cultural sensitivity to secure the highest quality of staff, volunteer and client support.

• Actively address the needs of staff, volunteers and service users with any form of disability including physical, learning and those presenting with challenging behaviour.

• Promote zero tolerance of violence against women and girls in the workplace, society and in private space, this means that staff working for the organisation will sign up to adhere to a culture of non-violence in all aspects of their lives.

• LBWP will actively challenge the normalisation, acceptance and tolerance of violence against women and girls wherever it occurs in order to create for women and girls, a society that is safe and free from harm of any kind.

• Identify and positively address real or potential areas where discrimination and exclusion from employment with LBWP and its services may take place

• Actively promote the rights of children in line with national legislation and International conventions

• Promote and maximise the fullest involvement of staff, volunteers, existing and potential clients at all levels of the organisation including service development through sensitive planning and the integration of appropriate mechanisms

• Develop and make available resource materials for information and advice purposes that reflect the appropriate imagery, language, semantics and issues relevant to all target communities

• Maximise organisational resources, whether financial, material or human through cost-effective, responsible and prudent resource management

• Ensure transparency of organisational processes, including accounting, shared access case files, within the confines of a strident confidentiality policy, the Data Protection Act 1998 and safeguard agency security

• Establish and abide by employment and service practices based on confidentiality, trust and empathy and to codify these in a staff code of conduct and service user charter.

• LBWP will support staff to ensure they maintain up to date knowledge of violence against women and girls, work with the definitions and ensure they provide services as consistent with the aims and vision of organisation. LBWP will also encourage its staff to take responsibility for the aims and vision of organisation promoting a culture of reflection.   

• Secure a staff and volunteer team that is truly reflective of our client base

• Identify, promote and undertake a methodologically sound and ethical issue-based research agenda with the aim of establishing a better understanding of our target communities and shaping future service development

• Continue policy and advocacy work which addresses all forms of violence against women at local, national and international level

• Share good practice across the sector

• Ensure against complacency and ensure constant growth through the process of strategic review and planning of current and projected services based on existing and emerging needs

• Continue to grow LBWP as an exemplary model through community service provision to share knowledge and information with peer organisations and to research and integrate from other models of best practice

 

LBWP will uphold these principles and practices by challenging the tolerance, acceptance and normalisation of violence against women and girls and by addressing the intersectional oppressions faced by black women and girls that include race, class and gender.