 | Frequently asked questions |
Below are answers to some of the questions we are often asked. If the answer to your question is not given here, please email us.
1 What is YWCA?
YWCA England & Wales is the leading charity working with young women facing poverty, discrimination or abuse.
At our 14 centres which provide more than 120 different programmes, we give support, information and the opportunity to learn to thousands of girls and young women every year. We campaign with young women and carry out research on issues they feel are holding them back. Our goal is to help young women change the world they live in and become the women they want to be.
In a safe environment, we support young women to challenge violence or abuse, learn new skills, finish their education and improve their health and self-esteem.
We work with young women aged between 11 and 30 from any racial, ethnic or religious background, from centres based in or reaching out to areas of economic deprivation in England and Wales.
As one of the oldest women’s organisations in the world, YWCA has supported disadvantaged young women for more than 150 years, pushing the boundaries to enable them to make their own mark on the world.
YWCA England & Wales is a registered charity no: 217868.
2 What does YWCA stand for?
YWCA used to stand for Young Women’s Christian Association, but no longer does. We officially changed our name to YWCA England & Wales in November 2002. We did this for two reasons. Firstly, our old name, YWCA of Great Britain, was shared by an umbrella organisation to which we are affiliated along with YWCA Scotland (see question 5 below). We wanted to make the distinction between ourselves and the umbrella body clearer. Secondly, for many years we had been known by our initials and it made sense to register those initials as our name. Therefore, YWCA England & Wales is the name registered with Companies House and the Charities Commission, although we are often referred to simply as YWCA.
3 Is YWCA England & Wales a religious organisation?
Like many charities, YWCA was established in the mid-nineteenth century as part of the Christian welfare movement. Founded by Christian women, our roots lie equally in feminism and faith. However, we do not promote any religious viewpoint in our work.
We respect our heritage and embrace the multicultural society in which we live. This is reflected in the cultural, racial, spiritual and ethnic diversity of our staff, trustees, supporters and the young women with whom we work.
The values which underpin our work are shared by people of different faiths, cultural backgrounds and philosophies. Together we value:
 | each person as a unique individual |
| | social justice, equality and diversity |
| | women’s rights |
| | the power of women working together to achieve change |
| | the involvement and participation of young women |
| | a shared understanding of women’s experiences |
| | honesty and openness |
| | and responsible stewardship. |
4 Are you the same organisation as the YMCA?
No. We are two separate charities. Both originated in the mid-nineteenth century but the YMCA provided a variety of services for young men, while YWCA provided housing, support and services for young women. Today, YWCA continues to work with young women.
For information about the YMCA, click here.
5 Does YWCA operate throughout Great Britain?
Yes. YWCA is an international movement with YWCAs in many countries. We are YWCA England & Wales, registered in our own right as a charity. YWCA Scotland is a separate charity and we are both members of an umbrella organisation, YWCA of Great Britain. There is no YWCA Northern Ireland.
Early in YWCA’s history, individual projects and hostels throughout the UK registered as separate charities, but with the YWCA name. As a result, there are still a number of separately registered and autonomous YWCAs in England – Sheffield, Kendal, Newcastle Upon Tyne and Sunderland. These YWCAs, as well as YWCA Scotland, are managed separately from YWCA England & Wales and individually employ their own staff and have full financial and operational responsibility for the affairs of their own YWCA.
Together, YWCA England & Wales, YWCA Scotland and the independent YWCAs in England, form an umbrella organisation, YWCA of Great Britain. The governing body of YWCA of Great Britain is called British Council.
For information about YWCA Scotland, contact YWCA Scottish National Council on 0131 225 7592 or by email at info@ywcascotland.org
6 Does YWCA have work in other countries?
YWCA is a worldwide movement, to which YWCA England & Wales is affiliated through membership of YWCA of Great Britain (see question 5).
The World YWCA was founded in 1894 by four associations: Great Britain, Norway, Sweden, and the United States. YWCA work first began in Britain and in less than 40 years grew into a global movement of women that continues to meet the needs of women and girls in over 109 countries worldwide. For information about the World YWCA, visit their website here or call their headquarters in Geneva on 0041 22 929 6040.
7 Does YWCA England & Wales still provide housing?
No. We have shifted the focus of our work from housing to youth and community and campaigning activities.
Although accommodation was one of the many services traditionally provided by YWCAs, in March 1999 YWCA England & Wales faced a difficult decision about housing provision. Much of our accommodation was outdated, offering shared facilities which no longer met the needs or expectations of young women. As a result, many bed spaces were lying empty and our housing service was running at a loss. Many of the properties were very old and required a great deal of building work. The money needed to carry out changes and improvements was beyond YWCA’s reach.
We began discussions with other registered social landlords, nationally, regionally and locally, to see if they could manage and operate our projects, so that, as far as possible, they could continue to provide housing and so that we could continue our work with young women. We have now transferred or sold all our housing projects.
8 Why do you only work with women and why just young women?
In common with all charities, we were established to tackle a specific need and today all charities work with clearly defined client groups or causes.
YWCA works with young women who have needs and issues that arise from the discrimination and disadvantage they experience not just because they are young, but also because they are female. Under the Sex Discrimination Act (1975) (Sections 34 and 43), charities are allowed to provide goods, facilities or services on a single sex basis.
Young women individually are often effectively denied a voice within mixed age or mixed gender services and activities. Policy relating to young women often masks young women’s experience of discrimination and disadvantage by subsuming that experience into young peoples’ or women’s issues. We think it is important that young women have access to separate young women’s provision in order to identify and address their own needs and to develop an effective voice in all areas of public policy.
We focus our work on young women aged between 11 and 30. This age range is based on evidence that enabling young women to develop skills and self confidence from an early age will help prevent more serious problems later on. At the same time, the upper age of 30 aims to ensure that young women who have benefited from our services are enabled to move on, freeing resources to address the needs of others.
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