Heavena

Heavena is a resource centre for women who have suffered trafficking, domestic abuse, violence and trauma. Building on nearly 20 years of experience as a refuge and transitional shelter for abused women and their children, Heavena now focuses on supporting women and their children in the community. This enables them to help more women, with a broader range of needs.

What are the challenges?

Domestic abuse is common in Sri Lanka, and victims are often economically dependent on their abusers. It is hard for abused women to leave their aggressors and they may be desperate to keep their children with them. In contrast, other women, due to poverty, make the decision to leave their families and work as housemaids in the Middle East. However, some face horrific treatment at the hands of their employers, and the children left behind can face abuse and exploitation without their mum to support them. When the mother returns, she is struggling with her own trauma and her children have suffered in her absence.

Our work with abused women in Sri Lanka

Whether abused domestically or internationally, Heavena offers women access to peer-to-peer support and can connect them with a range of groups supporting abused women and their children.

As a resource centre at the hub of a network of women and organisations who understand the challenges they face, Heavena is in a unique position to offer effective support, tailored to the particular needs of each individual.

In particular, the Heavena team help women find work and somewhere to live (where necessary), as well as offering counselling and relational support. Heavena is also seeking to establish preventative work, with a particular focus on developing initiatives to stablise family income in Sri Lanka, so women don’t need to leave for the Middle East.

What can I do to help?

Have you considered becoming a Change-Maker with Heavena? By giving monthly, you will provide reliable resources for our partners to plan ahead – which in turn helps them have a greater impact for Sri Lankan families.