Safety Begins with Sanctuary

Marking World Day for Safety and Health at Work with Anah Project

Each year, on 28 April, the world marks the World Day for Safety and Health at Work—a moment to reflect on how we create spaces where people can thrive without fear. While originally designed to raise awareness of occupational safety, at Anah Project, we believe this day is just as relevant to the hidden workplaces of abuse—homes, communities, and relationships where women and girls face unimaginable harm.

Safety doesn’t start with a hard hat or high-vis jacket—it starts with being heard, being believed, and having somewhere safe to go. That’s where we come in.

What We Do at Anah Project

Anah Project has been supporting women and girls from black, South Asian and ethnic minority communities since 1993. We provide a lifeline for women and girls experiencing domestic abuse, forced marriage, sexual violence, and so-called honour-based abuse. Our specialist refuge accommodation is more than just a roof—it’s a place to breathe, heal, and begin again.

What Does Safety Really Mean?

On this international day of awareness, it’s important to widen the conversation around safety. For the women we support, safety means:

• Freedom from fear in their own homes

• Culturally sensitive support that understands the unique barriers Black and South Asian women face

• The right to access healthcare, education, and employment without intimidation or control

• A support system that helps rebuild not just their lives, but their confidence and independence

A Shared Mission: Safety, Dignity and Empowerment

The themes behind World Day for Safety and Health at Work align powerfully with our mission. We work to ensure:

• Safe Environments – Our refuge provides physical and emotional security for women escaping abuse

• Health & Wellbeing – We offer tailored support including mental health services, counselling, and wellbeing sessions

• Access to Opportunity – From life skills workshops to external training and employment preparation, we help women build independent, empowered futures

The Hidden Workplace of Abuse

While the workplace is traditionally thought of as an office, a shop, or a site, many women’s first experience of work is in the unpaid, undervalued, and often unsafe “job” of domestic life. For survivors of domestic abuse, leaving that space is the first step towards real, sustainable safety. That’s why this day is about more than work policies—it’s about understanding that home should never be the most dangerous place a woman knows.

How You Can Help

This 28 April, we invite you to stand with us. Share our story. Donate if you can. Volunteer your time or skills. And most importantly, help us spread the message that every woman deserves a life free from fear—at home, at work, everywhere.

Let’s redefine safety—not just in workplaces, but in every space women live, love, and grow.