Women’s Aid statement

Farah Nazeer, Chief Executive at Women’s Aid, said:

“We recently have been informed that this summer an individual convicted of child sexual abuse had used an alias identity, and related identification documents, to access refuge accommodation at Leeds Women’s Aid. We are horrified that this person was able to access a service which provides safe spaces for women and children living with trauma in spite of established identity checks by the service. This situation is a priority for us, alongside supporting our federation of local domestic abuse services.

Leeds Women’s Aid, which is a member organisation of Women’s Aid Federation of England, is working with us to gather all the information relating to this incident. While to our knowledge there are no reports of incidents involving this person during their time at the refuge, this is clearly deeply worrying to survivors in the service, the refuge staff, and to survivors looking to seek support. Please be assured we could not be taking this any more seriously. We are working with Leeds Women’s Aid as we review both local and national procedures, and will be exploring additional security mechanisms and recommendations for members across the federation in light of this incident.”