Dear {{first_name | Supporter}} ,
Motherhood is meant to be a time of joy. New beginnings, excitement, the start of a family.
For too many Black women, it's the most dangerous time of their lives.
However the sad reality is for too many black women, this is a time where domestic abuse actually begins.
Up to 30% of domestic abuse begins during pregnancy.
Up to 60% of women who experience domestic abuse are abused while pregnant. And the abuse typically escalates, in both frequency and severity, the further along she gets.
At Sistah Space, many of the women who walk through our doors have lived this. We've seen the impact first-hand, on mothers and on babies.
This Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week, we want to spotlight something the wider conversation often misses: how the abuse Black women face during pregnancy compounds with the mental health inequalities they already navigate.
The picture is stark:
Up to 70% of women in mental health services have experienced domestic abuse
29% of Black women live with a mental health problem, compared to 21% of White women
Black women are more likely to have severe mental health problems, and less likely to access psychological support
Black mothers are more likely to be reached only at crisis point, when intervention is hardest
We have shown, time and time again, that Black women are disproportionately impacted by domestic abuse. It follows that they are also carrying the heaviest mental health consequences. And they are doing it inside a system that is already overstretched, already inequitable.
Our own research has surfaced the barriers Black women face when trying to report abuse: mistrust of statutory services, fear of racism, fear of criminalisation, cultural barriers, and the weight of past experiences of being dismissed. Too often, Black women are failed by the very services that should be holding them.
This has to change.
The health system, and the new Violence Against Women and Girls Advisor to the Department of Health and Social Care, Jess Asato, must tackle the disproportionate mental health impact of domestic abuse on Black mothers.
We need your help to spread the word.
We've put together a short video that explains what's happening, why it matters, and how to spot the signs. Watching it takes two minutes. Sharing it could change a life.
If you know a Black woman who is pregnant or has recently become a mother, check in on her.
Ask the real questions. Listen without judgement.
And let her know that Sistah Space is here, that we understand, and that she does not have to navigate this alone.
If you can, share the video with your networks today. The more people who see it, the more women will know where to turn.
Thank you for standing with us.
In solidarity,
Leona Letts