Building Sanctuary

Executive Summary

Building Sanctuary explores the experiences of migrant women who are excluded from mainstream support – especially those subject to No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) – and the organisations offering critical support in Hackney. These women frequently live “hidden” lives: sometimes in “survival relationships”, sometimes sofa-surfing, working low-paid roles, and unable to access basic safety nets. Because they may avoid or be excluded from official systems, they are undercounted in local data, resulting in gaps in response and resource allocation for the organisations supporting them.

Hackney is not just a backdrop; it is a place many women seek out precisely because of its strong reputation as a place of sanctuary, its cultural diversity, and its grassroots networks of support. But those very attractions are under strain: unaffordable housing, economic instability, and structural barriers mean many women cannot remain in Hackney. Those who receive support here may be forced to relocate, with their progress disappearing from local metrics and undermining the continuity of care they have found.

The organisations doing this work are often small, specialist, “lived, learned, experienced” groups rooted in community trust. They deliver culturally competent, trauma-informed, holistic care, yet they struggle under short funding cycles, administrative burdens, and limited capacity. Rather than reinventing support systems, Hackney already has much of the necessary infrastructure in place – what is required now is sustainable investment, enabling conditions, and inter-borough (and beyond) collaboration.

While the voluntary sector plays a vital role in transforming women’s lives, it cannot alone dismantle the systemic injustices – racism, misogyny, ableism, exclusionary immigration law – that underlie many challenges women face. To build a truly welcoming borough, policy change is needed nationally and locally: abolishing NRPF, ensuring universal access to housing support, and strengthening referral systems across places.

Emerging collaborative mechanisms such as the Women in Hackney Network (WiHN) show how early intervention can prevent crises and reduce long-term public costs. However, these initiatives remain fragile and under-resourced, with limited capacity — particularly the time and space to step back from direct service delivery and engage
in the strategic thinking and sustained commitment that systems change demands, often placing unrealistic expectations on specialist organisations.

As Hackney has received official Borough of Sanctuary status in March 2026, the challenge is not to create new systems, but to embed and further enable what already works. This report sets out low cost, and cost-saving solutions including practical, evidence‑based recommendations emerging from the Women in Hackney Network
(WiHN).

Case studies (Annex A) and analysis of the positive outcomes of the network’s activities will be of interest to Hackney Council, as well as regional partners, commissioners and other funders. The recommendations will deepen the borough’s welcome, improve continuity of care, and invest in preventative, gender‑informed approaches that benefit women, children, and the public purse.

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