Women's Mental Health: The Essential Contribution of Feminist Services (June 20)

Introduction

This briefing explains why feminist, trauma‑informed services are essential for supporting women’s mental health. It summarises evidence and learning shared at a Women and Girls Initiative (WGI) workshop and highlights how gender inequality shapes women’s experiences.

It’s intended for:

• commissioners

• funders

• practitioners

• organisations designing services for women and girls

Findings

The briefing found that women’s mental health is significantly shaped by:

• gendered inequalities

• economic insecurity

• caring responsibilities

• trauma

• higher exposure to domestic and sexual abuse

Evidence shows women experience higher rates of fear, anxiety, depression and embodied distress such as self‑harm and eating difficulties.

Feminist, trauma‑informed services were shown to provide safe, relational and empowering approaches that mainstream mental health systems often fail to offer.

The briefing highlights examples from WGI‑funded projects demonstrating how women‑led, specialist organisations meet complex needs and support recovery, safety and control. It also notes inequalities affecting Black and minoritised women who face higher distress but often struggle to access appropriate support.