Kairos Women Working Together

Who we are

Founded in 1999, Kairos grew from grassroots beginnings into a specialist, community-rooted women’s organisation. Our name comes from the Greek word for the “right, critical moment for action,” reflecting our belief that change becomes possible when the right spaces, relationships, and support come together. 

We support women facing multiple disadvantage- men’s violence against women and girls (VAWG), trauma, criminalisation, poverty, and homelessness- providing consistent, non-judgemental support that empowers them to define their futures. Many have gone on to become peer champions, volunteers, or staff, including senior leaders. Kairos is more than a service; it is a community where women move from surviving, to thriving, to leading. 

Who we support: 

• Young women (16+) at risk of or subject to exploitation 

• Women involved in prostitution/the wider sex industry 

• Women exiting exploitation but still at risk 

• Pregnant women and mothers navigating risk 

• Women experiencing homelessness or insecure housing 

• Women in contact with the criminal justice system 

At Kairos, women are welcomed as whole people, not reduced to single issues. 

What We Deliver 

Through our Women’s Hub and community work, we provide integrated, specialist support. Kairos Together ensures each woman experiences a seamless journey across multiple forms of support: 

• Street Outreach- crisis support and harm reduction in unsafe spaces 

• Drop-ins- safe spaces with essentials, community, and partner services 

• One-to-One Support & Advocacy- long-term support across multiple life areas 

• Blossoms- supporting pregnant women and mums, reducing family separation 

• Feeling Safe- supporting young women, including care leavers 

• Aspire- exit pathways for women in prostitution 

• Housing Support- advocacy and access to safe, stable homes 

• Women’s Justice Service- alternatives to criminalisation, reducing reoffending 

• Peer Support & Leadership- mentoring, volunteering, leadership roles 

• Therapeutic & Enrichment Activities- healing, creativity, skills, and joy 

Our culture and values

Vision: A world where every woman matters and all live fulfilled lives free from men’s violence, abuse, and sexual exploitation. 

Mission: To walk alongside women with multiple, unmet needs and who are at risk of or subject to sexual exploitation, providing emotional and practical support and advocacy to increase their options and opportunities. 

Values: 

• Hope- belief that change is always possible. 

• Compassion- respecting women as unique individuals. 

• Empowerment- supporting choice, control, and agency. 

• Solidarity- standing shoulder to shoulder with women. 

• Voice- centring women’s experiences and leadership. 

• Justice-  challenging structures that sustain inequality and harm. 

Our position

We hold a clear and unapologetic stance: prostitution and the wider sex industry are forms of sexual exploitation and male violence against women and girls. This view is grounded in nearly three decades of frontline experience and in the consistent testimony of the women we support. As a feminist organisation, our work is rooted in an analysis of power, inequality and male violence. We understand women’s involvement in prostitution within the wider context of poverty, abuse, coercion, homelessness, addiction, migration status and systemic failure. Our role is not to judge or rescue, but to stand alongside women, reduce harm, and create routes out where desired. As a women-only service under the Equality Act 2010, we provide safe, trauma-informed support free from male presence. 

The Kairos Approach 

Kairos combines immediate crisis response with open-ended, flexible support: 

• Trauma-informed- understanding the impact of trauma without blame 

• Women-centred & Women-only- providing safe, empowering spaces 

• Relational- building trust through patience, persistence, and confidentiality 

• Holistic- addressing intersecting needs across housing, health, justice, family, and wellbeing 

• Creative, innovative, reflective- adapting and learning continuously 

Equality, diversity and inclusion policy

All roles are open to women only, as permitted under the Equality Act 2010 (Schedule 9, Part 1, GOR).

The voices of women with lived experience are centred in everything that we do. We encourage lived experience across the whole organisation, including volunteers, staff, senior leadership and our board of trustees. 

We want Kairos to reflect the diversity of the women we support. We actively encourage applications from black, minoritised and migrant women; women with disabilities; lesbian and bisexual women; and working class women. You will be welcomed, supported and respected in a culture that vaules authenticity, honesty and sisterhood.