November 1971. Chiswick, West London. Erin Pizzey is 32 years old. She is not a lawyer. Not a politician. Not a doctor. She is a woman who talked Hounslow Council into lending her a cold, rundown building on Belmont Road — a former community hall — for almost nothing. Her original plan was modest. A warm room. A cup of tea. Somewhere for mothers with young children to simply get out of the house. Then the door opened. A woman stood in the entrance. She was covered, head to foot, in bruises. She was holding two small children. She was shaking. She didn't want tea. She needed somewhere to hide. Erin let her in. She didn't turn her away. She didn't tell her to call the police. Because Erin had already called the police. They told her the same thing they told every woman in Britain at the time: they could not enter a private home over a "domestic dispute." That was the law. The home was private. What happened inside it was a family matter. When Erin contacted a female civil servant to report what she was seeing, the response was astonishing. The woman told her flatly: "There wasn't a problem of battered wives until you made one." Erin put down the phone. Then she went back to her residents and made sure they were fed. Within weeks, 40 mothers and children were sleeping in four tiny rooms. No funding. No staff. No legal authority. She didn't stop. By 1973, word had spread through quiet whisper networks — one woman telling another, "There is a place. Go to Chiswick. She won't turn you away." That same year, Erin hosted the first National Women's Aid Conference in the UK. Women from across Britain arrived, and they all recognized the same thing at once: what she had built needed to exist everywhere. In 1974, the council set a maximum of 36 residents. At peak times, 150 women and children were living inside those walls — sleeping on floors, on chairs, in hallways. The building smelled of cooking, fear, and something else entirely: relief. Erin was taken to court for overcrowding. She appealed all the way to the House of Lords. She kept the doors open the entire time. That same year, she wrote a book. Scream Quietly or the Neighbours Will Hear. It was the first published account of domestic violence in British history. It used real stories from real women inside the shelter. Overnight, a problem that had no official name was on front pages from London to New York. The movement spread. Refuges opened across the UK. Then Australia. Then Canada. Then the United States. The pattern she created in four small rooms in West London — no blueprint, no permission, no funding — had been replicated in hundreds of shelters across the Western world. MP Jack Ashley stood up in Parliament and said: "It was she who first identified the problem, who first recognised the seriousness of the situation and who first did something practical." She was ranked 14th in a poll of the 100 women who shook the world. She was awarded the Italian Peace Prize. She received a CBE. The charity she founded — Chiswick Women's Aid, which became Refuge — grew into the largest domestic violence charity in the United Kingdom, with over 460 employees and an annual income of more than £33 million. Erin Pizzey passed away on October 4, 2025, aged 86. She never stopped. It all began with one woman, one borrowed building, and an absolute refusal to say no. Forty women and children showed up with nowhere to go. She made room. Share this if you believe one ordinary person, refusing to look away, can build a shelter that holds the whole world. Follow us Lost in Yesterday

Wow. Some performance from #SuperSurvivor to win for the seventh time in his career, this time a career best off a mark of 136 as a 10yr old. Great ride from @gavinsheehan for Neil Goulden, Kevin & Sue Hopgood @WarwickRaces Great team effort @Alexwalters89 @BetVictor #winner 73

racingwelfare.enthuse.com/pf… The event is being live steamed through the link below. racingwelfare.co.uk/racing-c… Sunday 2nd November at 7pm. You can ‘text to vote’ Our special text number is 70085 Please do watch for a bit of a giggle, and to support @Racingwelfare

Come and join #TeamJSR for an exciting season ahead. 19 winners already and we’re just getting started… 🐎🐎🥇

Delighted to see #SuperSurvivor winning the Pertemps qualifier @Huntingdon_Race for Neil Goulden, Kevin & @hopsusie under @GavinSheehan92 Top team effort to get him back on track this season winning two on the bounce @Alexwalters89 @BetVictorRacing #winners #39 this season.

Super Survivor wins the Pertemps qualifier at Huntingdon for @jamiesnowden The gelding’s 5th career win since bought @GoffsUK from @DonnchadhDoyle Congratulations to all connections! 🔴⚪️ #TeamJSR

Thank you to the @LambournGallops team for keeping the wonderful gallops open during the inclement weather. #BestPlaceToTrain @BetVictor

Brilliant ride by Gavin!

Winner for team @jamiesnowden as @GavinSheehan92 guides #SuperSurvivor to victory @DoncasterRaces for owners Neil Goulden, Kevin & Sue Hopgood. Great to see this lovely horse back to winning ways. #Shantou #TeamJSR @BetVictor

Thrilled to see #Milldam winning @haydockraces on @itvracing under another top ride from @GavinSheehan92 for Neil Goulden, Kevin &Sue Hopgood. Top job team @Alexwalters89 Stefan who rides him each day and the whole team. @BetVictor #winner no.31 for the season.

DAY 14. Deeply rooted in gender inequality, violence against women is one of the most pervasive human rights violations in the world, their rights and needs neglected, traumatic experiences through the justice system. Offer victims support and resources no matter their choices.

DAY 11. Childhood trauma can lead to low self-esteem, loss of identity, and attachment challenges. A child who has been exposed to violence may imitate such behaviour and eventually become violent.

DAY 10. Men can be positive role models, act as agents of change, and use their influence among peers to speak out against harmful practices and sexism. Support men and boys in developing healthy ideas and positive relationships not built on aggression, dominance, or control.

Great organisation-join!

At Deauville races today, great to see you win so convincingly! Well done.

Enjoyed watching this race in Deauville today, well done @HollieDoyle1

A wonderful charity changing women’s lives

Great to launch @InnerWheelGBI recruitment and engagement toolkit today at Yarnfield

It takes 3.2 seconds to RT and help find jay Slater he is on holiday in Tenerife and has gone missing please call 116 000 with any information

The Open University is offering to pay for the full tuition of 10 Black students to study with them under their special fund. The deadline is July 3rd 2024. If you know anyone who is interested 👇🏾 open.ac.uk/courses/fees-and-…