9th October 2025
The Great Southern Walk 2025
On Sunday 14th September, hundreds of dedicated walkers took part in the first ever Great…
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Dr Antonia Porter from Kent Law School introduced the history of Rising Sun and the original refuge. Rising Sun have been incredibly fortunate to have trustees who were there at the very beginnings of the charity, which grew from the women’s movement in the 1970’s. As more recently appointed trustees heard the stories from retiring trustees, here was an opportunity to chart the incredible accomplishments of a group of women in Canterbury working at grassroots level. As part of an Oral History project, Antonia interviewed 12 women – founders, longstanding volunteers or employees – to capture their experiences of female activism from the 1970’s. From initial consciousness raising groups to pragmatic action with a women’s centre that eventually became one of England’s very first women’s refuges, and the start of Rising Sun.
Hearing the stories of the women’s commitment, persistence and determination to support those who have experienced domestic abuse was incredibly validating for everyone involved in Rising Sun today. Key tenants of the original women’s centre and refuge – self help, mutual support and power sharing – are the values which remain at the core of Rising Sun and sustain the charity today; collaboration, recognising survivor expertise, needs led, and feminist values infuse all our work.
“Everyday Rising Sun demonstrates and embodies this feminist ethic of care, warmth, mutual support and empathy.”
Recounting these stories of sisterhood was a revitalising and galvinising reminder that “women together can achieve great things.”
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After a break, we returned to hear from some of these brave, trailblazing women. We were so lucky to have five key players in Rising Sun’s history take part in a roundtable discussion on Kent’s first women’s refuge and how feminism has evolved in the last 50 years.
Chaired by Dr Julie McCandless, the discussants were:
Professor Jan Pahl: original founder, researcher, and academic
Pat Edwards: original founder and former trustee
Pip Hazelton: current trustee
Anne Lyttle: former CEO for 20 years, and current counselling services manager
Maggie Anwell: former trustee
Kent’s first women’s refuge was born from need, as Pat shared that their original aim had been to set up a women’s centre, but the prevalence of domestic abuse and the necessity of women having a safe space to flee became clear very quickly. The panel shared stories from the early days in the 1970s and 80s, with shattered glass in the garden of the squat that became the refuge, and a shared toilet roll in the office that women came and retrieved to make sure it didn’t go missing!
Over the years, the collection of women that became Rising Sun faced enormous changes, including stepping away from a focus on accommodation and onto wraparound services that support the entire family to move forward with their lives. Hearing the panel recall their campaigning and training sessions for other agencies and local schools, which eventually led to significant changes in the response to domestic abuse, was enormously inspiring.
“Until all women are safe from abuse, none of us are.” Anne Lyttle
The strong, compassionate, feminist ethos that drove Jan, Pat, Pip, Anne, and Maggie to change the future for women in Kent lives in every one of Rising Sun’s team members today. The panel, and hosts of the event, all reflected on the strong sense of solidarity in the room.
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Our final presentation which we were thrilled to share was our brand-new guidance, and animated short film, about the ways in which professionals can support children and young people who have experienced domestic abuse. Amy Eltis (Children and Young People’s Service Manager) shared the background to the development of this project on behalf of Ingrid Sanfey (Head of CYP Services). Reflecting on our past 30 years of delivering wraparound services for children, Amy described how an incredible steering group of young people were central to the creation of both the film and the guidance document. It was moving and inspiring to watch, and we look forward to the continued rollout of the guidance to health professionals across the country.
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