The woman who opened the first Refuge

Long before she became one of the most influential and controversial voices in the domestic violence movement, Erin Pizzey was a child growing up in a world shaped by conflict. Born in China in 1939 to British parents, she spent much of her early life moving between countries as war and political upheaval reshaped the world around her. Those experiences would leave a lasting impression. She witnessed instability, displacement and human suffering long before she ever opened the doors of a refuge. In November 1971, at the age of thirty-two, Erin persuaded Hounslow Council to lend her a neglected building on Belmont Road in Chiswick, West London. Her idea was simple. A place where mothers and children could meet, escape isolation and support one another. Then one day a woman arrived carrying two children. She was bruised, frightened and desperate. Erin opened the door. Soon another woman arrived. Then another. Before long, the building was overflowing with women and children fleeing violence. At the time, domestic abuse was rarely discussed publicly. Police often regarded it as a private family matter. There were no established refuges, no national framework and very little public understanding of the scale of the problem. What began in four small rooms would grow into a movement that spread across Britain and eventually around the world. Yet Erin Pizzey’s story is more complicated than many realise. Working directly with thousands of families over many years, she came to believe that domestic violence was not always as simple as society wanted it to be. She argued that violence could be cyclical, passed from one generation to the next. She also maintained that men could be victims of abuse and that services should exist for them too. These views made her increasingly controversial. Critics accused her of undermining the movement she had helped create. Supporters argued that she was simply following the evidence she had witnessed firsthand. The backlash was severe. Over the years, Erin reported receiving threats and intimidation. She claimed that her views made her a target in several countries where she lived and worked. The woman who had once been celebrated as a pioneer found herself increasingly isolated from parts of the movement she had helped build. Yet she never changed her position. Whether people agreed with her or not, Erin remained committed to the belief that violence itself was the enemy—not men, not women, but violence in all its forms. Her legacy therefore extends beyond the first refuge. It includes difficult questions about family trauma, cycles of abuse, and how societies respond to victims of every kind. Erin Pizzey died in October 2025 at the age of 86. Today, millions of women and children have benefited from services that trace their origins back to that small building in Chiswick. Few individuals can claim to have started a global movement. Fewer still were willing to challenge the movement they created when they believed it had lost its way. Love her, criticise her, agree with her or disagree with her—Erin Pizzey changed the conversation forever. And it all began when she opened a door and refused to close it.

Erin Pizzey: The Woman Who Opened the First Refuge — and Refused to Stay Silent