What the federation does#
The Women's Aid movement in Northern Ireland began in 1975. Women's Aid Federation Northern Ireland is its regional membership body: it leads on training, preventative education, work with children and young people, and policy, while its seven member groups give direct support. Its contact page is clear that emails to the federation's general address do not lead to support services, so if you need help, contact a local group directly.
Getting support in Northern Ireland#
The seven local groups cover Antrim, Ballymena, Carrickfergus, Larne and Newtownabbey; Armagh and Down; Belfast and Lisburn; Causeway and Mid Ulster; Fermanagh and Omagh; Foyle; and North Down and Ards. Each offers support, information and emergency accommodation, on weekdays from 9am to 5pm. There are 12 Women's Aid refuges across Northern Ireland.
For evenings, weekends and nights, the federation sends people to the regional helpline for domestic and sexual abuse, free and always open, which Nexus NI manages. The webchat on the federation's site is run by Belfast and Lisburn Women's Aid, in weekday office hours. In an emergency, call the PSNI on 999. The federation explains the Silent Solution: if speaking would put you in danger, press 55 when asked, though this does not work from a landline and does not tell the police where you are.
Your rights under Northern Ireland law#
The federation's Your rights page explains the Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings Act (Northern Ireland), which provides for a specific domestic abuse offence covering controlling or coercive behaviour, and for special measures at court. Legal aid for non-molestation order proceedings has no upper earnings or capital limit in Northern Ireland, though you may be asked for a one-off contribution. If you have to leave home because of abuse, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive has duties to provide temporary and permanent housing.
Changing your name in Northern Ireland#
A deed poll made in Northern Ireland follows the same GOV.UK wording as anywhere else in the UK, so it suits anyone living there from 16 upwards, wherever they were born. Anyone born or adopted there can also pay GRONI, the General Register Office for Northern Ireland, to note the new name against their birth record, a process nidirect sets out.
Some records work differently there. A Northern Ireland driving licence is changed through the DVA, by post with original evidence, not DVLA. And the federation's safety planning page lists what to pack if you leave: medical cards, notes of essential medicines, birth certificates, passports, bank cards and any papers about the abuse, such as police reports and court orders. Those are also the documents you will need to update afterwards.
More on names in Northern Ireland#
- Changing your name in Northern Ireland: the deed poll and the GRONI record compared.
- Changing your name on a Northern Ireland driving licence.
- Changing a child's name in Northern Ireland.
- Charities that help after domestic abuse.
This page describes what Women's Aid Federation Northern Ireland publishes on its website, read on 26 October 2026. It has not reviewed this page, and listing it here does not mean it recommends this handbook or any deed poll service.
