News and views
Test of Emergency Alert System
The UK government will be carrying out a national test of the UK Emergency Alerts system on Sunday 7 September 2025 at 3pm.
Emergency alerts let the public know about emergency situations, such as severe weather warnings. They will work like a radio broadcast. In an emergency, every compatible mobile phone or tablet in a range of a mast will receive the alert.
It is very important to be aware that the Emergency Alerts will sound even on devices set to silent.
For women living with domestic abuse having access to a hidden, secret phone can be a lifeline. This alert may reveal a secondary phone used for safety purposes.
When you get an Emergency Alert you will hear a loud, siren-like sound and your phone will use a distinct vibration. A message will appear on your screen and will remain there until you acknowledge it.
You can opt out and turn these alerts off before the test on Sunday 7 Sept. To do this, search your settings for ‘emergency alerts’. Turn off ‘severe alerts’ and ‘extreme alerts’.
Domestic Abuse charity, Refuge have put together a helpful video which can be watched here:
iPhone - https://brnw.ch/21wUCqA
Android - https://brnw.ch/21wUCqB
We are RECRUITING!
If you’re looking for a rewarding career and to work within an inspirational team that really does make a difference, this is your opportunity to join Border Women’s Aid. We currently have a vacancy for a Women’s Domestic Abuse Support Worker.
Closing Date: 9 June 2025.
BWA receives unannounced inspection by the Care Inspectorate
The Care Inspectorate’s unannounced inspection took place on 13 and 14 November 2024. The inspection was carried out by one inspector from the Care Inspectorate. To prepare for the inspection they reviewed information about the service. This included previous inspection findings, registration information, information submitted by the service and intelligence gathered since the last inspection. In making their evaluations of the service, the Care Inspectorate:
• spoke with five women using the service
• spoke with four staff and management
• observed practice and daily life
• reviewed documents and records
• reviewed survey responses from four external professionals and seven members of staff
To ensure that care and support is consistent with the Health and Social Care Standards (HSCS), the Care Inspectorate set out two key areas of improvement. Steps are already in place to work on these areas to ensure that BWA continues to provide women with high quality support.
16 Days of Action 2024
Border Women’s Aid has launched it’s 16 Days of Action Campaign ‘Border Voices Against Abuse’ in collaboration with Scots poet Len Pennie as part of the global campaign that encourages communities to take action to end domestic violence and gender-based abuse.
Over the next 16 days on our social media, we’ll share Scots words that highlight the devastating impact of domestic abuse and violence against women and girls. These words, and their domestic abuse explanations, were developed with Len Pennie to raise awareness, inspire action, and offer hope to survivors across the Scottish Borders.
We have moved!
On 1 April 2024, we moved from our Liddesdale Road office to more spacious and self-contained office premises at West Port, Hawick.
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Care Inspectorate Report 2024