The group will organize a meeting for women who need support and mutual, supportive relationships after leaving a religious congregation.

About the group

Our goal is to help women who experience various forms of crisis, abuse, or violence in religious structures and those who are facing various problems after leaving the institution.

The Center for Assistance to Nuns is a place for nuns in need of support and the first organization in Poland that battles violence within church structures, demanding the creation of procedures for reporting abuse in female religious congregations. The center is run by volunteers who are close to feminist ideas of sisterhood and self-help. Some of them have experienced violence in female religious congregations or witnessed it.

We want to reach women who are already coping with life outside the order in different ways but are still carrying many wounds and difficult memories. We want to show them that they are not alone.

About the action

Leaving a religious congregation is associated with confusion and extreme loneliness, and those who decide to leave usually start from nothing: they do not have secular clothes, money, an apartment, or a job. Very often, they also do not have the support of their environment. The Center for Assistance to Nuns wants to be this support. As part of the MiniGrant, the group will organize a weekend meeting for women who have left a religious congregation. It is meant to be an opportunity to exchange experiences, empower each other, and begin creating relationships in the spirit of true sisterhood.

Grant amount: 5300 PLN
Graphic: Monika Bartosik