Nearly 4,000 local organizations are listed under the following headings: England, London, Scotland, Wales, Eire, and Northern Ireland. Local organizations are specific to a given region. They may be branches of a national organization or an autonomous 'one-off' organization set up specifically to benefit women locally. Under these headings organizations have been listed in areas.

Scotland is divided into seven areas: Aberdeen and Grampian; Dumfries, Galloway and Borders; Dundee, Tayside and Fife; Edinburgh and Lothians; Falkirk and Central; Glasgow and Strathclyde; Inverness, Highlands and Islands.

Wales is divided into three areas: Aberystwyth and Mid Wales; Bangor and North Wales; Cardiff and South Wales.
Both Eire and Northern Ireland are divided into two areas: Dublin and Outside Dublin and Belfast and Outside Belfast.

If you live in a rural area, your nearest town (likely to contain many more women's organizations than are available locally) may be in another area. It is always therefore worth checking areas adjacent to your own. Bear in mind that, if you do live in a rural area, there will be some organizations further afield that may be easier to access than those in, say, the next village.

It is a damning indictment of the way we live now that there are so many organizations helping women who have suffered physical violence and/or sexual abuse. These have been divided into three categories: 'Women's Aid', 'Sexual Abuse/Rape Crisis' and Violence Against Women'. In addition, the 'Accommodation' category lists many refuges for women who have suffered violence that are neither Women's Aid nor Rape Crisis Centres. (Sometimes the information available for refuges is necessarily sparse to protect their anonymity.) Here it is important to note that 'Accommodation' lists only hostels and emergency accommodation for women. If you are looldng for places to stay that cater for women on holiday, look under 'Places to Stay and Eat'. There are also many organizations that help women who have suffered mental abuse and these are to be found under the categories 'Counselling and Therapy' or 'Support'.

This directory, however, has not been set up only to help women who are victims of abuse but also to name and celebrate the wonderful diversity, inventiveness and creativity inherent in women's lives. Included within the'Arts and Craft' category, for instance, are very many arts, theatrical, dance and writing organizations. There were so many women's photography organizations that these were listed under a separate category, 'Photography'.

A very large number of entries eventually came to light, far more than had originally been anticipated, so saving space became important. Many local organizations were eventually deleted. In some instances the deletions were specifically requested by the national organizations themselves (for instance, La Leche League); in other cases it was thought sufficient to list only the national organization. Therefore, if you cannot find the local branch of an organization, look in Part I for the national organization and phone for details of your local branch. All local organizations that have no national head office or operate independently of their national organization have been retained.

A number of categories have been amalgamated. There are, for example, a very large number of health organizations relating specifically to women listed under 'Health'. These include women's cancer organizations, drugs (including alcohol) abuse, eating disorders, HIV/AIDS, and menopause organizations. Clinics and individuals specializing in alternative therapies, however, listed separately as institutions and individuals providing counselling and therapy.

Contraception and well-woman clinics and centres are listed within one category because both services are usually provided in the same place, very often at the same time.

'Sports and Leisure' includes keep fit and self defence organizations.

'Ethnic Minorities' includes the followng: Arab women, Asian women, Bangladeshi women, Black women, Chinese women, Cypriot women, Muslim women, Pakistani women and Turkish women.

Organizations listed under 'Education' cover a wide range. Women's Studies and other courses directly relevant to women, however, are not listed as information is widely available elsewhere. For example, an excellent list of Women's Studies courses was produced in Women Making A Difference, published in 1997 and details of women's courses are listed in British Qualifications, updated annually.

Very many organizations listed cater specifically for women - for instance, pregnancy and childbirth, and girls' and young women's organizabons. There are also many businesses and services run by women listed under various headings such as 'Retailing' and 'Services' and sometimes more specifically under categodes such as 'Alternative Therapies' and 'Finance'. These may cater for women only but more usually cater for both women and men.

Some records are listed under more than one category . The search mechanism considers all the categories, but only the Primary Category is displayed.

The Symbols used are:

Primary Category

Location

National Organisation