Lucy is leaving Bonnie’s to work with asylum seekers at the Red Cross. She spoke to Kate on her last day.

It’s going to be a bit of a wake-up call, leaving behind the women-centred work culture of Bonnie’s. It’s been such a supportive, friendly place to work, with a really strong sense of community.

I live with two doctors, one male and one female, and they talk a lot about the barriers women face in their workplace. Despite them both having the same education, skills and training, she will often find that he gets preferential treatment; that her opinion is not as valued as his; or that the nurses defer to him.

Working in women’s services, gender is just taken out of the equation. I’m going to have to take off the rose-tinted glasses. I’m well aware that’s not how the real world works.

I’ve been working at Bonnie’s for nearly two years, most recently as a Project Worker at the Safety Hub, which is run out of Liverpool Women’s Health Centre. The Safety Hub is a soft entry point for women to access our services. We often get women dropping in during the crisis stage. Maybe they’ve come to the Centre to see a doctor and we’re able to provide them with advice and information. It’s a great project and really needed, because we can be hard for women to access at the refuge, due to safety concerns. People can’t just drop in.

I studied law and psychology at university and I’ve always been fascinated by human rights. Gender discrimination is a fundamental human rights issue. The opportunity to work with vulnerable women is what led me to Bonnie’s and I’ve found the casework really rewarding. You have the opportunity to really intervene and make a difference.

I previously worked at the Refugee Advice and Casework Service (RACS) and I’m looking forward to working with asylum seekers again. It’s an area that I’m very passionate about. I’ve found asylum seekers to be an incredibly resilient and inspiring target group to work with.

I have also worked with some very inspiring women at Bonnie’s – clients and co-workers. It’s been amazing to work with lots of women with similar interests and I’ve made lots of lovely friends.