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Women’s Aid Members’ Area Terms and Conditions

This website, located at www.womensaid.org.uk, (the “Site”), including but not limited to this Members’ Area (as defined below), is owned and operated by the Women’s Aid Federation of England (“Women’s Aid”, “we” or “us”). Women’s Aid is a registered charity in England (No. 1054154), and a company limited by guarantee registered in England No: 3171880.

These Women’s Aid Members’ Area Terms and Conditions (“Member Terms”) apply to access to and use of the Members’ Area (as defined below), and all Materials and services available on or through the Members’ Area. These Member Terms apply alongside, and should be read together with, the Terms of Use for the Site. If there is any conflict between these Member Terms and our Terms of Use, these Member Terms will control. Capitalised terms used in these Member Terms that are defined in the Terms of Use have the meanings given to them in the Terms of Use.

We may change or replace these Member Terms at any time, without prior notice to you, by posting changes online. We recommend that you check these Member Terms from time to time and take notice of any changes we have made, as they are binding on you. Certain provisions of these Member Terms may be amended or superseded by legal notices or terms located on particular pages of the Members’ Area or on materials that are downloadable from the Members’ Area. Continued use of the Members’ Area (or any part of it) after changes to these Member Terms are posted means you agree to be legally bound by the latest published version of the Member Terms. If you do not agree to any change to the Member Terms then you must immediately stop using the Members’ Area.

By using the services available in the area of the Site which provides information, support and guidance for our members (the “Members’ Area”) you accept and agree to our Terms of Use and these Member Terms as a legal contract between you and us. If you do not wish to be bound by these Member Terms then you should not register for access to the Members’ Area and/or must not access or use the Members’ Area. If you breach any of these Member Terms, we have the right to terminate your access to and use of the Members’ Area immediately without notice.

Access to the Members’ Area

In order to get access to the Members’ Area you will need to register for an account with our Site. Registration data and certain other information about you are governed by our Privacy Policy. You must only use the Members’ Area for lawful purposes and you must not infringe the rights of other users of the Members’ Area or prevent their enjoyment of it. If you are under the age of 16 then unfortunately you are unable to register for access to or use of the Members’ Area.

We have the right to disable any user identification code or password, whether chosen by you or allocated by us, at any time at our discretion, including, without limitation, in circumstances where, in our reasonable opinion, you have failed to comply with any of the provisions of these Member Terms.

Uploading material to our site

Whenever you make use of a feature that allows you to upload Materials (as defined in the Terms of Use) to our Site, including the Members’ Area, or to make contact with other users of our Site, including forums and the Consultants listed in the Directory (each as defined below) via the contact page on the Directory page, (“User Content”) you must comply with the Standards set out below. By submitting User Content, you warrant that it is not defamatory, such User Content complies with the Standards and it does not infringe any law or third party rights; and that it has not been copied from any third party without permission to do so. You license us to use any User Content uploaded or submitted by you in accordance with the Terms of Use.

We will not be responsible, or liable to any third party, for User Content or accuracy of any User Content posted by you or any other user of our Site. If you wish to keep your User Content confidential or do not want to grant Women’s Aid such rights, then do not upload such User Content on any part of the Site.

We have the right to remove any User Content or posting you make on our Site if, in our opinion, such User Content or posting does not comply with the Standards (as defined below) set out below.

You acknowledge and agree that Women’s Aid may preserve User Content and may also disclose User Content if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary to: (a) comply with legal process, applicable laws or government requests; (b) enforce these Member Terms; (c) respond to claims that any content violates the rights of third parties; or (d) protect the rights, property, or personal safety of Women’s Aid, its users and the public. You understand that the technical processing and transmission of the Members’ Area, including User Content, may involve (a) transmissions over various networks; and (b) changes to conform and adapt to technical requirements of connecting networks or devices.

User Content Standards

The User Content standards set out in this Section (the “Standards”) apply to any and all User Content which you contribute to our Site, to any interactive services associated with it, and whether you do, or do not, comply will be determined by us in our sole discretion. User Content must be constructive and polite, not unkind or contributed with the intention of causing upset, trouble or ‘trolling’, be accurate (where they state facts) and genuinely held (where they state opinions). [We encourage users to provide the source of information which is not derived from personal experience.

User Content must:

Be accurate (where they state facts)
Be genuinely held (where they state opinions)
Comply with applicable law in the UK and in any country from which they are posted.

User Content must not:

Contain any material which is defamatory of any person
Contain any material which is obscene, offensive, hateful or inflammatory
Promote sexually explicit material
Promote violence
Promote discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age
Infringe any copyright, database right, trade mark or any other proprietary rights of any other person
Be likely to deceive any person
Be made in breach of any legal duty owed to a third party, such as a contractual duty or a duty of confidence
Promote any illegal activity
Be threatening, abuse or invade another’s privacy, or cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety
Be likely to harass, upset, embarrass, alarm or annoy any other person
Be used to impersonate any person, or to misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person
Give the impression that they emanate from us, if this is not the case
Advocate, promote or assist any unlawful act such as (by way of example only) copyright infringement or computer misuse
Share any details regarding court proceedings (whether criminal or civil)
Include any advertising or be made for any commercial purpose

We recommend that you do not share any personal information about yourself or anyone else on the Members’ Area forums, such as full names, social media details, phone numbers, home addresses or email addresses. You may link to third party websites in User Content where these provide relevant and appropriate background reading or information and where you have permission to link to such third party websites. However, you must not link to advertising or any websites that might cause offence to other users of the Member’s Area, or which breach the Standards.

Failure to comply with the Standards constitutes a material breach of these Member Terms, and may result in our taking all or any of the following actions, in our sole discretion:

Immediate, temporary or permanent suspension or termination of your right to use the Members’ Area or the entirety of our Site. Any suspected fraudulent, abusive or illegal activity that may be grounds for termination of your use of Members’ Area or the entirety of our Site, may be referred to appropriate law enforcement authorities
Immediate, temporary or permanent removal of any User Content uploaded by you to the Members’ Area
Blocking your IP address
Issuing a warning to you
Bringing legal actions against you, including proceedings for reimbursement of all losses we have suffered (including, but not limited to, reasonable costs we incur bringing any proceedings) as a result of your breach of the Standards
Disclosure of such information to law enforcement authorities as we reasonably feel is necessary

You agree that any termination of your access to the Members’ Area or the Site under any provision of these Member Terms may be effected without prior notice, and acknowledge and agree that Women’s Aid may immediately deactivate or delete your account and all related information and files in your account and/or bar any further access to such files or the Site. Further, you agree that Women’s Aid will not be liable to you or any third party for any termination of your access to the Site.

We exclude liability for actions taken in response to breaches of the Standards. The action we may take as described in the Standards is not limited, and we may take any other action we reasonably deem appropriate in our sole discretion.

Deleting and editing of content

You agree that Women’s Aid has the right to edit, censor, delete or otherwise modify any User Content you submit or upload to the Members’ Area.

You will have five minutes to edit any of your posts in the Members’ Area forum after you have posted them but you can delete or “Trash” your own posts at any time. You cannot delete topics, so will have to contact the Members’ Area moderator if you wish to have these removed. 

The Members’ Area is for the sole purpose of users who have registered for access to the Members’ Area supporting each other through discussion and sharing best practice. As a charity, we focus our funds on our charitable purpose, and therefore cannot offer staff time in moderating messages that are general chat. This includes discussions about activities taking place on other forums/social networks; we do not hold any responsibility for activities on other networks, do not recommend or endorse other forums, and as such cannot dedicate staff time to them. Any such threads will be removed.

User disputes

You agree that you are solely responsible for your interactions with any other users of the Members’ Area and Women’s Aid will have no liability or responsibility with respect thereto. Women’s Aid reserves the right, but has no obligation, to become involved in any way with disputes between you and any other user of the Members’ Area.

Use of the directory and contact with consultants

If you are a Women’s Aid member you will have access to the directory located on the Site (the “Directory”) of individuals that have established themselves as an expert in their field, or have undertaken specialist training in a field of expertise, as detailed in the Directory (“Consultants”). When contacting a Consultant via the contact page made available on the Directory page, Women’s Aid will also receive a copy of the User Content contained in the correspondence you send.

Women’s Aid aims to ensure only appropriately qualified individuals are awarded the status of Consultant before we publish their details on the Directory, but cannot guarantee any particular level of expertise. Women’s Aid makes efforts to verify the credentials of Consultants but cannot warrant or guarantee a Consultant’s purported identity. For these reasons, Women’s Aid cannot and does not represent, warrant or guarantee the accuracy of the credentials or the identities of Consultants. You acknowledge and agree Women’s Aid is not responsible for, and will not be liable for, any loss or damage caused by your reliance on any advice, information, materials or content provided by Consultants.

The purpose of the Directory is to introduce you to Consultants only and we receive no commissions from any Consultant for providing their information on the Directory. Once you have received communication back from the Consultant we encourage you to enter into a separate agreement with the Consultant. We are not responsible for, and will not be liable for, any loss or damage caused by any relationship you form with the Consultant or any services, information or advice provided by a Consultant. If you wish to make a complaint about a Consultant please contact: membership@womensaid.org.uk

To become a Consultant listed on our Directory you will need to provide us with additional information we require and accept our Directory Terms.

Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold Women’s Aid and its affiliates and their officers, employees, directors and agents (collectively, “Indemnitees”) harmless from any from any and all losses, damages, expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, rights, claims, actions of any kind and injury (including death) arising out of or relating to your use, provision or submission of any User Content, your connection to the Members Area or your violation of these Members Terms or the Terms of Use. Notwithstanding the foregoing, you will have no obligation to indemnify or hold harmless any Indemnitee from or against any liability, losses, damages or expenses incurred as a result of any action or inaction of such Indemnitee.

Changes to these Member terms

We may change or replace these Member Terms at any time, without prior notice to you, by posting changes online. We will endeavour to bring any changes to these Member Terms to your attention when you first login to your account following any such changes but we recommend that you check these Member Terms from time to time and take notice of any changes we have made, as they are binding on you. Some of the provisions contained in these Member Terms of use may also be superseded by provisions or notices published elsewhere on our Site. Continued use of the Members’ Area (or any part of it) after changes to these Member Terms are posted means you agree to be legally bound by the latest published version of the Member Terms. If you do not agree to any change to the Member Terms then you must immediately stop using the Member’s Area.

Last updated: April 2022