Examining peer mentoring with women who experience multiple and complex disadvantage: a feminist ethical model of practice

Despite the recognized strengths and benefits of peer mentoring as a process, this practice remains an underexplored area for women in communities who experience multiple and complex disadvantage linked to trauma. This article explores the perspectives of those who deliver and receive peer mentoring, with the aim of building a more comprehensive understanding of such practice in developing a model of peer mentoring based on feminist ethics of care. Three women’s organizations located in England participated in this study and in-depth, semi-structured interviews were undertaken with decision makers (n = 5), peer mentors (n = 11) and mentees (n = 8). This research is framed within feminist qualitative research where reflexive thematic analysis considered the findings from the data collected from 24 interviews (Braun & Clarke, 2022). The findings from this study identify that peer mentoring is a complex form of community level support that provides a welcome approach from the more formal, statutory, community provision many women with multiple and complex disadvantage experience. A feminist ethical model of delivery is devised within this article to be considered within women’s sector community practice. The elements of the model being: community strength, meeting expressed need and having clear feminist ethical foundations of trust and care.