Abstract

This chapter explores the concept of ‘complex needs’, how it has been applied in practice and whether there are more thoughtful ways to communicate the com-plexity of women’s lived experiences and better understand the difficulties expe-rienced when seeking help and support. We consider some of the multiple and intersecting lived experiences and the things that happen to women that create precarity and vulnerabilities  that increase their risk of exploitation and abuse. Ultimately, there are fatal ramifications for women who are unable to get the help and protection they need. In this chapter, we explore the things that are helpful, or otherwise, for women when they are seeking support and the way they prefer to be met by helping services. The chapter concludes with the Complex Experience Care Model which draws together the decisions and choices made by women when seeking help and support and the steps required by practitioners, services and policymakers to provide women with a safe place to come to and want to return.