Ruth Davison will depart as chief executive of Refuge after two years at the helm, the domestic abuse charity has confirmed.
Davison joined Refuge from Comic Relief, where she was interim CEO, in 2021 and will leave the charity in September.
Refuge told Civil Society that Davison announced to all staff early last month that she was leaving for a new role in the social impact sector.
The charity’s board is now recruiting an interim CEO, which will be announced once an appointment has been made.
‘Toxic’ environment allegations
Davison was appointed as Refuge’s first permanent CEO since Sandra Horley, who had led the charity for more than 30 years, retired in 2020.
Both Davison and Horley faced reports of a “toxic” working environment under their leaderships, with Refuge filing serious incident reports in both cases.
The Charity Commission contacted Refuge’s trustees earlier this year following the most recent reports.
A spokesperson for the regulator said it was now “assessing concerns raised with us about Refuge, and cannot comment further at this time”.
Campaigning
Last year, under Davison’s leadership, Refuge resigned its organisational membership of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising (CIoF) due to dissatisfaction with the body’s handling of sexual harassment allegations and its decision to hold an event in-person only.
Davison said in a statement at the time that she’d resigned as a fellow of the CIoF and that it would be incompatible with the charity’s values to remain a member of the body.
Earlier this year, BBC Question Time presenter Fiona Bruce stood down as an ambassador for Refuge after 25 years following complaints over remarks she made on the programme. The charity initially stood by Bruce before accepting her offer to resign.
Refuge is currently campaigning for home secretary Suella Braverman to enforce mandatory suspension of all police officers and staff accused of violence against women and girls.
The charity is also lobbying government to introduce mandatory education on domestic abuse for 16 to 18-year-olds at school.
Editor's note: This article was updated on 20 September to include a comment from the Charity Commission.
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