We know that many services are facing increased reports of domestic abuse, and are struggling to respond. At Solace we have been working with these challenges, adapting our practice to ensure that we are able to effectively support survivors of abuse when home is not safe to them, and their options to escape are limited.
We have developed a series of 4 webinars to share our expertise and best practice from across the sector, to help professionals across the UK better understand how they can continue to provide support to survivors.
Here are some key takeaways from our webinars:
- As professionals, we must be pro-active, innovative and flexible in our approach, seeking out ways to maintain contact with our clients and adapting our practice to new ways of working.
- We must take care with our communication. If a survivor is in lockdown with our perpetrator, we may need to look for different ways to make and maintain safe contact; we may need to change our communication style to enable survivors to share information with us safely.
- Survivors who are not living with their perpetrator are still at risk. Leaving is the most dangerous time for survivors, many people continue to experience abuse when the relationship is over, and survivors may still experience stalking, or coercive and controlling behaviour.
- We must work together – information sharing and multi-agency working will be key in a time like this. Don’t hold cases alone; talk to your manager or safeguarding lead if you aren’t sure what to do; and if you think someone is at immediate risk of harm, call the police.
You can view our first webinar below, and follow the links to view webinars 2, 3 and 4. Please be aware that you will need a password to view webinars 2, 3 and 4 – if you’d like the password, please email us at training@solacewomensaid.org.
-
Understanding domestic abuse in the context of COVID-19
-
Assessing risk during COVID-19
-
Safety planning during COVID-19
-
Supporting survivors to flee during COVID-19
Watch our webinar about understanding domestic abuse in the context of COVID-19
{“preview_thumbnail”:”/sites/default/files/styles/video_embed_wysiwyg_preview/public/video_thumbnails/404765734.jpg?itok=Xy6b4ycT”,”video_url”:”https://vimeo.com/404765734″,”settings”:{“responsive”:1,”width”:”854″,”height”:”480″,”autoplay”:0},”settings_summary”:[“Embedded Video (Responsive).”]}
Supporting Friends and Family affected by Domestic Abuse
{“preview_thumbnail”:”/sites/default/files/styles/video_embed_wysiwyg_preview/public/video_thumbnails/412680092.jpg?itok=mCjQ5sLS”,”video_url”:”https://vimeo.com/412680092″,”settings”:{“responsive”:1,”width”:”854″,”height”:”480″,”autoplay”:0},”settings_summary”:[“Embedded Video (Responsive).”]}
Supporting Staff and Colleagues affected by Domestic Abuse
{“preview_thumbnail”:”/sites/default/files/styles/video_embed_wysiwyg_preview/public/video_thumbnails/415128799.jpg?itok=jkxgDgP2″,”video_url”:”https://vimeo.com/415128799″,”settings”:{“responsive”:1,”width”:”854″,”height”:”480″,”autoplay”:0},”settings_summary”:[“Embedded Video (Responsive).”]}