Tag: Key Approaches

How do you provide a validating and supportive response to someone experiencing domestic abuse? What are the signs of abuse?  How do you ask and, importantly how do you respond if someone discloses it’s happening or has happened to them?

Experiencing domestic abuse can be overwhelming.  Survivors responses describe feelings of guilt, shame and embarrassment, being unsure of what is happening to them; where they can go and what help they can get, fearful of doing anything which might increase risk to their or their children’s safety. Women who feel able to disclose typically describe a history of long-standing, escalating abuse and violence, remarking on how much they wanted to be able to talk about what was going on, if only someone had asked them.

This session explores the best practice in asking about abuse, potential indicators of abuse, the principles of safety planning and the importance of signposting to specialist services.

By the end of the session you will:

• Understand the impact of domestic abuse on those who experience it and how it affects their behaviour and choices
• Have an enhanced understanding of the main issues in asking and responding to anyone experiencing domestic abuse
• Have greater knowledge, skills confidence and motivation to recognise and respond to domestic abuse.
• Have explored and practised the skills, knowledge and tools to better identify risk, assess protective factors and increase safety for those experiencing domestic abuse.

Facilitator: Judy Ferguson has worked with Women’s Aid since 2011, initially as the Chair of South Lanarkshire Women’s Aid, prior to spending 9 years with East Ayrshire Women’s Aid where she was responsible for the East Ayrshire Violence Against Women Multi-Agency Partnership Learning and Development Programmes and the lead trainer in East Ayrshire HSCP for all GBV training.

Recently Judy has become a Safe & Together Certified Trainer and was part of the Scotland SafeLives training team delivering the DA Matters Training Programme to 14,000 Police Scotland staff, alongside being part of the Scottish Women’s Aid expert Coercive Control training team supporting the wider roll out of the new Domestic Abuse Scotland Act (DASA) 2018.

Judy previously coordinated and delivered the CEDAR programme and works widely across a range of settings training and awareness raising and is passionate about improving the understanding of and response to women and children experiencing domestic abuse.