Safe & Together Overview Training

Time: 09:15 – 13:00 on both days

This course delivered over two half days explores the Safe and Together model being adopted across various authorities in Scotland and worldwide. The model provides a framework for partnering with domestic abuse survivors and intervening with domestic abuse perpetrators in order to enhance the safety and well-being of children.

The Overview Day will provide an overview of the framework which seeks to improve competencies and cross system collaboration related to the intersection of domestic abuse and child welfare. Although the Safe & Together model was developed to help child welfare systems become domestic violence-informed, the audience for this work is much larger. It’s for anyone who is interested in the intersection of domestic abuse and children and improving the safety and wellbeing of anyone impacted by domestic abuse.

Aims:

• Understand the key principles and practice approaches of Safe & Together
• Gain increased understanding of methods for identifying foundational sources of risk for survivors and children experiencing domestic abuse
• Explore effective and efficient ways to promote the safety, permanency and wellbeing of children in a family impacted by a domestic abuse perpetrator.
• Understand how adopting Safe & Together principles can improve outcomes for children and families by increasing their capacity to intervene with perpetrators, particularly as it relates to the safety and wellbeing of children.

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.