Respect each other, we never know in the training room who may have their own lived experience of domestic abuse either now, or in the past as an adult or child. Be mindful of sharing any judgments and how that would impact a survivor in the room. 

Challenge opinion not person.  It is ok to have differing opinions but let’s use that as an opportunity to be curious about the difference rather than challenge a person on theirs. 

We also ask you respect this learning space by minimising distractions such as mobile phones and closing other tabs on your computer, especially email. 

Confidentiality – Please do not share other people’s stories without consent or use their names. Throughout the day, we will consider why maintaining confidentiality is so important to survivors and this also applies to any colleagues who share their personal experiences. As trainers, we also have a responsibility to ensure that people are safe and if we hear information that indicates someone is at risk of harm, we may need to share that beyond this room. If this happens, we will speak to the person first before we do unless this puts someone at further risk. We are sharing this with you now so you’re aware and can make a choice about what you share with others.

Self-care - This training can be emotive. If you become upset or overwhelmed by any of the content, please take a break, turn camera off and mute yourself as part of looking after yourself – we are here to support/talk to at lunch/end of session. Can send a private message to the trainer in the chat (if Zoom) or contact us by email after the training. 

Breaks: We will have 3 short breaks during the session – one 15 minute tea break and two 5 minute “stretch’ breaks

21.3 – Should have DA policies and procedures which highlight this. Recognise DA isn’t just physical but encompasses various forms of abuse

21.8, 21.9 – Intersectional approach in your service delivery and the barriers survivors with protected characteristics face. 

21.10 – Having a robust response in place (backed up by frequent case audits) but also partnership working with local DA services  

136. Landlords have a role to play in supporting the victims of domestic abuse. They are well-placed to identify early signs of abuse and through allocations policies can offer an escape to safe housing. Many are already committed to taking action in support of this through sector-led initiatives such as the ‘Making a Stand’ pledge.

137. The Domestic Abuse Bill will place a statutory duty on county and unitary councils in England (excluding London Boroughs), as well as the Greater London Authority and the Isles of Scilly Council, to work with other bodies to develop a strategy for, and commission services to provide support for victims of domestic abuse and their children within safe accommodation. Landlords must work with local authorities to deliver this requirement, and it is important that this expectation is reflected in the regulatory standards. We will expect the Regulator of Social Housing to review and amend its regulatory standards to make it clear that landlords should have a policy setting out how they should tackle issues surrounding domestic abuse, working with other agencies as appropriate.

 

Report found in 2018 of 97 women fleeing domestic abuse who approached their local housing authority for support, 78 were prevented from making a valid homeless application on the grounds of domestic abuse - for reasons including 

that they had no ‘local connection’ to the area, 

that there was ‘no duty’ to the woman and her children, 

and outright refusal with no rationale given. 

 

In 11 of these cases the housing authority did not consider the domestic abuse to be a significant risk factor to merit a homeless application, with 8 women “being told to return to the perpetrator” and 3 women told to “come back when the situation got worse.” 

 

The report highlights

inadequate responses from housing authorities present barriers to survivor’s access to safety

women reporting victim blaming attitudes and poor responses from statutory services

do not have a comprehensive understanding of domestic abuse.

Standing Together have pioneered the CCR in the UK for over 20 years. Our roots are in the CCR and we know that true change in the response to violence against women and domestic abuse can only be achieved when all the relevant agencies work effectively together. Our aim is to stop survivors falling through gaps by  improving responses within and between voluntary and statutory organisations, and ultimately to eradicate domestic abuse.

Making sense of intimate partner violence has long been seen through the lens of coercive control. However, despite the longstanding presence of this concept, it is only in recent years that efforts have been made to recognise coercive control within the legal context. This article examines the extent to which the law per se has the power, or indeed the capacity, to respond to what is known about coercive control. To do so, it charts the varied ways in which coercive control has entered legal discourse in different jurisdictions and maps these efforts onto what is evidenced about the nature and extent of coercive control in everyday life. This article then places the legal and the everyday side by side and considers the unintended consequences of ‘coercive control creep’. In conclusion, it is suggested that the criminalisation of coercive control only serves to fail those it is intended to protect.

These Groups will feed into National Policy and Practice Groups and to the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s Office.

The group recognises that those who have experienced domestic abuse from an intimate partner or family member have insight and knowledge that service providers can learn from to improve their own organisation’s response and work collaboratively to deliver an effective coordinated community response.   

It is for this reason that the experiences and perspectives of survivors are at the core of the National Group’s work. This includes taking into account how the different identities and social positions of survivors influence how they understand and experience domestic abuse and how services in turn respond to diversity and associated needs.  

The group works together on a national level to ensure that:

One organisation said "women could die" if the practice does not stop.

They fear the government's Domestic Abuse Bill could see private landlords offering rooms for vulnerable women fleeing violence.

The government said it was introducing a new legal duty for councils to provide safe accommodation...[go to rest of article at link below]

to make provision for the granting of measures to assist individuals in certain circumstances to give evidence or otherwise participate in civil proceedings; 
to prohibit cross-examination in person in family or civil proceedings in certain

circumstances; 
to make further provision about orders under section 91(14) of

the Children Act 1989; 
to provide for an offence of threatening to disclose

private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress; to provide for an offence of strangulation or suffocation; to make provision about

circumstances in which consent to the infliction of harm is not a defence in proceedings for certain violent offences; to make provision about certain violent or sexual offences, and offences involving other abusive behaviour,

committed outside the United Kingdom; and for connected purposes.

 

The draft statutory guidance for the safe accommodation is listed at the bottom of this page - ‘delivery of support to victims of DA, including children, in DA safe accommodation services’