Woman’s Trust marked 30 years of supporting women and children affected by domestic abuse at an anniversary event bringing together policymakers, experts and people with lived experience.
Contributions from Dame Nicole Jacobs, Jess Asato, MP and a panel of experts highlighted the lasting impact of domestic abuse on mental health and the need for better access to specialist support.
Dame Nicole Jacobs: improving responses to domestic abuse
Dame Nicole Jacobs, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, spoke about the need for change across health services, highlighting how survivors can be passed between services without receiving the specialist support they need.\
“Things do need to change…
Right now, too many survivors are being referred from service to service without receiving the specialist support they need.
Too many professionals feel they are not confident in identifying domestic abuse.\
“Too many survivors- as I heard a couple of weeks ago (at Woman’s Trust) – have left appointment after appointment after appointment before coming to the Woman’s Trust and not being asked the right questions and not fully understood.
“That’s why I would like to work with Government, the NHS and partners across health to seek to improve responses, we are pushing for better training for healthcare professionals so they have the knowledge and confidence, we’re advocating for domestic abuse to be properly reflected in the forthcoming mental health strategy.
“We are working to ensure survivors’ experiences themselves help shape these changes and how they are designed and delivered.”
Jess Asato MP: recognising the mental health impact of abuse
Jess Asato MP highlighted the importance of recognising that domestic abuse is not solely physical, and that its psychological and emotional effects can have a lasting impact on women’s and children’s lives.
She told the room that her tenure as Violence Against Women and Girls Advisor to the Department of Health and Social Care had been extended.
“Woman’s Trust is an incredible organisation, doing amazing work.
We have heard about its history, the 23,000 women and children that have been supported, so we are all the better for your efforts since 1996.
“But sadly, it remains the case that all too often that domestic abuse is thought of as a purely physical phenomenon, and when they think of it, they conjure up images of black eyes hidden behind sunglasses… of course it can be physical but it is never just physical. It’s psychological, it’s emotional, and without support it can derail women’s and children’s lives – often for the whole of their lives.
“…When only half of women referred to Woman’s Trust are able to receive support, things are clearly going wrong. Victims don’t deserve to be left without support. Alone and vulnerable, they can be driven to the edge.
Over half of women’s suicide attempts are linked to domestic abuse.
“Survivors need to feel there is hope, and a better life is possible, and essential specialist support is central to that mission. I have spoken to many survivors and to many organisations like Woman’s Trust as the advisor to the Department of Health and Social Care. And I know that we are getting it wrong.
“Too many victim survivors are referred to Talking Therapies, for which they wait very, very long, and they receive a very short-term course of an intervention which too frequently does nothing for them at all. And in the worse cases, can actually make them go back in their recovery journey.
“…I have certainly heard the message very, very loud and clear, from the survivors themselves and from organisations like Woman’s Trust.
Missing the mental health piece of the DA puzzle risks undermining our whole mission as Government to tackle gender-based violent abuse and halve violence against women and girls in the next ten years.”
Panel discussion: understanding what good support looks like
The event also featured a panel discussion including Jain Lemom, Head of Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls at Mayor’s Office for Policing And Crime (MOPAC), a Woman’s Trust client, Professor Sian Oram, Professor of Trauma and Recovery, King’s College London, Nirma Bheeroo, Senior Services Manager, Woman’s Trust.
The discussion highlighted the importance of listening to survivors and understanding recovery from their perspective. Specialist mental health support can help women make sense of their experiences, rebuild confidence and reconnect with themselves and others.
