Swindon’s New Domestic Violence Resource: Fresh Thoughts.
The month of December tends to see a sharp rise increase in the number of Domestic Abuse (DA) incidents. Thus the launch of this resource to support victims is of particular significance. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls), Jess Phillips MP referred to the new Fresh Thoughts booklet in a recent speech.
The launch of the booklet
Around sixty people attended the launch of a new information booklet called Fresh Thoughts.
It’s aimed at guiding Wiltshire victims of DA through the complex legal process after having the courage to flee their abuser. In the first instance, Poole, Purbeck and District Soroptimists in Dorset supported their local Women’s refuge. In doing so they realised victims had little information about what was going to happen next. The Fresh Thoughts booklet was the brainchild of a magistrate, head teacher and a citizen’s advice advisor.
Fresh Thoughts provides practical information about:
- Online personal safety
- Going to court
- Financial help
- Housing advice and contact details of local DA support agencies.
The booklet’s aims
The aim of the booklet is to educate, empower and enable victims to take back control and move forward with their lives. This project won an award for Best Practice at the Soroptimists Great Britain & Ireland (SIGBI) 2024 National Conference. And, so far, seventeen UK clubs have adapted the template for their local area. Swindon & Salisbury Soroptimists are the latest to launch it with the help of:
Distribution
There’ll be distribution of the booklet to:
- Wiltshire’s Women’s Refuges
- Charities and domestic abuse support services
- City Councils
- Citizen Advice centres
- Victim Support
- Housing Associations
- Solicitors, Legal Aid
- Wiltshire Police and the Courts.
Salisbury Soroptimist Liz Batten told those present there had been 12,246 Domestic Abuse crimes in Wiltshire during the last 12 months. The police know that less than 20% of incidents get reported. Hence it’s estimated that 60,000 people experience Domestic Abuse each year in Wiltshire alone.
Fear Free
She described the serious challenges a victim faces as they go through the court system to get injunctions against perpetrators. She says, ‘our courts and legal system are not ‘trauma-informed’. So victims often have to face their attackers all over again, standing a mere a few feet away from them before hearings and child access proceedings.
For many women this is their first experience of court. And we know that perpetrators use the court process as a further control and intimidation tactic. We must understand that alongside this process, the victims are often working, raising children, engaging with other agencies, dealing with post separation abuse such as harassment or stalking, and working on their own trauma. This can be a most overwhelming time.’
In her spare time, Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police Catherine Roper, is Assistant District Commissioner for the Girl Guides.
In 2019 she launched the national Girl Guide Police Challenge Badge. She was recently approached by a young girl who set up a ‘Safety for Women and Girls’ day as part of her Girl Guide Queen’s Badge award. Chief Constable Roper found it very sad that 100 young girls in the room had to go through training and get advice on how to stay safe. She said, ‘This is not the kind of world we want!” She praised the Soroptimists for this “tactical and practical” booklet, saying “We know that at Wiltshire police we haven’t always got it right with survivors of domestic violence. We have improved but it’s not enough. We support this initiative and we’re committed to keeping women and girls safe!’
EVAWG
Nicky Alberry is deputy chair of Wiltshire End Violence Against Women and Girls (EVAWG). And she’s both a Trustee and Chair of Swindon charity Society Without Abuse. Nicky commented, ‘SWA has a great, long-standing relationship with Swindon Soroptimists. And I’d like to thank the Salisbury and Dorset groups for this very important work. SWA’s vision is to one day see an end to domestic abuse. And as part of this, it’s so important for men to stand alongside women and call out bad behaviour among their peers. We’re all grateful to Salisbury MP John Glen for lobbying parliament for better support for the most vulnerable of our nation’s citizens.’
Queen Camilla also supports movement to bring to and end domestic abuse. She recently attended an SWA event in the county and said that ‘Domestic abuse is the scourge of our society’.
Jess Phillips MP is Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls.
When launching the government’s new Violence against Women and Girls Strategy in parliament, she responded to John Glenn MP with the following statement: ‘Thank you for giving me the perfect opportunity to pay real credit to Soroptimists from all over the country. Some of the work that appears in the strategy around having specialist advocates for rape victims in court, started because of volunteer programmes run by Soroptimists.
I want to give them the confidence that they can change government policy and can work through your good offices (MP John Glen) to reach out to me. They (Soroptimists) do amazing work in their local communities!’
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Well-received
The Fresh Thoughts booklet has been well-received by many organisations working with survivors of domestic violence.
A thousand copies of the booklet have been printed so far. But because of the explosion in the number of cases of DA in recent years, this won’t scratch the surface of the need in Wiltshire.
The Salisbury and Swindon Soroptimists are seeking sponsorship for a second print run to get the information into the hands of those who need it most: Survivors!
If you or an organisation you know can help, please contact 1rhonajack@gmail.com who’ll forward your details.
