Training to support survivors of domestic abuse

Training takes place in Redhill on 7-8 February and in Oxted on 14-15 March. 

The training is open to members of the public (such as hairdressers, yoga teachers, religious leaders, librarians and nail technicians) and any professional that a survivor of domestic abuse is already or likely to be in contact with such as a care worker, mental health worker or other health and social care worker.  

Top priority

Cllr Graham Knight, the Executive Member for Community Safety at Reigate & Banstead Borough Council said: “Tackling domestic abuse in east Surrey is a top priority - there is simply no place for violence against women and girls in our community. We are committed to protecting those suffering from domestic abuse and ensuring every survivor gets the support they need, whoever and whenever they ask for help.”

Video

A video from Women's Aid about the training is on the domestic abuse section of Reigate & Banstead's website.

The free training run by Women’s Aid is aimed at members of the local community and public sector services, such as substance misuse, mental health and housing providers that do not deliver a specialist domestic abuse service, but are likely to meet survivors through their work. Reigate & Banstead, Tandridge and ESDAS are supporting Women’s Aid in wanting the first response given to women to be the right response. The training is designed to increase the confidence of people to provide a helpful response to survivors, including how to best signpost them to local specialist services.

Give the right response

Katie Ghose, Chief Executive at Women’s Aid said “Many women live with abuse for years without telling anyone and often contact several agencies or people in their local community before they get the help they need. Therefore, when an opportunity occurs for a woman to open up about abuse, it is vital she receives the right response. That’s why we have pioneered Change that Lasts, a project which aims to ensure that no matter who a survivor speaks to she will get the right response to domestic abuse the first time she reaches out.

Domestic abuse is a major social issue that affects 1.3 million women each year. In east Surrey, ESDAS received over 2,052 adult referrals in 2016-2017. Seeking help isn’t easy. Fear and misunderstanding often prevent people from knowing what to do, how to talk about abuse or where to direct women to get specialist help.