Dame Nicole Jacobs, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales, reflects on the recent roundtable she hosted with survivors and ministers to discuss support services and recovery.
Getting the right help and support can be life-changing and lifesaving for people subject to domestic abuse. That’s why one of my priorities is to ensure every survivor gets the help they need, when they need it, to rebuild and thrive.
Last week, I hosted ten survivors at a roundtable focused on their experiences accessing specialist domestic abuse services and the tools which supported their recovery. We were joined by Ministers Jess Phillips, Alex Davies-Jones and Josh MacAlister, all of whom have key responsibilities within the government’s Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy around the provision of help and support for adult and child victims.
It was a pleasure to meet and speak to all the people participating, and to see them share key points of their journeys around the table. Each of them came with impressive insights and expertise gained on their own journey and exemplified the wealth of information survivors have to offer.
While there was a real mix of people taking part, it was striking how similar their experiences were.
They spoke about the sheer complexity of the systems people experiencing domestic abuse have to navigate, all while processing their trauma or coping with financial difficulty after fleeing. Sadly, as I hear all too often, many of them felt let down by the response from public services like the police, NHS and local authorities when they tried to get help or justice. Survivors also shared their thoughts about the gaps for particular groups of victims, including men, LGBT+ people, disabled people and migrant survivors. All these issues contributed to them feeling unsafe, harm being prolonged and the ability to rebuild their lives being delayed.
The themes raised were ones I know many other survivors can and will relate to, so they achieved something not only for themselves, but for others.
Ministers and survivors also had an important dialogue about the possible solutions to the barriers they encountered. One survivor shared the transformative impact of the Family Drug and Alcohol Courts model in her case. Another of the need for integrated data to prevent harm. Others spoke about the communities of strength they have built to support other survivors, and the support these organisations need to be able to be there for others. There was a real sense in the room of a collective drive to create meaningful change for people experiencing domestic abuse – a testament to the resilience and energy I see from survivors within my role.
Part of the reason I wanted to bring survivors together with ministers is because there are commitments within the VAWG Strategy to change the way services are commissioned and the support on offer to people impacted by domestic abuse. The work to deliver these is getting under way, so now is a crucial moment for victims and survivors to be in the room, making sure those responsible for delivery understand the impact on individual lives if the status quo is allowed to persist.
I’m sure that decision makers – even those with a lot of understanding of domestic abuse – will have left the roundtable thinking differently after hearing the first-hand accounts from survivors, and with a sharper focus on delivering improvements.
What was most heartening for me was hearing survivors reflect that the roundtable made them feel heard and understood when they hadn’t before. After the difficulties they outlined with agencies dismissing their experiences or breaking their trust, those comments show the importance of giving people the opportunities to speak truth to power. Not only does it improve the polices government deliver, but it can be an important step in a victim or survivor’s recovery.
Engagement with people who have lived experience remains at the very core of the work my office does. I look forward to building on the important conversations had at this roundtable going forward. It’s time now for ministers to reflect on what they’ve heard and take the necessary actions to make change, so other victims and survivors don’t have to go through the same challenges.
If you’re interested in using your voice to make meaningful change, sign up to the Commissioner’s survivor newsletter. We bring together opportunities for people with lived experience to share their views with our office, government departments, researchers and domestic abuse organisations. If you need support with any of the issues raised in this piece, please visit our help page.