Writing for the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s blog

Thank you for considering writing for the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s survivor stories blog.   

We know that victims and survivors, their friends, and their family like to read stories and ideas for change from people who have experienced domestic abuse or lost loved ones through it. When someone understands that people have gone through similar things to them, it can make them feel less alone.  

This page sets out the parameters for writing a blog for the Commissioner’s website. Please note we receive more blogs than we are able to publish. 

How do you feel? 

Are you feeling okay and in a safe place to share? If you’re not sure you feel up to it yet, or need to talk to someone right now, visit our help page to find support.

Writing about your experience

If you’re interested in writing for us, please get in touch via our contact form to let us know. You will be put in touch with a member of the Our voices matter team, who will be your contact as you write your blog. 

We ask for all blog posts to be around 600 words. Because of this word limit, you will need to think about what element of your experience you want to share.  

We understand that often people write because they want to share where they or their loved one has been failed by services and agencies. We are looking to hear from people who can outline the change they want to see, as well as those who have had a good experience accessing support and can tell us what worked.    

The Commissioner’s new Strategic Plan focuses on four key areas: policing, probation, health and specialist domestic abuse services. We’re particularly keen to hear from you if you have something to share about how these systems and services could work better for people experiencing domestic abuse. 

If you aren’t sure what you want to focus your story on, the following questions might help:  

• What ideas do you have to change other victims and survivors’ experiences?   

• How do you use your voice to change things for people experiencing domestic abuse? 

• What advice would you give others in your situation?   

• What has inspired you on your journey?  

• What was the catalyst to getting help? 

• What has been the best thing about leaving your abuser?   

• How are you recovering?   

• What support made the most difference?   

• Where were opportunities missed to get you or your family member the support they needed? 

• How does it feel to have experienced and survived domestic abuse?   

Write in the same way you would if you were telling a friend about it. We want to get a sense of your personality through your writing. It’s better if you keep your sentences and paragraphs short.  

Don’t worry too much about spelling and grammar – our team will check this and make edits with you where necessary. We will always share a final version of your story back to you for final approval.  

Before you send us your piece, please consider that when anything is published online it can be shared elsewhere by others.  You will need to think about how you would feel if your words were posted on another forum. 

What we can’t publish on our blog

• We cannot promote any commercial enterprises, such as a book you have written or training you provide.   

• We won’t publish accounts with graphic descriptions of abuse as this can be very triggering for others.  

• If you wish you can include your first name, but a pseudonym is fine. We also advise that you limit or remove any information that could identify you. For anyone going through a Family Court proceeding please review this guidance before you send in your piece.  

• We cannot publish the names of individuals, e.g. names of children, police officers and social workers.   

• If a perpetrator has not been found guilty in court, it is necessary to ensure they are not identifiable due to libel laws. You can read more about this in these  resources from Women’s Aid and the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO).  

We cannot guarantee that every account we receive will be published, but we will let you know if this is the case.  

Get inspired

Read what other survivors and bereaved family members have shared on the Commissioner’s blog.

Got any questions?  

If you have a question not covered in this guidance, please get in touch via our contact form.