Central Government is funding a new, year-long project which aims to develop culturally competent LGBT+ domestic abuse provision across the 4 regions of South Yorkshire.
Domestic Abuse is about power and control and can involve physical, emotional, sexual and financial abuse as well as forced marriage and ‘honour based’ violence’.
It is widely acknowledged that LGBT+ victims and survivors are not accessing services at the same rates as others in the population.
The project will undertake consultation work with local LGBT+ people / community groups to understand what specific barriers exist for LGBT+ people experiencing domestic abuse that result in LGBT+ people not accessing support services. This consultation will especially seek to engage LGBT+ minority voices.
These personal stories, combined with findings from academic research, will guide what development work needs to take place to develop good practice, both within local statutory and third sector organisations.
Some examples of interventions which will be developed through this project are:
Training packages for professionals working in domestic abuse and other relevant agencies, to support the development of a culturally competent LGBT+ workforce.
An awareness campaign run with / for LGBT+ people to improve identification of domestic abuse in LGBT+ relationships
The development of a Kite mark which will be awarded to services, letting LGBT+ people know that a service is a culturally component LGBT+ space.
If you work with someone who has experience of domestic abuse (historic or current), is LGBT+,16+, and within South Yorkshire we would be very keen to hear from them – their experience is vital helping us understand what gaps and barriers exist in accessing services. We are also looking for people who might want to join a project Advisory Group to help shape the project.
Contact Heather and Elly (LGBT+ Domestic Abuse Development Workers based at SAYiT) on 0114 241 2728 or email heather.paterson@sayit.org.uk