Safe Issue 37 - Spring 2011
Highlights include...
Eighteen dead, how many more? Violence and mental health amongst BME women
Hannana Siddiqui and Meena Patel summarise the key findings and recommendations from Southall Black Sisters’ new report, Safe and Sane, following eight years of research on domestic violence and mental health, suicide and self-harm amongst black and minority ethnic women.
Spotlight
Every issue Spotlight asks a service provider to share their successes, challenges and advice. Following the spending cuts, this issue we instead discuss the effects that budget decisions are having on services nationwide.
Celebrating 100 years of International Women’s Day
The 8th March marked a very special centenary this year, as women all around the world celebrated the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day. We have come a long way for women’s rights since 1911 but we have a long way to go, and this year provided the opportunity for us to discuss, debate and reflect upon the inequalities we still face today. With this in mind Annie Lennox, singer and human rights campaigner, brought together leading charities in the form of the EQUALS coalition, and we share with you here some of the key issues highlighted on this special occasion.
Benefits of identifying need as well as risk for victim/survivors of domestic violence
In 2004 the Northern Rock Foundation (NRF) funded two domestic violence initiatives providing crisis intervention to victim/survivors of domestic violence over a five year period. Both Projects were multi-agency partnerships offering an holistic service to victim/survivors, their children and the perpetrators. The NRF also funded a longitudinal evaluation of these Projects and this article discusses one of its key findings; namely that existing systematic risk assessments need to be widened to consider victim/survivors’ ‘needs’.
Haiti: surge in rape and sexual violence after the earthquake
The January 2010 earthquake devastated Haiti. One year on Amnesty International published a report which revealed that the risk of rape and other forms of gender-based violence in Haiti’s camps has increased dramatically in the past year. Here Eulette Ewart shares some of the testimonials heard by Amnesty, illustrating how the needs of girls and women living in camps have been overlooked, and that responses to gender-based violence have been inadequate.
Women’s support workers views on domestic violence perpetrator programmes
In the last issue of Safe we brought you news on the multi-site research into perpetrator programmes being conducted by Respect, and its work to ensure the process is accountable to women by first addressing what counts as success. Here Dr Nicole Westmarland and Professor Liz Kelly from the research team bring you the findings of the work that has been done so far, specifically focussing on the views of the women’s support workers.
