Survivor voices: Experts by Experience
Speaking out and telling your story
After living through domestic abuse, many women wish to speak out, tell others about their experiences and use their expertise to create change.
This can be incredibly powerful, healing and positive – in doing so they can bust stereotypes about who experiences abuse, help others recognise abuse in their own relationships, and show that there is life after abuse.
However, it is also important to recognise that speaking out can leave women feeling exposed, and can bring about unexpected consequences.
To help you work out the right decision for you and exploring the different ways to tell your story – we’ve put together this resource with some tips and points to consider
Support and resources
Break the Silence
If you want to share your story, it’s important to think through your safety and wellbeing, and how you want to share it. Women’s Aid have developed the resource ‘Break the Silence’ to help you with this.
A guide to meaningful survivor engagement
Produced by the four Women’s Aid Federations (Welsh Women’s Aid, Scottish Women’s Aid, Women’s Aid Federation Northern Ireland, Women’s Aid Federation of England) and Imkaan, this guide is intended for anyone in the VAWG sector who would like to begin or develop adult survivor engagement in their work.
We're here to support you
Domestic abuse often has a long-term impact on our mental wellbeing, and our levels of safety will shift and change over time. If you need any on-going support about domestic abuse please get in touch with our direct services or one of our local member services.
Working with the media
Women’s Aid Survivor Ambassadors
Women’s Aid Survivor Ambassadors are a small group of women who have worked with us for a number of years in our public facing work, and have been invited to become an official Women’s’ Aid Survivor Ambassador.
Media spokeswoman
Some women choose to tell their story to journalists. This could be a local or national journalist, and the story could appear in a newspaper, a magazine, or on radio or TV news programmes. You could choose to do this with or without anonymity (e.g. real name/ pseudonym). If you would like to tell your story to the media, it’s best to do so with the support of a media professional from an organisation like Women’s Aid, or another domestic abuse charity. *‘Due to capacity, we are not currently able to take on any new media spokeswomen – but please check back at later date*
Working with policy and campaigns
Campaign Champions
Our network of Campaign Champions support our national campaigns on a local level, and help to ensure that politicians and other key decision makers are listening. Our Campaign Champions receive a monthly newsletter with updates about our campaigning and a campaign action. Depending on how much time you have to give you might sign a petition, send a tweet, set up a meeting with your MP to raise awareness or secure local media coverage. Our Campaign Champions network is open to everyone, but includes many survivors campaigning from a place of personal experience.
Experts by Experience Network
Our Policy team work closely with our Experts by Experience network, which is a group of survivors who have completed a workshop series on campaigning from personal experience, and taken part in projects such as our Law in the Making project and/or been part of a Survivor Advisory Board for one of our campaigns. If you are interested in joining our experts by experience network or if you have any questions, please email expertsbyexperience@womensaid.org.uk
“It was really powerful and emotional for all of us to be heard in parliament. It is really meaningful that our efforts will go on to support others.”
Working with and supporting community
Ask Me
For many women the first place they begin sharing their experiences is with the people around them e.g. friends, family and their community. Women’s Aid’s Ask Me project is about equipping people with the knowledge and skills to speak out in their communities, and many survivors have signed up to become Ask Me Community Ambassadors. Find out more about our Ask Me scheme here.
“I am loving the training it seems to cover every angle of abuse and I am learning things I never knew, I think this course is so important and I hope a lot more people take part in the future.”
Fundraising
Many survivors have generously fundraised for Women’s Aid and our member services. For fundraising tips and information on how Women’s Aid can support you please click here. You can also find more information about donating to your local service here, including list of services led ‘by and for’ Black and minortised women which have been hardest hit by funding challenges.
Working with research
Driving change with research
Women’s Aid regularly conduct research about domestic abuse with survivors. Research helps provide the evidence base to drive forward change. We advertise opportunities to get involved in our research on our Survivor Voices page on Women’s Aid Survivor Forum.
