Domestic abuse

Domestic abuse

Domestic abuse

Introduction

Our Covid-19 Action Fund provided grants for Churchill Fellows to run projects combating the effects of Covid-19 in all areas of society. Hundreds of pandemic projects nationwide are being run or assisted by Churchill Fellows, using the international expertise they gained during their Fellowships overseas. Here are the Action Fund recipients working on domestic abuse issues.

December 2020 awards

Photograph of Churchill Fellow Sudarshan Bhuhi

Sudarshan Bhuhi: empowering women from minoritised racial groups affected by domestic abuse

Sudarshan Bhuhi (CF 2016) from Redbridge in London is the founder of Aanchal Women's Aid, a domestic abuse charity, which has seen a rise in uptake of its services during the pandemic.

She will use her grant to launch a pilot project called Chai Chat, which will provide a digital support channel and education programme for 80 hard-to-reach women from minoritised racial groups affected by domestic abuse. Through weekly 90-minute online sessions, participants will be equipped and empowered with knowledge to take informed actions, including understanding their rights and where they can access help. The women will receive therapeutic support, guidance, information and connections to other specialist services, as well as an online self-care toolkit and access to an e-learning platform. Sudarshan will engage with faith establishments, GPs and health services, and launch a social media campaign to encourage women to sign up to Chai Chat. She hopes this early intervention model will lead to further prevention, and be replicated to reach more women across the UK.

Sudarshan's Fellowship to India in 2016 explored policing infrastructure against domestic abuse.

Photograph of Churchill Fellow Gudrun Burnet

Gudrun Burnet: empowering survivors of domestic abuse to access safe housing

Gudrun Burnet (CF 2016) from Chertsey in Surrey is the CEO of the charity Standing Together Against Domestic Abuse, and the co-founder of the Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance (DAHA). Numerous reports from the sector have shown that domestic abuse has risen during the pandemic.

Gudrun will use the grant to deliver a housing law education programme for survivors of domestic abuse and domestic abuse workers. The programme will empower survivors to exercise their rights when dealing with housing problems and increase the capacity of workers to support survivors in securing safe and stable housing. This in turn will help provide safety and recovery for survivors, whilst reducing homelessness. The programme will be delivered online by Law For Life, a charity dedicated to ensuring that people have the knowledge, confidence and skills needed to secure access to justice, in conjunction with DAHA and SEA. The programme will be tailored to incorporate the latest legislation around evictions and other relevant housing topics for domestic abuse survivors. Following this, resources will be created for domestic abuse services, who will be able to access the programme.

Gudrun's Fellowship to Australia, Canada and the USA in 2016 explored international practice around domestic abuse and housing, and was supported by the National Housing Federation.

Photograph of Churchill Fellow Nicola Sharp-Jeffs

Nicola Sharp-Jeffs: preventing economic abuse

Nicola Sharp-Jeffs (CF 2016) from Essex is the founder of the charity Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA), which has seen a rise in economic abuse cases during the pandemic.

She will use her grant to develop expert training and a free resource to equip employers with knowledge, skills and confidence to support their employees' economic wellbeing during and after Covid-19. The resource will help guide discussions around economic wellbeing and will help employers to recognise the signs of economic abuse. It will also offer advice on practical support that line managers can offer, actions that can be taken by employers, and information about specialist domestic abuse support services and how to access them. Training will be conducted alongside this via webinars and online workshops, to guide employers and line managers using the resource. Nicola hopes that by building economic wellbeing into workplace systems and processes, and by normalising conversations around economic abuse, many cases will be prevented or acted on at an early stage.

Nicola's Fellowship to Australia and the USA in 2016 explored supporting victims of financial abuse (a sub-category of economic abuse).

June 2020 award

Photograph of Churchill Fellow Becky Rogerson

Becky Rogerson: preventing domestic abuse

Becky Rogerson (CF 2011) is the director of the domestic abuse charity Wearside Women in Need, based in Sunderland.

She will use her grant to promote a campaign that raises awareness and equips the community in supporting its members and reporting abuse, and to develop a model that ensures services respond to the community with open pathways and support. She will initially develop this in the north-east of England. She will provide advice, a toolkit, a helpline and website with resources to empower the local community, and she will launch a model of community support from local services and the Northumbria Police. Her aim is that this model and campaign could be replicated to other regions across the UK.

Becky's Fellowship in 2011 explored legal and community responses to domestic violence across North and South America.

December 2020 awards

Photograph of Churchill Fellow Sudarshan Bhuhi

Sudarshan Bhuhi: empowering women from minoritised racial groups affected by domestic abuse

Sudarshan Bhuhi (CF 2016) from Redbridge in London is the founder of Aanchal Women's Aid, a domestic abuse charity, which has seen a rise in uptake of its services during the pandemic.

She will use her grant to launch a pilot project called Chai Chat, which will provide a digital support channel and education programme for 80 hard-to-reach women from minoritised racial groups affected by domestic abuse. Through weekly 90-minute online sessions, participants will be equipped and empowered with knowledge to take informed actions, including understanding their rights and where they can access help. The women will receive therapeutic support, guidance, information and connections to other specialist services, as well as an online self-care toolkit and access to an e-learning platform. Sudarshan will engage with faith establishments, GPs and health services, and launch a social media campaign to encourage women to sign up to Chai Chat. She hopes this early intervention model will lead to further prevention, and be replicated to reach more women across the UK.

Sudarshan's Fellowship to India in 2016 explored policing infrastructure against domestic abuse.

Photograph of Churchill Fellow Gudrun Burnet

Gudrun Burnet: empowering survivors of domestic abuse to access safe housing

Gudrun Burnet (CF 2016) from Chertsey in Surrey is the CEO of the charity Standing Together Against Domestic Abuse, and the co-founder of the Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance (DAHA). Numerous reports from the sector have shown that domestic abuse has risen during the pandemic.

Gudrun will use the grant to deliver a housing law education programme for survivors of domestic abuse and domestic abuse workers. The programme will empower survivors to exercise their rights when dealing with housing problems and increase the capacity of workers to support survivors in securing safe and stable housing. This in turn will help provide safety and recovery for survivors, whilst reducing homelessness. The programme will be delivered online by Law For Life, a charity dedicated to ensuring that people have the knowledge, confidence and skills needed to secure access to justice, in conjunction with DAHA and SEA. The programme will be tailored to incorporate the latest legislation around evictions and other relevant housing topics for domestic abuse survivors. Following this, resources will be created for domestic abuse services, who will be able to access the programme.

Gudrun's Fellowship to Australia, Canada and the USA in 2016 explored international practice around domestic abuse and housing, and was supported by the National Housing Federation.

Photograph of Churchill Fellow Nicola Sharp-Jeffs

Nicola Sharp-Jeffs: preventing economic abuse

Nicola Sharp-Jeffs (CF 2016) from Essex is the founder of the charity Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA), which has seen a rise in economic abuse cases during the pandemic.

She will use her grant to develop expert training and a free resource to equip employers with knowledge, skills and confidence to support their employees' economic wellbeing during and after Covid-19. The resource will help guide discussions around economic wellbeing and will help employers to recognise the signs of economic abuse. It will also offer advice on practical support that line managers can offer, actions that can be taken by employers, and information about specialist domestic abuse support services and how to access them. Training will be conducted alongside this via webinars and online workshops, to guide employers and line managers using the resource. Nicola hopes that by building economic wellbeing into workplace systems and processes, and by normalising conversations around economic abuse, many cases will be prevented or acted on at an early stage.

Nicola's Fellowship to Australia and the USA in 2016 explored supporting victims of financial abuse (a sub-category of economic abuse).

June 2020 award

Photograph of Churchill Fellow Becky Rogerson

Becky Rogerson: preventing domestic abuse

Becky Rogerson (CF 2011) is the director of the domestic abuse charity Wearside Women in Need, based in Sunderland.

She will use her grant to promote a campaign that raises awareness and equips the community in supporting its members and reporting abuse, and to develop a model that ensures services respond to the community with open pathways and support. She will initially develop this in the north-east of England. She will provide advice, a toolkit, a helpline and website with resources to empower the local community, and she will launch a model of community support from local services and the Northumbria Police. Her aim is that this model and campaign could be replicated to other regions across the UK.

Becky's Fellowship in 2011 explored legal and community responses to domestic violence across North and South America.

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