We want to develop meaningful ways for women and children to feel empowered, supported and motivated to share their experiences, in order to inform policy and practice. Designed with this aim in mind, our new Engagement and Participation project is about building relationships with women and children who have lived through the experience of domestic abuse or other forms of Violence against Women, or who have an interest as a stakeholder. The aim of this work is to be responsive to need, to build the confidence of women and children, and enable them to take steps towards achieving their potential, to generate greater understanding of the causes and effects of domestic abuse and other forms of Violence against Women, support capacity building with our members, and work closely with all stakeholders. We aim to listen to, learn from and value the involvement of women and children. We are keen to promote the benefits of engagement and participation, it builds courage, confidence, and skills. Our hope is that the telling of women’s and children’s shared experience is moving, and inspirational for others. We hope that the women and children who take part can see how their contribution makes a difference. We want to recruit women and children who are interested in taking an active role in consultations, media work, community development and awareness raising. We will begin building a ‘Voices Network’ through which to gather a range of voices. We will develop toolkits, guidance, briefings and training for individuals who take part, our members and stakeholders. Over the next few weeks, Sally Hughes, our Engagement and Participation Officer, will be starting to make contact with our members as she is keen to develop the programme with your input. If you have any thoughts or ideas, or would like to share any of the service user involvement work you are doing presently with women and children who are service users, ex-service users or in the community, you can contact her on [email protected] or ring 029 20 541 551.
