Nobody Left Behind

Sussex hosts Domestic Abuse Conference

Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne, Victim Support and West Sussex County Council’s Domestic Abuse Team hosted a dedicated domestic abuse conference at The Amex in Brighton earlier this week. The theme for the conference was ‘Nobody Left Behind’.

The 300+ attendees included service providers, survivors and those wanting to learn more about how to provide support to domestic abuse victims. The large attendance made this the biggest event focusing on domestic abuse ever held in the county.

Sussex PCC Katy Bourne opened the conference, highlighting the sheer volume of providers working across the county to end domestic abuse and support those affected by it. PCC Bourne explained how her role works to support provisions already in place and to help fund new ones where needed.

The Commissioner announced that she will be funding additional training to support child victims of domestic abuse with neurodiverse needs, especially as this had been identified as a gap in current service provision.

PCC Bourne will also be looking to further support providers who have been impacted by National Insurance increases - more on this to follow soon. 

Attendees also heard from Fay Mills May, Sussex Domestic Abuse Partnership Board Manager, regarding the soon to be launched Pan Sussex Domestic Abuse Strategy, Faye explained that victims’ voices had been at the heart of its development, and it will focus on:

• Prevention and Earliest Intervention
• Support for everyone
• Recovering

The variety of speakers at the event demonstrated the different forms that domestic abuse can take:

Mark Brooks OBE led a discussion about the work of ManKind Initiative, supporting male victims of domestic abuse. Mr Brooks’s talk focused on how male support could be improved and societies’ views on gender-based domestic abuse. He highlighted the excellent work being delivered by the dedicated male IDVA’s in Sussex - employed by Victim Support and funded by PCC Bourne.

Frank Mullane MBE spoke about his work and how providers need to assist survivors to reach ‘self-actualisation’ and make choices for themselves when navigating life post-abuse. Frank set up Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse in 2008, following the murders of his sister Julia and nephew William in 2003. Frank helped ensure Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs) became law and led the development of the Home Office DHR Guidance.

LaToya Ridge, Deputy Service Director Victim Support, spoke about marginalised groups and the importance of learning and understanding nuances that can help their survival journey. The presentation focused on Black women, who are disproportionately affected by domestic homicide and how abusers use control tactics within the LGBTQ+ and disabled community. LaToya was keen on ensuring that providers are questioning whether their service caters well enough for these groups.

Luke Kendall started the afternoon discussing the DRIVE project - a Respect, SafeLives and Social Finance collaboration for high-risk/harm perpetrators of domestic abuse. Luke is an accredited IDVA, Independent DHR Chair and a Forensic Psychology postgraduate who has published a paper on the prevalence of suicide within domestic abuse perpetrator cohorts.

During the afternoon of the conference, there was also a focus on the NSPCC Domestic Abuse Recovering Together programme, commonly known as DART, which is run by My Sisters House in Sussex.  Through video form, two young girls who had participated in the DART Programme, spoke about their experience of the process with their mothers. Both highlighted that the programme provided them with a safe space, a place to learn to speak their truth and to bond with their mum after undergoing an incredibly traumatic time in their life.

After this, a survivor of domestic abuse and member of the Sussex Voices of Lived Experience Board spoke about their experience as a non-binary, wheelchair user and the barriers they faced due to lack of specific service provisions. This lack of an adequate service led to their escape from domestic abuse being even more harrowing and damaging. 

The final item of the day was a panel of professionals, survivors and service providers and the audience was encouraged to ask any questions and open up conversations for learning and improvement.

West Sussex High Sheriff Mrs Philippa Gogarty then closed the day, thanking all delegates and participants for their dedication, bravery and passion to ending domestic abuse. Reflecting on her own awareness of domestic abuse and available help in Sussex, Mrs Gogarty encouraged everyone to continue learning, always. This was supported by the day encouraging everyone in the room to reflect, listen, learn and collaborate. 

Speaking about the event, Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne said: “It was a real privilege to welcome everyone to today’s conference and to help support the event financially.  It brought together a huge number of individuals from across Sussex and beyond, all focussed on the same cause – ending domestic abuse, sharing good practice and supporting survivors. I am so very grateful to all involved for their time, efforts and resource in bringing such a successful event to completion.

“In Sussex, we are lucky to have a wealth of service providers and charities working around the clock to help those in their deepest hour of need.  However, as today’s event has shown, we can and must always strive to do more. I am optimistic that the day will ignite a spark of change to further improve the care and support that survivors of domestic abuse so desperately require.”

Sidonia Porteous, Operations Manager at Victim Support Sussex said:

“It was brilliant to see so many local partners come along to discuss how we can work together to tackle domestic abuse. We received fascinating talks from local experts and heard directly from a domestic abuse survivor, who generously spoke about their challenges navigating the criminal justice system. Delivering effective support to domestic abuse victims in Sussex requires collaboration between charities, health workers and criminal justice agencies. The conference was another huge step towards improving joint working and boosting education and understanding about domestic abuse in Sussex.”  

Jim Bartlett- Head of Community Safety and Wellbeing said:

“At West Sussex County Council, we continue to prioritise the provision of life saving and life changing services to survivors of domestic abuse and their children, both directly through our own services, and via our diverse specialist providers.

"I was honoured to join the team at the Sussex wide Domestic Abuse Conference where we spent the day listening to subject matter experts and survivors share their knowledge, experience and insight on how we can work together to ensure that Sussex is a safe place for everyone, and a place where they are certain, that if needed, the right services are available to help. 

"We heard that Domestic Abuse is a national emergency, but that together we can and will strive to end Domestic abuse, for good, ensuring that nobody is left behind"

West Sussex High Sheriff, Philippa Gogarty reflected on her educational journey of understanding regarding domestic abuse in Sussex:

“When I took up office in April last year I thought I had a handle on the issues facing our communities in Sussex. I did not. I admit that most of what I thought I knew was incorrect. I was shocked that reports of Domestic Abuse in West Sussex were up by 97% on the previous year and it is one of the main reasons the police will attend an incident. I wonder if we have ever fully acknowledged the true scale of the problem and rather than having a full debate we tend to minimise and excuse behaviours that are intolerable unfair and unsafe.”