Domestic Abuse is everyone’s business
Every 30 seconds in the UK, the police receive a domestic abuse related call. Domestic abuse makes up 18% of all recorded crime in England and Wales and in the UK a woman is killed by a man every 3 days*.
Following a successful launch in December 2022, Buckinghamshire Council has developed a new fully funded multi-agency ‘Tackling and Preventing Domestic Abuse’ training catalogue for Buckinghamshire for 2024/25.
The training catalogue is for any professional wishing to upskill their knowledge around domestic abuse and is not exclusively for professionals who work with vulnerable or at-risk audiences. The aim is to increase people’s confidence in identifying the signs of abuse and give appropriate support and signposting to victims. Whatever your role, whether you manage a team, teach, own a business, run a community organisation or work in the health, adult social care or children’s services sectors, these courses could help you challenge and change behaviours and help victims get the support they need, sooner.
The offer continues to be entirely free of charge to encourage as many individuals as possible to upskill or refresh their knowledge. There are 18 different types of courses, each with a selection of dates and times to choose from. Some courses are virtual over MS Teams and others are face to face including “power hours”, half and full day sessions to suit flexible working patterns.
One person who has taken part in training previously commented: "I thought it was a great introduction to the topic and provided opportunities for further reading to increase understanding. I think every organisation should be required to attend sessions like these to increase awareness."
This year’s offer includes four new topics derived from local Buckinghamshire insight on Domestic Abuse (DA) and Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) cases, including; domestic abuse and child neglect, incels and extreme misogyny, local learning from homicides, and spiritual abuse.
Cllr Arif Hussain, Cabinet Member for Communities, said: “In Buckinghamshire we take a zero-tolerance approach to domestic abuse and violence against women and girls.
“The Domestic Abuse training catalogue for 24/25 is another example of how we are addressing the priorities set out in the DA and VAWG Strategy including that ‘DA and VAWG is tackled at the first opportunity or is stopped before it starts’. Our training offer, campaigns and communication is of the highest level for professionals ensuring that DA and VAWG is understood and remains a priority.
“Now more than ever, we want to empower people in Buckinghamshire to be informed about DA and VAWG and have the confidence to signpost victims to appropriate support. Last month, police chiefs declared an epidemic of violence against women and girls so serious that it amounts to a “national emergency.” Domestic abuse is everyone’s business and I would strongly encourage anyone to look at how the courses could be beneficial to you and your workforce.”
For more information and to book the free training courses, visit the Buckinghamshire Domestic Abuse Board.
*Two million women are estimated to be victims of violence perpetrated by men each year. While men and boys also suffer many of these forms of abuse, they disproportionately affect women.