Reporting back from the NHSE VAWG Conference 2022 – from NHSE London Safeguarding Team
On the 25th November. the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, NHSE London Safeguarding team, (in partnership with the Mayor of London), hosted a conference to kickstart 16 days of activism against gender-based violence. The day was chaired by Susan Bookbinder, a national broadcaster and lifelong advocate against violence against women and girls.
The aim of the day was for delegates to be equipped with tools to support those they see who have suffered abuse and was divided into three sections.
Part 1 provided the national and London context, with speakers from the Home Office, The Mayor’s Office and NHSE London. An overview was provided regarding various legislations changes, including:
- Domestic Abuse Act 2021
- Domestic Abuse Act statutory guidance 2022
- ‘Enough’ communications campaign
- ‘Have a word’ campaign
- Mayor of London VAWG Strategy 2022
In Part 2, Laura Curer (Chair of the National NHS England Sexual Abuse and Assault Services Lived Experience Group) and Paige Barrs (Early Intervention Domestic Abuse Advisor- Cambridgeshire Police) shared their experience of sexual and domestic abuse respectfully, and provided tips regarding language to use with survivors and signposted delegates to a range of resources, which include:
www.nhs.uk/SARCS
- Sexual assault referral centres animation Sexual assault referral centres animation – YouTube
- National Domestic Abuse Helpline – 0808 2000 247 run by – https://refuge.org.uk
- The Men’s Advice Line, for male domestic abuse survivors – 0808 801 0327, run by https://www.respect.uk.net
In Part 3, Fay Maxted from the Survivor’s Trust continued by providing tips around language and signposted to some training and resources for health staff. This was followed by the London Clinical Lead for VAWG, Dr Liz Henderson. Liz gave us an insight into the challenges that GPs face and suggestions on how to improve practice. Catherine Hinwood, the NHSE Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Lead, ended the day by sharing information about the programme that she is leading on nationally.
