By Charlotte Powell, Camrose Support Worker
I recently completed the Dragonfly Project training through Paragon which gave me a lot of information about domestic violence (DV) and how to support those who are subject to it.
Women’s aid describes DV as “an incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening, degrading and violent behaviour, including sexual violence, in the majority of cases by a partner or ex-partner, but also by a family member or carer”. Both men and women can be subjected to DV although the prevalence is for women to be abused by men. Women’s Aid also states that “for the year ending March 2020, an estimated 1.6 million women aged 16 to 74 years experienced domestic abuse”. The Dragonfly Project training is run by Paragon and is free for anyone who wishes to do it. You can access it via the Basingstoke Voluntary Action website.
I have been supporting an increasing number of clients who are exposed to domestic violence. I decided to do the training as I felt quite underprepared, so this it’s given me increased confidence and a network of people to contact to help me support clients who need it. The Camrose Centre is a safe place for anyone in a DV situation.
The Camrose Centre is committed to staff development and training. My next goal is to research DV and homelessness and be fully aware of the support available locally. I am hopeful that everything I learn will benefit our clients as much as possible.
You can find out more about the Dragonfly project below. If you are homeless or in a vulnerable housing situation, and you require help or advice in relation to domestic violence please don’t hesitate to contact us or drop by the Centre.
https://paragonteam.org.uk/dragonfly-project/
How common is domestic abuse? – Womens Aid
Dragonfly Project – Home | Facebook
Training and Events – Basingstoke Voluntary Action (bvaction.org.uk)
