Putting Safe & Together into daily practice Training

5 Dec 2024

As part of our 16 Day’s of Action campaign, GWA were delighted to host and work with our specialist colleagues from Aberdeen City Council to deliver a full day training programme to raise awareness and support the improvement of professional response to domestic abuse.

For several years, we have valued the importance of implementing the Safe & Together model, recognised globally as best practice to domestic abuse. The model educates professionals to be domestic abuse informed, working holistically recognising survivor strengths, supporting child well-being and safety and holding perpetrators accountable for their behaviour and parenting choices.

 

In collaboration we are proud to have engaged with professionals across all sectors from Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire to provide this day of education, discussion and engagement from all to improve our collective standards. We welcomed guest speakers Ryan Hart and Vicki Appleby sharing their own lived experiences from a child’s perspective and as a survivor respectively which were impactful and insightful. The workshops provided unique opportunities for professionals to share and learn with those from other sectors where maybe their paths may not normally cross. The outcome and feedback from the day has been quite powerful and gives us great confidence that by working together we can imbed Safe & Together into our daily practice.

 

Taylor Ironside from Aberdeen Violence Against Women Partnership and co-host shared; “As part of 16 Days of Action, we were proud to support this week’s successful Safe and Together event, which highlights the importance of collaboration when addressing domestic abuse. With input from Grampian Women’s Aid, the local Safe and Together training team and guests who shared their lived experience, the event reinforced our shared commitment to keeping survivors and their children safe while holding perpetrators accountable. It was inspiring to see such strong engagement and shared dedication to this important work.”

 

Lauren Grant, Trainee Social Worker and Certified Safe & together Trainer also added “I was delighted to be asked to present at this week’s Safe and Together event in collaboration with Grampian Women's Aid. It provided all of us there with an invaluable opportunity to share knowledge and learn from others, including those with lived experience. Our discussions throughout the day reaffirmed the importance of keeping the needs of the survivor and their children at the heart of everything we do, and I left feeling encouraged by the commitment to making meaningful change.”

 

A final reflection from a member of our GWA team “Today has been so inspiring, it has given me renewed hope that we can make positive change. We needed this!”

GWA campaign 365 days a year for best response to those women and children who experience domestic abuse. Our methods of believing, understanding and supporting women and children throughout their recovery journey recognising they are the experts in their lives is something we are proud to stand by. Our dedication to the campaign to change society to eradicate male violence against women and girls is unwavering and will continue endlessly.

Grampian Women’s Aid hope to host further events alongside our colleagues in the future. If you would like to learn more about Safe & Together, you can do so by going to [insert link for Safe & together website] and if you are a professional who would like to access training please [insert link for Aberdeen protects]. You can keep up to date with all of GWA’s activities and events by signing up to our newsletter HERE.