University of Westminster hosts 16 Days of Activism event to raise awareness of domestic abuse

The 16 Days of Activism is an annual international campaign that starts on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until Human Rights Day on 10 December. This year, the theme of the campaign is Invest to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls, supporting different prevention strategies to stop violence from occurring in the first place.

The roundtable was chaired by Dr Michaela Bruckmayer, a Visiting Research Fellow at the CSJR and the Research Lead at Refuge, the UK’s largest single provider of specialist support services for women and children affected by domestic abuse and other forms of gender-based violence. 

Dr Bruckmayer said: “This theme could not be timelier, given the increased pressures on services brought on by years of austerity. Investment is urgently needed to keep these life-saving services alive.” 

The audience made up of both online and in-person attendees heard from three speakers. The first presentation was delivered by Refuge’s Senior Policy and Public Affairs Officer, Sophie Ireland. Ireland’s role involves developing and implementing influential strategies to achieve change in law, policy and practice to help better prevent and respond to domestic abuse. During her presentation she talked about Refuge’s work and discussed how investment in community-based domestic abuse services is a crucial step in prevention.

This was followed by a talk by Dr James Rowlands, Lecturer in Criminology in the School of Social Sciences, who presented on Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs) and examined their role in preventing future domestic abuse-related deaths. DHRs are conducted into domestic abuse-related deaths, including homicides and deaths by suicide. They aim to identify ways to learn from what happened and look to bring about change by improving practice, policy and systems. Discussing his recently completed PhD research, Dr Rowlands explored the foundations for DHRs, including what helps or hinders this process and how they can lead to change. 

Finally, Dr Yemisi Sloane, also a Lecturer in Criminology at Westminster, shared her research into the effect of coloniality on Nigerian women’s experiences of domestic abuse. Dr Sloane set out how coloniality shapes both the perpetration and experience of abuse by those from previously colonised countries and argued that recognising different or nuanced patterns of domestic abuse - rather than a generalised approach that assumes that all women, irrespective of ethnicity, experience domestic abuse the same way – is necessary for effective prevention. 

Following the presentations, there was a wide-ranging discussion, with questions from the audience exploring the impact of COVID-19 on domestic abuse, the extent to which DHRs really can bring about change, how professionals can be involved, the funding of community-based services, and the best way to respond to the needs of different communities.

Given the roundtable’s focus, attendees were also provided with information on help and support. This included information on how to access information on help and support for domestic abuse and other forms of gender-based violence from Refuge, including the National Domestic Abuse Helpline, which provides confidential, non-judgmental support and information.

Find out more about the Centre for Social Justice Research (CSJR) at the University of Westminster.