NEWSLETTER

“Listening, Sharing & Learning”

300 delegates from across the voluntary, statutory and community sectors attended the “Listening, Sharing and Learning” conference in Bangor. Key speakers from Northern Ireland and England gave the audience the opportunity to hear

about Domestic Homicide Reviews in England and the lessons learned from these. The conference was jointly organised by the South Eastern and Belfast Domestic Violence Partner-ships, and funded by the DHSSPS and PSNI. The new chair of the Belfast Partnership, Martin Mor-gan, opened proceedings, whilst SEDVP’s Sheila Simons spoke about understanding domestic abuse in the context of coercive control and the parallels with Stockholm Syndrome . Frank Mullane, Director of Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse (AAFDA) in England, spoke mov-ingly about his personal experience of a domestic homicide after his sister Julia Pemberton and

nephew, William, were murdered by Julia’s husband. Frank urged public protection workers to fully understand, not only the forms of domestic abuse, but the impact it has. Practitioners need to appreciate the victim’s perception of the viability and accessibility of services and that victims are making decisions in compromised circumstances. Davina James-Hanman Director of the organisation AVA (Against Violence and Abuse) working in England highlighted that findings from Domestic Homicide Reviews are showing that, despite much progress in recent years, there are still some gaping holes in the safety net through which too many are falling. Key issues include victim-blaming, failing to listen to victims, not sharing information safely and appropriately and not understanding risk properly. Both Mary Larkin, speaking from a GP perspective and Christine Kennedy, Consultant Psychiatrist acknowledged that whilst domestic violence should be seen as an important issue within the pri-mary care and mental health this is not the case. Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hamilton from the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s Service Improvement Department told the audience that there has been a rise in the number of reports of domestic abuse and that, unlike most statistics, this was to be welcomed as it means victims are more confident in coming forward for help. However, he acknowledged that there are still those victims who remain silent and, thus, the importance at a local level of domestic abuse partnerships to bring together voluntary /statutory agencies, organisations and individuals who share a common interest and purpose in improving services and support for all victims of domes-tic violence and abuse. Maria Canning then illustrated good practice in partnership working by outlining her role as Principal Officer for PPANI in the South Eastern Trust and provided an over-view of the MARAC (Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference) process. Pictured at the conference: Martin Morgan (Chair BDVP), Mary Larkin (GP), Frank Mullane (Director of

AAFDA), David Ford (Minster for Justice ), Christine Kennedy (Psychiatrist), Sheila Simons (Chair SEDVP)

and Maria Canning (Principal Officer, PPANI, SET)

SPRING 2014

Message From Our Chair Welcome to this edition of the SEDVP Newsletter which aims to keep you up to date with news, devel-

opments and events within the South Eastern area, across Northern Ireland and further afield in relation to domestic violence and abuse. The past year has been as busy as previous years. At a regional level many documents have been finalised or put out for public consultation. The MARAC Information Sharing Agreement has now been agreed and all agencies /organisations attending MARACs will have signed the agreement. Other organisations who wish to participate in MARAC meetings to make relevant contribution to specific cases can apply for membership via the MA-RAC Coordinator. This will involve completion of a Governance Checklist to provide evidence that good governance practices are in place as required for

information sharing, security and management of data. Of major importance has been the publication of the new joint domestic and sexual violence strategy “Stopping Domestic & Sexual Violence and Abuse in N. Ireland 2013 –2020” which is out for public consultation until 11th April 2014. Once the strategy has been finalised discussions can then commence regarding restructuring of the SEDVP. The Partnership is delighted that “coercive behaviours” has been included in both definitions of sexual and domestic violence in the strategy. This recognises what vic-tims have often described as psychological abuse, instilling great fear which is applied to exert control over all aspects of their lives A number of very successful SEDVP initiatives have taken place addressing areas such as domestic vio-lence in young people’s relationships and Black andMinority Ethnic issues. The year ended off with the “Listening, Sharing, Learning” Conference, such was the interest in this event that a larger venue had to be organised to accommodate the numbers. Many thanks to the DHSSPS and PSNI for their help in fund-ing and planning in respect of this event. In keeping with some of the themes explored at the confer-ence this edition of the Newsletter has included some background information about Domestic Homi-cide Reviews and facts relating to Mental Health and Domestic Violence. Also contained in this edition is a diagram outlining professional barriers regarding enquiring about domestic violence. The presence of both professional barriers and the barriers for victims in disclosing abuse can be a lethal combination in truly addressing domestic violence. The four sub groups and Steering Group have continued to meet on a regular basis and have played a key role in promoting the work of the Partnership. Three domestic violence awareness raising sessions are taking place throughout the year across the area and we were particularly grateful to St Mark’s Par-ish Church in Newtownards for allowing us to facilitate one of these sessions in their parish hall. The Training & Development subgroup alongside Belfast Domestic Violence Partnership are in the process of developing a Training Framework across the two partnerships. Work has also commenced on developing a website in conjunction with the South Eastern Trust to al-low people to obtain information and resources about domestic violence and the SEDVP from the Internet. I would also like to acknowledge the support from the local Policing and Community Safety Partnerships and councils who provided vital grants to allow the Partnership to purchase awareness raising materials and to enable workshops and training events to take place over the past year. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those Partnership members who have been in-volved in supporting these events by giving tirelessly of their time in planning, speaking, as well as pro-viding information stands at the various events and subgroups.

Domestic Homicide Reviews

Julia Pemberton, whose family’s

campaign resulted in The

Pemberton Homicide Review,

published in 2008, which de-

tailed the ways in which Julia

and her son, Will, were failed by

the authorities.

“To the living we owe respect, but to the dead we

owe only the truth” (Voltaire)

A working group has now been set up to consider what is re-quired to establish Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs) in N. Ire-land. DHRs were established on a statutory basis under section 9 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act (2004) and came into force on 13th April 2011 in England and Wales The purpose of a DHR is to improve responses to domestic vio-lence and identify where responses to the situation could be im-proved. From this, the public bodies hope to learn more about how to safeguard victims and hold perpetrators to account. These reviews will not seek to lay blame but to consider what happened and what could have been done differently. They will also recommend actions to improve responses to domestic vio-lence situations in the future. Common themes from the first 54 domestic Homicide Reviews that were quality assured have been published by the Home Of-fice and can be downloaded from

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/domestic-homicide-review-lessons-learned

Circumstances of a Particular Concern

The following factors are just some examples of the types of situations preceding homicide which will be of interest to review teams when conducting a DHR: a) There was evidence of a risk of serious harm to the victim that was not recognised or identi-fied by the agencies in contact with the victim and/or the perpetrator, it was not shared with others and/or it was not acted upon in accordance with their recognised best professional prac-tice. b) Any of the agencies or professionals involved consider that their concerns were not taken sufficiently seriously or not acted on appropriately by the other parties involved. c) The victim had no known contact with any agencies. For example, could more be done in the local area to raise awareness of services available to victims of domestic violence and abuse? d) The homicide indicates that there have been failings in one or more aspects of the local op-eration of formal domestic violence and abuse procedures or other procedures for safeguard-ing adults, including homicides where it is believed that there was no contact with any agency. e) The victim was being managed by, or should have been referred to a Multi-Agency Risk As-sessment Conference (MARAC). f) The homicide appears to have implications/reputational issues for a range of agencies and professionals. g) The homicide suggests that national or local procedures or protocols may need to change or are not adequately understood or followed. h) The perpetrator holds a position of trust or authority e.g. police officer, social worker, health professional, and therefore the homicide is likely to have a significant impact on public confi-dence. i) Services were not available locally to support the victim.

Women who have experienced do-mestic violence are 4 times more likely to have depression. (Golding 1999)

Of 1871 women in Irish GP practices 2/3rds of women with depression experienced do-mestic violence. (Bradley et al, 2002)

If women have experienced any sexual violence, they’re 5.3 times more likely to threaten or at-tempt suicide. (McFarlane et al, 2005)

Women who have experienced do-mestic violence are 4 times more likely to have PTSD (Golding 1999)

Women who have experienced domes-tic violence are 6 times more likely to abuse alcohol and drugs. (Golding 1999)

Between 25 and 56% of female psychiatric patients report ex-periencing domestic violence and abuse in their lifetime. (Oram et al. 2013)

44% of survivors ac-cessing domestic vio-lence services self-reported problematic substance misuse. (Humphreys & Regan 2005)

Exposure to psycho-logical abuse can be more strongly and uniquely associated with PTSD symptoms than physical abuse. (Taft et al. 2005, quoted in “Domestic Violence & Mental Health” Howard et al.)

Domestic Violence & Mental Health

Women who cur-rently experience or have a history of abuse use health-care services more frequently than those with no his-tory of abuse. (Bonomi et al, 2009)

The impact of domestic violence has been thought to have psy-chological parallels with the trauma of be-ing taken hostage and subjected to torture. (Dutton, 1992; Herman 2001)

Too complex an issue

Lack of confidence in approaching the subject

Personal discomfort with the topic

Dominance of the medical diagnostic and treatment model

Lack of knowledge/expertise about domestic violence

Importance of engagement between client and professional

Professionals’ Barriers to Disclosure of Domestic Violence

Enquiry not part

of their role

Domestic violence

not a priority

Focus on

symptoms

No indication

of violence

Gender

Culture

Fear of

consequences

Questioning if

there is evidence that

asking is helpful

Presence

of partner

Time

constraints

Competing

demands Fear of

offending

Fear of

re-traumatisation

Limited opportunity for

enquiry

Professionals’ barriers to enquiry of domestic violence

Source: Rose et al 2011

Partnership News .........

Cool FM Media Bus 56 Year 11 pupils from schools in the Down and Lisburn areas have had the chance to produce their own radio advertisements, tackling the is-sue of teenage relationship abuse and domestic violence. The South Eastern Domestic Violence Partnership received funding from the Department of Justice’s Criminal Confiscation Receipts programme to high-light the issue of abuse in young people’s romantic relationships through work on the interactive Cool FM Media Bus. Before taking part in the Cool FM project the pu-pils from Assumption Grammar in Ballynahinch, De La Salle High School in Downpatrick and Lisna-garvey High School, Lisburn took part in an aware-ness raising session provided by Aoife Neylon, Young Person’s Outreach Worker from Belfast and Lisburn Women’s Aid looking at the issues and how to access information, guidance and support when needed. In recent years there has been a growing aware-ness of teenage relationship abuse, with studies indicating that at least 1 in 4 teenage girls have experienced abuse by their partners and 3 in 4 have experienced emotional abuse. Domestic vio-lence and abuse is a serious and widespread prob-lem, resulting in devastating consequences for vic-tims and their families. Speaking about the project Aoife Neylon, Young Person’s Outreach Worker for Belfast and Lisburn Women’s Aid added, “By using the Cool FM Media Bus we can engage with young people outside the formal classroom situation giving them the oppor-tunity to talk freely about these serious issues in a unique and exciting environment.” The students were welcomed on board the Cool FM Bus by DJs Sonya Mac and Ryan A in groups of 14 for workshops lasting 90mins. In the workshops they were split into smaller teams to write, record and produce an advertisement using the latest radio technology. The finished pieces were put on wrist band memory sticks and given to the pupils and pupils were encouraged to share these with others through their social networking sites and school assemblies. 16 of the pupils were then cho-sen to spend a day at Cool FM where they divided into groups to discuss the issues, produce a 30 minute radio show, record and edit audio pieces which have been uploaded onto the Cool FM web-site.

Sheila Simons, Ryan A and Sonya Mc with pupils from

Assumption Grammar and De La Salle High schools

Pupils from Lisnagarvey High School with Sonya

Mac and Ryan A on board the Cool FM Bus

Comments from pupils attending:

“It was a great experience and I got a

better understanding of emotional do-

mestic abuse”.

“It was very informative and I learnt a

lot whilst having fun, everyone was very

helpful and the task was relevant”.

“I found this activity very interesting and

enjoyable. It helped me to really think

about the topic and try to make a

change”.

“This was a really informative experience

for myself and has got me thinking a lot

about the subject and the safety of my

friends”.

“I have learned a lot about domestic

abuse and that it happens to boys as

well as girls”.

The advertisements can also be accessed on the WAFNI website: http://www.womensaidni.org/schools-team-up-with-cool-fm-to-highlight-domestic-abuse/

Partnership News.........

International Women’s Day

On Thursday 6th March the Market House, Ballynahinch played host to a fun event with a seri-ous message to celebrate International Women’s Day. The event was organised by Down Polic-ing and Community Safety Partnership (PCSP) in association with the South Eastern Domestic Violence Partnership (SEDVP) and PSNI and was used to launch the new SEDVP plastic card (pictured overleaf) which contains the updated Helpline number and highlights the different types of abuse other than physical abuse. A range of voluntary and statutory agencies exhibited at the event whilst people attending were able to see dem-onstrations on how to ‘up-cycle’ last year’s wardrobe. Pampering and being good to yourself was also an impor-tant aspect of the day with SERC Beauty students, Mary Jane, Aromatherapy and Active Communities Coach kindly giving their services free of charge. Mairead Rodgers from Donard King & Co Solicitors attended the event in a pro-fessional capacity and offered free, confidential one to one consultations. Councillor Willie Clarke, Chairperson Down PCSP speaking on the success of the event stated “It is heartening for me to see how much support there has been to highlight the issue of domestic & sexual violence. As a partnership we have to thank everyone involved and who successfully managed to achieve a delicate balance of dealing with a very serious issue in an atmosphere of fun and relaxation.”

Exhibiting at the event: Women’s Aid, SEDVP, Down PCSP, ASCERT, County Down Rural Community Net-

work, Breast Feeding Support, Bounty Packs, PIPS, SERC, Homestart, Cancer Focus, Crime Prevention,

Home Accident Prevention, PPS, PSNI, The Hub, Cruse Bereavement Care and Victim Support

“Domestic Violence...... Working together to support

Black and Minority Ethnic families” Individuals from all groups in society are subjected to Domestic Violence and Abuse, but there may be additional compounding factors for Black and Minority Ethnic families. They may find it difficult to seek help due to actual or perceived discrimination, prejudice and racial harass-ment. Increased isolation, family and/or community pressure or collusion to keep the abuse a secret, cultural factors and language difficulties may be significant barriers to seeking help and advice. The SEDVP hosted a seminar in Ards Arts Centre Town Hall on October 24th to explore the relevant cultural issues, available services and resources, partnership working and chal-lenges for staff. The event ,which was funded via the North Down, Ards and Down Peace III Partnership, which had over 80 delegates in attendance, was opened by Alderman Robert Gib-

son, Chairman of the Peace III Partnership and heard presentations from the SEDVP Chair, PSNI (PPU), Women’s Aid, NIHSC Interpreting Ser-vice, NICEM, Bryson In-tercultural Resource Cen-tre, Chinese Welfare As-sociation, Barnardo’s Tuar Ceatha Services and the South Eastern H&SC Equality Department.

Partnership News.........

The new plastic Helpline card which was launched at the International Women’s Day Fair

in Ballynahinch and can be obtained from SEDVP Co-ordinator.

Partnership News............

GUEST SPEAKERS Domestic Abuse Recovering Together (DART) Cleve Speers, NSPCC The DART programme is based on the “Talking to My Mum” research (Humphreys et al, 2006) undertaken by University of Warwick and Working Together guidance which states that chil-dren’s outcomes are improved if the non abusing parent is supported to take an active part in the child’s recovery from abuse. The programme aims to help children overcome the adverse affects of domestic abuse and improve the parent-child relationship. The service will consist of a domestic abuse group work programme involving 10 sessions of linked group work for mothers and their children. It is being undertaken to evaluate how out-comes for children might be improved by joining the recovery needs of mothers and children (where there is a history of domestic abuse) together in linked group work. The safety of the child is at the forefront. At the time of screening for eligibility, as well as through weekly sessions with both the mother and the child, the safety of the child will be as-sessed. This linked group work model, properly tested and evaluated, could provide an evi-denced based approach to underpin Department of Health developments on this issue. Linked group work could be beneficial in strengthening the relationship between the non-abusing par-ent and the children and also helps in increasing communication - especially on the subject of domestic abuse. The service will be aimed at mothers and their children aged seven to four-teen years old where the children have lived with domestic abuse in the past and have been assessed as having been harmed by it. For more information or to discuss a referral please contact Joan Hughes on 0844 8920282

It is estimated that there are between 108,600 and 181,000 LGB people living in N. Ireland. The number of transgender people is estimated to be around 5000, but Rainbow believe that these figures are probably higher. 1 in 4 LGB&T people experience relationship abuse. In a same sex relationship a partner may deliberately use sexual identity and orientation as a form of control by e.g. threatening to “out” the person or undermining and belittling sexual orientation and controlling the person’s social life and interaction with other LGB people . 1 in 4 LGB people conceal their sexual identity in the workplace. 33% of LGB people don’t know anyone else in their organisation who is LGB and 27% of LGB people believe that their sexual identity will have a negative impact on their chances of progressing at work. Over half of respondents (52%) from the public sector said that they did not know if their organisation had a domestic violence policy or if it mentioned support for same sex attracted people. Rainbow believe that service providers and employers need to be aware of these issues and support needs to be built into any Domestic Violence workplace policies. The Rainbow Project: (028) 90319030

LGB&T Intimate Partner

Abuse

Matthew McDermott

Partnership News............ Registered Intermediaries Tara Thompson, Court Children’s Service

“A voice for vulnerable people within

the criminal justice system” The Schemes will operate initially as a pilot in the Crown Court sitting in Belfast for offences that are triable only on indictment and have occurred in the Belfast district council area. They will extend to all Crown Courts in Novem-ber 2013.

The pilot started on 13 May 2013 and is likely to run for 18 months

Registered Intermediaries are professionals with specialist skills in communication. They can come from backgrounds such as speech & language therapy and social work.

They have been recruited and selected by the Department of Justice and have successfully completed accredited training .

The function of the Registered Intermediary is to facilitate communication during the police investigation and at trial between the vulner-able witness/defendant and others in the criminal justice process, such as police officers and advocates

For further information, please contact: Intermediaries Schemes Secretariat (ISS)

(028) 9016 9594

Men’s Advisory Project

(MAP) MAP provides counselling services for men experiencing domestic abuse as well as putting them in touch with other organisations that may be able to help. It also offers support and counselling services to men who have previously left a violent or abusive relationship and who are still experiencing the effects. MAP also provides a range of services for both men and women who want assistance and sup-port to deal with their anger. For more information contact: (028) 90241929 (9am - 5pm Mon – Fri) or email info@mapni.co.uk

Fiona Campbell – Update on Victim and Witness Care Units The roll out of the service began in Novem-ber 2012. They have now relocated their office to Bedford Street. The service em-powers victims to attend Court. A case offi-cer is allocated the case from file right through to Trial/Appeal stage. A Victim Sup-port representative is based in the office and therefore clients can be referred imme-diately for support and advice or signposted to other agencies as needed. Where there are multiple incidents some officers will be reallocated a case. The victim/witness is made aware of all relevant court dates, granting of bail, bail variations - they will be advised on the day or at the first opportu-nity. There are three trigger points: decision to prosecute; availability for Court; no deci-sion/contact from victim/witness. Where the victim/witness is experiencing possible intimidation, has a mental health condition or physical/mental difficulty they will be advised of special measures and ad-vised if they are granted. If there is a change in their circumstances they can phone for support and advice. The service is more than an information service and there is a con-cern about the physical safety and emo-tional wellbeing of the service users. Further information on the service can be obtained from Fiona Campbell on (028) 90897215

Dates for your diary..........

Subgroup Meetings

Support:

19th May at 10am Tyner Room Downshire Hospital

Training & Development: 14th May at 10am Meeting Room 1, Lough House, Ards Hospital

Protection & Justice: 15th April at 10am Victorian Room, Downshire Hospital

Prevention: 13th May at 10am Down District Council Offices Downpatrick

Steering 20th October at 10am Tyner Room, Downshire Hospital

DV Awareness Raising 9th June 10am - 1pm In Laganview Conference Centre Lagan Valley Hospital

Regional News ..............

Domestic & Sexual Violence Helpline Launched

The new expanded Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Helpline was officially launched at the Stormont Hotel on March 5th. The Helpline provides a free support and information service for women, children and men in N. Ireland who are experiencing or who have experienced abuse and / or violence at the hands of someone close to them. It also provides an information ser-vice for people who are concerned about someone they know, and for agencies that need in-formation on the support available for adults and children. In cases where there has been sex-ual assault the Helpline can also provide a direct referral to the Rowan Centre (Sexual Assault Referral Centre) In 2012/2013 the Helpline managed 47,597 calls, an increase of 8% on the previous year. Speakers at the Launch called on all those working in the field of domestic and sexual violence to “be social guardians and spread the word” by putting the Helpline cards/leaflets in public areas such as surgeries, hairdressers, libraries etc. To order a stock of cards/leaflets please contact admin@womensaidni.org or tel 02890249041 “The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it” Albert Einstein

Growing Old With Domestic Violence

Belfast and Lisburn Women’s Aid has been awarded £200,000 for a project to support older people in Northern Ireland. The grant, awarded by the Big Lottery Fund, will be used to reach out to older people who suffer domestic violence in the area. Previous research by Belfast and Lisburn Women’s Aid has found that one in six women over 60 suffer from some form of do-mestic abuse. Speaking on the BBC Patricia Lyness, Management Co-ordinator, Belfast & Lisburn Women’s Aid, commented “This programme will enable us to get out into the communities where these women are and to offer a lifeline to them. Many feel that because of their age and life-limiting issues that there is little point in speaking out, but everyone is entitled to live a life free from violence and fear. For more information on the service for the Down & Lisburn area please contact Jean McCaughtry on 028 90666049

Regional News............

Stopping Domestic and

Sexual

Violence and Abuse in

Northern Ireland

2013-2020

Public Consultation Document

December 2013 The Stopping Domestic and Sexual Violence and Abuse Strategy has been issued for public consultation. This Strategy contains 28 priorities under 5 key delivery strands; Driving change; Prevention and early intervention; Delivering change; Support; and Protection and Justice. The consultation documents and response questionnaires are available at: http://www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/index/consultations/current_consultations.htm The closing date for responses is 11th April 2014 The SEDVP will be sending a response and if you would like any comments included please send these to Patricia McMurray before April 11th.

HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND SLAVERY: STRENGTHENING NORTHERN IRELAND’S RESPONSE A DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE CONSULTATION

DRAFT MULTI-AGENCY PRACTICE GUIDELINES:

FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION

The closing date for this consultation is 15 April 2014 An electronic version of this document, along with an easy read version, is available in the consultation section of the Department of Justice website:

http://www.dojni.gov.uk/index/public-consultations/current-consultations.htm

The Department of Finance and Personnel issued the above-named draft Guidelines for consideration and comment. The draft Guidelines, which have been prepared on a cross-departmental basis, are based on the Home Office’s Guidelines. If you or your organisation has any particular experience in this area which you would wish to share or if you are aware of any additional sources of information/support please let the Department know. The draft Guidelines can be also be downloaded from the following website:

http://www.dfpni.gov.uk

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence

Detailed guidance resulting from their authoritative 2013 review was published by NICE on the 26th February. The guidance which is entitled

Domestic Violence and Abuse: How Health Services, So-cial Care and the organisations they work with can re-spond effectively puts forward recommendations for everyone working in health and social

care whose work brings them into contact with people who experience or perpetrate domestic vio-lence and abuse. The recommendations include: effective strategies for commissioning and the development of integrated care pathways; how to create environments which support safe and appropriate disclosure; improving access to services which improves a comprehensive referral pathway; the provision of tailored services which take account of the needs of different population groups including those with existing mental health conditions. Speaking at the launch of the guidance Gene Feder, Professor of Primary Health Care at the Univer-sity of Bristol and Chair of the group which developed the guidance, said “We need to wake up to the magnitude of the problem. Women who experience domestic violence and abuse have three times greater risk of depression, four times greater risk of anxiety and seven times greater risk of post-traumatic stress disorder. We tend to deal with the medical problems but don’t recognise the underlying abuse.”

Other News ..............

Domestic violence and abuse: how health services, social care and the organisations they work with can respond effectively.

The first edition of Victim Support NI’s new quarterly Policy e-brief aims to tell you more about the services Victim Support provides across Northern Ireland, their policy positions on key issues and commitment to ensuring that victims and witness of crime receive the highest standard, accessible, appropriate support services, targeted to their needs. In a European Election year, this first edition focuses on Victim Support NI's 10 Pledges for Victims of Crime Across Europe . To view this edition click on: View on your web browser.

free e-learning/toolkits: The UK Social Care Institute for Excellence website which provides an e-learning resource for men-tal health professionals available at www.scie.org.uk/assets/elearning/sexualhealth/Web/Object3/main.html

Complicated Matters (Stella Project) and Sane Response are e-learning and toolkits addressing domestic and sexual violence, problematic substance misuse and mental health. Both are available at www.avaproject.org.uk/media/27593/mental%20health%20a5%20section%202.pdf

The RCGP's Violence Against Women and Children online course will enable GPs and other pri-mary care professionals to improve their recognition of and response to patients suffering from violence. The course has been developed with funding from the Department of Health and is avail-able at http://elearning.rcgp.org.uk/course/info.php?id=88 January saw the launch of a new safety mobile app designed to help people who find themselves in vulnerable situations. More details of how tap-it works can be found by visiting www.tap-it.com (THE EARLY INTERVENTION FOUNDATION—Summary & recommendations 2014 ) http://www.cosc.ie/en/COSC/Say%20Something%20Final%20Version%20for%20online.pdf/Files/Say%20Something%20Final%20Version%20for%20online.pdf Articles and information for the next edition to: Patricia McMurray

South Eastern Domestic Violence Partnership Co-ordinator Knocknashinna Family Centre 37 Knocknashinna Road Downpatrick BT30 6RE Or Email: patricia.mcmurray@setrust.hscni.net

RESOURCES