Our final keynote of the afternoon was Sheila Simmons (MBE) South Eastern Trust
and Chair of the SE area Domestic & Sexual Violence and Abuse Partnership, who
gave a very poignant presentation entitled;
How to Save A Life
Once again, the presentation highlighted the powers of Knowledge.
Commencing her presentation, Sheila explained that Domestic Violence affects
people right across our society - from all walks of life, from all cultural, social and
ethnic backgrounds and across all age groups. The vast majority of victims are
women, but a significant number of men are also affected and abuse also occurs in
same-sex relationships.
The definition of domestic violence used was
'threatening, controlling, coercive behaviour, violence or abuse (psychological,
physical, verbal, sexual, financial or emotional) inflicted on anyone (irrespective of
age, ethnicity, religion, gender or sexual orientation) by a current or former intimate
partner or family member' (S. Simmons)
Sheila also provided a detailed exploration of the triggers for domestic abuse that
practitioners should look out for.
In using learning and knowledge, it is important to learn from the findings of
Domestic Homicide Reviews Domestic. These were established on a statutory basis
under:
Section 9 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act (2004) E & W 2011 and
now in Northern Ireland - (Guidance 1 in Multi-agency guidance for the conduct of
Domestic Homicide Reviews in Northern Ireland).
A number of contacts were made by Sheila by Trust staff for a re- run of the
presentation locally.