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.
See a link to the summary presentation here.