Black and Ethnic Minorities and domestic violence
BME/DVA Action Group
This action group was established as a direct outcome of a local conference held in April 2008 in Okehampton. The conference brought together people and support groups from local BME communities, practitioners from adva and local refuges, and representatives from key public service agencies to discuss the needs of victims from BME communities and identify gaps in existing services. An outline action plan was agreed and, at the end of the conference, a multi-agency action group was tasked with developing the plan further and moving it forward.
Since 2008 the group, working alongside adva, has made considerable progress in addressing some of the gaps in local services and making sure that there is adequate support for victims and survivors of domestic violence across Devon, irrespective of their race, faith or status.
In particular, the BME/DVA Action Group has:
- Established the Devon NRPF Emergency Fund which, in it’s first year of operation, has supported 6 victims of domestic violence who did not have recourse to public funds.
- Commissioned a piece of research into how responsive local services are to the needs of BME victims
- Produced a wide-ranging set of guidance notes, for practitioners, on ‘Supporting BME Victims of Domestic Violence’
- Secured funding to develop and pilot workshops, aimed at front-line workers, on how to best support BME victims.
The group includes representatives from statutory agencies and from the voluntary sector; it is dependent on the goodwill of its members and the organisations they represent and does not generally have the capacity to handle cases itself, though the group does take responsibility for administering the Devon NRPF fund which it set up in 2008. The group operates by highlighting issues and referring individual cases to the appropriate agencies. It also helps to identify resources and create links to help address any gaps in services that are identified.
If you are interested in getting involved, or if you have an issue that you would like the task group to consider, please contact Mel Stiles.
Telephone: 01392 284282 or 07966914578
Email: melanie.stiles@nhs.net
