The Drive Partnership partners with by-and-for organisations and experts to co-design specialist responses to domestic abuse

Thanks to further funding from the National Lottery Community Fund, the Drive Partnership has launched a new phase of its National Systems Change work by partnering with specialist by-and-for organisations and experts by experience to co-design improved responses to perpetrators of domestic abuse across Black African, Caribbean and Mixed Heritage communities, South Asian communities, and LGBT+ communities.

Three co-design groups have been established to develop behaviour change pilot programmes focusing on responses to those who cause harm within Black, African, Caribbean and Mixed Heritage Communities, South Asian Communities, and LGBT+ Communities. Through the expertise of the specialist by-and-for organisations and experts by experience, the co-design groups will seek to address the lack of specialist domestic abuse provision across racialised communities and LGBT+ communities, and will work in partnership to develop service models, establish mutually agreed goals, advise on data collection and analysis methods, identify key risks, mitigations, and locations for delivery, and support the procurement of delivery partners.

As part of this new phase of collaboration, the Drive Partnership is extremely grateful to be working with:

Black, African, Caribbean and Mixed Heritage communities co-design group: Annie Gibbs – Amour Destine, Dawn Munroe and Marsha Brown – Bambuuu CIC, Christabel Yeboah – Hersana CIC, Aisha Adam, April Dawn, and Stewart Faulkner.

Aisha Adam, member of the Black, African, Caribbean and Mixed Heritage communities co-design group, shared: “I am honoured to be working with a group of professionals with the same aim of working towards a programme that is aimed at addressing the harmful practices experienced by women and girls in this community.”

South Asian communities co-design group: Noreen Riaz – Halo Project, Zaynab Asghar – Nottingham Muslim Women’s Network, Sahdaish Pall – Sikh Women’s Aid, Fozia Ashraf, Imran Manzoor, and Sangeeta Kalia.

Noreen Riaz, member of the South Asian communities co-design group, said: “We are pleased that The Halo Project Charity is part of the consortium tasked with co-designing an innovative, bespoke and culturally sensitive intervention for those who cause harm within the South Asian community. Being part of this national cohort offers us an incredible opportunity to collaborate with specialist organisations, experts, and community members to develop a program that addresses a critical need in our society.

As members of this consortium, we are excited to contribute our expertise and insights to the creation of a program that is tailored to the unique needs and challenges faced by individuals within the South Asian community. By working together, we aim to develop an intervention that not only provides support and guidance to those who cause harm but also promotes healing, accountability, and positive change. Together, we have the opportunity to make a meaningful impact and help build safer and healthier communities for all.”

LGBT+ communities co-design group: Star Support, Professor Catherine Donovan, Dr James Rowlands, Rebecca Vagi – Make a Change, Will Hawkes, Adam Kirkbride, Norman Powell – Sustainable Communities, Mel Ciavucco, and Nik Noone.

Adam Kirkbride, member of the LGBT+ communities co-design group, shared: “Being able to work on this project is a dream come true. So often, service users from minoritized groups are expected to fit into existing service models which are not designed with them in mind. When these service users aren’t able to achieve their goals in mainstream services due to a lack of specialist resources and training, it exposes a clear flaw in the system. We are never going to reduce domestic abuse perpetration without investing in the provision of high-quality specialist services for all people causing harm, regardless of their background. The Drive Partnership’s system’s change project is exactly what this sector needs, and I’m proud to be a part of it.”

The Drive Partnership’s National Systems Change work identifies systemic gaps and brings together the insights of victim-survivors, service users, practitioners, specialist organisations, researchers, and policymakers to support the development of sustainable, national systems that respond more effectively to all perpetrators of domestic abuse, and increase the safety of all victim-survivors.

Tina Patel, Head of National Systems Change at The Drive Partnership, said: “The expertise and collaboration of by-and-for organisations and experts by experience is absolutely essential to improving responses to domestic abuse across all communities and has driven the collective progress of all of our National Systems Change work in recent years. We’re extremely grateful to have the opportunity to work alongside the co-design members, and we are excited to see the impact of this new phase of collaboration.”