Domestic Abuse is a health crisis – and it's time to act now.

By Medina Johnson, CEO at IRISi

At IRISi Interventions, we have been at the forefront of improving the healthcare response to Gender Based violence since 2017. IRIS is our flagship programme to enhance the response to Domestic Abuse in General Practices and it has now expanded to 50 areas nationwide. Additionally, ADViSE, our initiative in Sexual Health clinics, has strengthened the response to Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence in a number of regions. Through our collaborations with 34 specialist organisations, up to March 2023, IRIS and ADViSE teams had identified and referred 36,352 patients to support services within healthcare settings.

These efforts are critical. According to the Department of Health and Social Care, 80% of women in violent relationships seek help from health services, often making these their first or only point of contact. This highlights the unique opportunity healthcare providers have to protect women and prevent the escalation of abuse.

Despite our successes, securing sustainable long-term funding for our interventions remains a significant challenge – and this should not be the case. Our programmes are not only evidence-based but also cost-effective. Data shows that IRIS is at least 4.8 times more cost-effective than the annual flu jab. However, the broader economic pressures and the strain on the national healthcare system have hindered our ability to make these vital services accessible nationwide.

IRIS and ADViSE save lives, and we must amplify this message and this work. Leading up to and following the General Election, IRISi has supported and signed multiple letters, manifestos and documents addressed to political parties, the Prime Minister, and MPs to strengthen our national voice and impact. These efforts include our partnerships with other organisations to advocate for crucial changes:

Joint VAWG and Health Letter (led by Standing Together Against Domestic Abuse): Emphasising urgent priorities for the Secretary for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, including sustainable funding, ongoing training, community coordination and effective data management.
Calling SOS (led by Agenda Alliance): Urging the new government to introduce a dedicated Secretary of State for Women and Girls to address their unmet needs with significant political resources.
In Our Words (led by Imkaan): Urging improvements in policy and practice to end #violence, #racism, and #inequality against Black and minoritised women and girls.
Preventing Violence Against Women and Girls (led by End Violence Against Women Coalition): Highlighting the need for inclusive, high-quality Relationship, Sex, and Health Education (#RSHE) to ensure the safety of children and young people.
FSRH Hatfield Vision Manifesto for the 2024 General Election (led by FSRH – Faculty of sexual and reproductive healthcare): Calling for prioritisation of women’s reproductive health with practical, achievable proposals requiring strong political leadership.

We are hopeful and confident that the new government will support us in expanding our vital work nationwide. The recent appointments of Jess Phillips as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the UK Home Office, Jess Asato as the MP for Lowestoft, and Alexandra Davies-Jones transitioning to the Ministry of Justice UK are encouraging. These exceptional women have been tireless advocates for the rights of women and girls, and their leadership inspires us all. They are our steadfast allies in the fight to end abuse, and together, we can create a brighter, safer future for everyone.

We also welcome the appointments of Bridget Phillipson as the new Minister for Women and Equalities, and Anneliese Dodds as Minister for Women and Equalities in the Department for Education. Both have impressive track records in advocating for women’s rights and have consistently championed policies that support gender equality. Additionally, Karin Smyth, the newly appointed Minister of State for Health, has a strong history of championing women’s health and rights. Her extensive experience in healthcare and dedication to public service make her a valuable ally in our efforts to protect and empower women.

With this strong team, we are optimistic that they will support our mission and help us expand our vital work nationwide. IRISi’s mission continues and our voice will be heard. Domestic Abuse is a health crisis and it’s time to act now. Let’s forge partnerships and drive the change we need.

Medina Johnson is the CEO at IRISi: medina.johnson@irisi.org

Partners

AVA

AVA is an expert, groundbreaking and independent charity working across the UK.

Their vision is a world without gender based violence and abuse. They aim to inspire innovation and collaboration and encourage and enable direct service providers to help end gender based violence and abuse particularly against women and girls.AVA’s work is focused around those areas where they can make the best contribution to ending violence and abuse. They do this by making sure that survivors get the help and support they need in the here and now, through providing innovative training that has a proven direct impact on the professional practice of people supporting survivors of violence and abuse

developing a range of toolkits, e-learning and other material that supports professionals to provide effective and appropriate support to survivors of violence and abuse

using our influence and networks to ensure survivors voices are heard. We work closely with AVA in many areas including the Pathfinder project

https://avaproject.org.uk

SafeLives

SafeLives are a national charity dedicated to ending domestic abuse, for good. We combine insight from services, survivors and statistics to support people to become safe, well and rebuild their lives. Since 2005, SafeLives has worked with organisations across the country to transform the response to domestic abuse, with over 60,000 victims at highest risk of murder or serious harm now receiving co-ordinated support annually. SafeLives are members of the Pathfinder consortium.

About us

IMKAAN

Imkaan is a UK-based, Black feminist organisation. We are the only national second-tier women’s organisation dedicated to addressing violence against Black and minoritised women and girls i.e. women and girls which are defined in policy terms as Black and ‘Minority Ethnic’ (BME). The organisation holds nearly two decades of experience of working around issues such as domestic violence, forced marriage and ‘honour-based’ violence.

They work at local, national and international level, and in partnership with a range of organisations, to improve policy and practice responses to Black and minoritised women and girls. Imkaan works with it’s members to represent the expertise and perspectives of frontline, specialist and dedicated Black and minoritised women’s organisations that work to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls. Imkaan delivers a unique package of support which includes: quality assurance; accredited training and peer education; sustainability support to frontline Black and minoritised organisations; and facilitation of space for community engagement and development. They are a part of the Pathfinder Consortium.

https://www.imkaan.org.uk

The University of Bristol CAPC

The Centre for Academic Primary Care (CAPC) is a leading centre for primary care research in the UK, one of nine forming the NIHR School for Primary Care Research. It is part of Bristol Medical School, an internationally recognised centre of excellence for population health research and teaching.

A dedicated team of researchers at the Centre work on domestic abuse projects and IRISi is a co-collaborator and partner on some of these projects including ReProvide, HERA and DRiDVA.

The Health Foundation

The Health Foundation is an independent charity committed to bringing about better health and health care for people in the UK. The Health Foundation’s Exploring Social Franchising programme aims to generate a deeper understanding of the potential of social franchising models for scaling effective health and social care interventions within the NHS.

We are one of four project teams participating in the programme to develop a social franchise to enable the sustainable spread of our intervention, the IRIS Programme. We receive funding and support from the Health Foundation, including technical expertise on social franchising, and attend programme learning events. The Health Foundation has also commissioned a programme-wide evaluation to support understanding of the use of social franchising in the UK health and care system. We and our franchisees will support the evaluation through co-designing data collection requirements, providing access to data as requested, hosting site visits and attending learning events.

https://www.health.org.uk

STADV

Standing Together Against Domestic Violence is a UK charity bringing communities together to end domestic abuse. They bring local services together to keep people safe

Most public services weren’t designed with domestic abuse in mind, and they often struggle to keep people safe. Poor communication and gaps between services put survivors at risk.

STADV aim to end domestic abuse by changing the way that local services respond to it. They do this through an approach that they pioneered, called the Coordinated Community Response. The Coordinated Community Response brings services together to ensure local systems truly keep survivors safe, hold abusers to account, and prevent domestic abuse.

Their model of a coordinated local partnership to tackle and ultimately prevent domestic violence is now widely accepted as best practice. They are also a part of the Pathfinder consortium.

http://www.standingtogether.org.uk

Spring Impact

Spring Impact is a not-for-profit social enterprise born out of the frustration of seeing social organisations constantly reinventing the wheel and wasting scarce resources. Spring Impact uses a combination of tested commercial and social principles and extensive practical expertise to support organisations to identify, design and implement the right social replication model to scale their social impact.

Domestic Abuse is a health crisis – and it’s time to act now.