#IRISiWelcomes DASU and starts delivering the IRIS Programme in Denbighshire

The IRISi team welcomes DASU, our new partner organisation. Together, we have been delivering the IRIS Programme to general practices in Denbighshire from January 2022 – which means that the intervention has now been implemented across almost all Wales.

Rhiannon Edwards, the local Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Advisor, explains why it is so important to bring a Domestic Violence and Abuse (DVA) training programme to clinicians and access to specialist advocacy to patients to the local area: “We have wanted to bring this programme to North Wales for at least the last 5 years. We expect to see greater engagement between GP practices and the specialist services, smoother and more efficient referral pathways, better trained and better-informed GPs and practice staff, but above all, we want to see victims of domestic abuse accessing the most appropriate support at the earliest time possible”.

According to Rhian Lewis, Service Manager at DASU, it became urgent to bring a new approach to tackle DVA in the area due to the pandemic: “DASU have seen an increase of 40% in referrals (including high-risk referrals) since COVID. We have seen an increase in the length of support needed and an increase in the complexity of the needs of our clients. Referrals from primary care have always been quite low to our services and this will give us an opportunity to intervene earlier as well as supplying a wraparound suite of services for our clients in Denbighshire”.

Read the full interview below.

How and when did you first learn about the IRIS programme?

Rhiannon Edwards: I first heard about the IRIS programme at a Welsh Women’s Aid conference, at which we had a presentation about the South Wales IRIS pilot, and it was really informative. From then on, I have been actively trying to gain support and source funding for something similar in North Wales.

Why and how do you believe that the IRIS programme will help you to improve the response to domestic violence and abuse in Denbighshire?

Rhiannon Edwards: We know IRIS will have a massive impact on the response to domestic abuse in Denbighshire, just from talking to the GP practices and hearing about their experiences of working with patients. Since the start of the pandemic, the number of high-risk victims requesting support has greatly increased, partly due to the fact that they have not been able to come forward during the various lockdowns. However, we foresee large numbers of women for whom the pandemic has been a trigger and after having experienced controlling relationships for a long time, they are now at breaking point. It may be that they are experiencing mental and physical reactions to the increased stress and fear and a visit to the GP can feel like one of the only places of safety.

How was the process to obtain funding for the IRIS programme? What were the obstacles and enablers in this process?

Rhiannon Edwards: This has been an ongoing and often frustrating process, which is still only partially resolved. After trying to source funding through a variety of funding pathways and from various partner organisations, DASU applied to the Office for the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPPC) for funding from the Home Office and secured enough for an initial pilot. This is fantastic and we can use the pilot period to prove the concept to local and regional partners, with a view to making it more sustainable and rolling it out across the region.

Rhian Lewis: I’d also like to add that DASU have also sourced additional funding to extend the pilot through a “CRISIS UK” grant to give us additional time as proof of concept.

For how long have you been wanting to bring the IRIS programme to Denbighshire? What are your expectations?

Rhiannon Edwards: We have wanted to bring this programme to North Wales for at least the last 5 years. We expect to see greater engagement between GP practices and the specialist services, smoother and more efficient referral pathways, better trained and better-informed GPs and practice staff, but above all, we want to see victims of domestic abuse accessing the most appropriate support at the earliest time possible.

IRISi and Social Franchising

IRISi is expanding the IRIS Network using the concept of social franchising. Social franchising is when an organisation (IRISi) packages up a proven model (the IRIS Programme) and provides carefully recruited partners (the IRIS Partners that form the IRIS Network) with the training and ongoing support they need to implement the programme and replicate the social impact.

IRISi is inviting new IRIS Partners to work with us to deliver the IRIS Programme. We are seeking specialist DVA/VAWG/GBV organisations that share our vision and values. Our Partner Prospectus, aimed at Chief Executives and service managers who are interested in delivering the IRIS Programme, includes information about the need for the IRIS Programme, the IRIS model and the difference that it makes, what we ask for from IRIS Partners and what we provide in return. It also explains next steps for those who are interested in becoming IRIS Partners.

A prospectus is also available for commissioners who are interested in commissioning the IRIS Programme in their area, providing a concise overview of commissioning the IRIS Programme within the social franchise framework.

If you are a clinician or a commissioner and you believe the IRIS Programme can benefit your primary care response to Domestic Violence and Abuse, please email us at info@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.

http://www.safelives.org.uk/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.