Rural domestic abuse and ‘The Link’ in the spotlight at the WH&SCT Domestic Abuse Conference.
The Links Group had a tremendous start to this year’s 16 Days of Action. Trustee Rebecca Stephens (Associate Professor of Social Work, University of Sussex, and Co-Director of Education at the International Association of Veterinary Social Work) and Andrea Lynch (Strategic Delivery Lead, vet, and WH&SCT area resident) were invited to speak as part of an incredible conference to mark the beginning of 16 Days 2025.
Organised and hosted by the Western Health & Social Care Trust, one of six such trusts in Northern Ireland, the Learning Development and Governance team brought together a range of speakers to explore the unique factors that contribute to domestic abuse in Northern Ireland. These speakers included researchers, experts, and policymakers from the fields of domestic abuse and safeguarding in NI. With over 300 delegates attending, the ambitious programme for this online day was jam-packed with eight presentations and certainly delivered!
Most poignantly, the day started with the reading of a poem written from the survivor’s perspective, and the afternoon session started with the photos and names of the 29 women murdered in NI since 2020. These emotional additions reminded us all that behind every statistic is a person, families, lives and futures taken away. It very firmly placed survivors at the centre of what were difficult but necessary conversations.
We are hugely grateful to the Learning Development and Governance team at the WH&SCT who have recognised the relevance of ‘The Link’ to the work of the many disciplines working in and with the Trust. In particular, it allowed us to raise awareness of the importance of Asking About the Animals in rural domestic abuse, as well as with household pets, and to look at how we can address issues related to ‘The Link’ in Northern Ireland. Thank you to the WH&SCT and the other speakers for their support.
NI is the only nation in the UK without specialist domestic abuse animal fostering provision, and with more sheep than people, is a region where abuse of the human-animal bond relating to horses and livestock must be recognised and addressed as part of an effective strategy to End Violence Against Women and Girls to support all survivors of domestic abuse, regardless of sex, gender or species.
Most fittingly, the conference ended with a presentation on Camp Hope, a programme run out of Foyle Women’s Aid and the Foyle Family Justice Centre, of which The Links Group is an off-site partner. This put the focus on the child victim-survivors of domestic abuse, the importance of hope and the benefits of bringing new preventative, therapeutic and inspirational initiatives to Northern Ireland.
