Back in March, The Links Group accompanied by Lauren Suitor, Cats Protection Lifeline Coordinator, were part of something special in Belfast, participating in an event which ensured that survivors’ voices were clearly heard in a most dramatic way discussing domestic abuse and associated homelessness.
Described as “where theatre meets policymaking”, Housing Rights in partnership with North Down and Ards Women’s Aid and Arts & Homelessness International used the Legislative Theatre process. This got everyone working together towards policy solutions to prevent homelessness for women experiencing domestic abuse in Northern Ireland.
You can read more detail about it here. Briefly, ten female survivors of domestic abuse took centre stage together to act out their lived experiences of trying to leave an abusive relationship and showing the barriers they faced. They were assisted in this process by two fantastic facilitators, Katy Rubin, Creative Civic Strategist at The People Act and Samra Said, Co-Director of Arts & Homelessness International.
Together, the survivors, the delegates and the representatives from Housing Rights, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, the Police Service of Northern Ireland, Francis Hanna & Co. solicitors, the Department of Communities, the Department of Justice, the Public Health Agency and the Executive Office came together to create proposals for policy development in this area.
You can watch a short video of highlights of the event kindly shared by Housing Rights. They are currently compiling the 8-week update report on the various commitments from the policy team members, and we look forward to sharing that with you when it arrives – watch this space!
