We are making a difference (triggering content)
Tackling suicide resulting from domestic abuse
“We are making a difference.” The positive words of Jane Gardner, Deputy Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner and Chair of SETDAB, as she told of the work going on in Essex to tackle suicide resulting from domestic abuse.
The Southend, Essex & Thurrock Domestic Abuse Board (SETDAB) annual conference was held at Chelmsford City Racecourse to explore the relationship between domestic abuse and suicide.
SETDAB provides advice and information on services for those affected by domestic abuse.
Jane, SETDAB chair, opened the conference and said: “We are working incredibly hard. You are working incredibly hard. I will do whatever I can as I feel so passionately about this topic and about death by suicide.
“That is what we do, day in, day out. We are making a difference. The public sector in Essex is genuinely fantastic at working in partnership. We look to solve the problems, and we absolutely understand everyone has something to bring to the agenda.
“Is there more to do? Always. Can we do it? Of course we can. There’s so much more we can do in terms of connecting the agendas and making sure we are doing everything we possibly can to support people in the best possible way.”
Together we can make a difference
Gemma Andrews, wellbeing and public health manager for Essex County Council, had more positives for delegates and said: “For the first time in 11 years, we have seen the impact in the work we are doing, with the stabilisation of rates. I do believe that together, we can make a difference.
“I want to make sure people realise there’s hope in having a plan around this.”
Academic Research
Doctoral researcher Sarah Danger, from University of London, put the situation into perspective by sharing the outcomes of various research projects up and down the country – including figures such as one-third of all female suicides in England and Wales may have been caused by domestic abuse.
She told of her work on Learning Legacies: An Analysis of Domestic Homicide Reviews in Cases of Domestic Abuse Suicide, where she looked at the circumstances surrounding the reported suicides and what lessons could be learned in terms of support for victims.
Lived Experience
Among the speakers on the day was bereaved mother Phyllis Daly who told of her family’s desperate attempts in Yorkshire to protect daughter Jessie Laverack before she was found dead in 2018.
She told how after a five-day inquest, the coroner concluded that the underlying cause of Jessie’s mental illness was domestic abuse and that a lack of a co-ordinated approach by care professionals contributed to her decline.
Luke Appleyard told of his personal experience of domestic abuse as a child at the hands of his birth father, the impact it continues to have on him as an adult today – including changing his name – and how he is now able to support others going through similar.
He told how he saw his father smash a chair over his mother’s head, wrap a phone wire around her neck, hold a knife to her throat and throw a toolbox on her stomach when pregnant.
Now a mental health first aider and suicide first aider, he said: “I am using my life experience of mental health, learning difficulties and domestic abuse and passing on my knowledge, and showing there is light at the end of the tunnel.”
We must never lose hope
Nicky O’Shaugnessy, vice chair of SETDAB and director of local delivery, children and family service for Essex County Council, said: “It is together that we are going to make the greatest difference. We must never lose hope; there is always hope.”
The conference is held each year to lead into the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
It is an opportunity to bring people together to build connections and strengthen partnership working, as well as showcasing the work happening across the county in tackling domestic abuse in all its forms. Delegates were able to browse stalls from partners and services in a marketplace style setting.
The event launched activity towards supporting the United Nations 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence, a global movement to end violence against women and girls.