Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Consultation
The Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (DASV) Consultation Officer’s role is to gain the voice of victims/survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence, along with the wider community, across Gloucestershire to ensure lived experience is listened to, heard and importantly responded to. Consultation and engagement activity will allow a wide range of voices to be reflected in decision-making, policy and practice.
It is very important that the insight gained is representative of a broad and diverse range of communities across Gloucestershire, including those from protected characteristics groups. We want victims and survivors to be heard.
For the consultation and engagement activity to work well partnership working is key. This will include working with specialist services, children and young people, community and faith groups, the voluntary sector and housing providers to name only a few.
Consultation and engagement is taking place to capture and consider the views and feedback of victims/survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence and the wider community to inform Gloucestershire’s response to domestic abuse and sexual violence.
It is recognised that not all victims/survivors wish to, or are able to, engage with us in the same way. Therefore we will strive to offer different engagement activities, this could be:
- A survey sent electronically;
- A survey completed in person;
- A focus group who meet in person;
- A telephone call;
- An online virtual meeting;
- The sharing of a document or policy by email or through the post, with a request to provide feedback by email, in writing or on the telephone;
- Polls on social media;
- Completing case studies;
- One to one discussions
This list is not exhaustive and activities used will be adapted to suit the consultation and engagement activity and the participants’ needs.
It is important that participants are informed, wherever possible, of how their input has been used and the impact it has had. We are committed to keeping those that engage updated with any relevant changes/outcomes that their feedback has informed. All consultation and engagement activity will be fed back to the Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Local Partnership Boards to ensure authentic voices are at the core of their work. As well as being shared amongst partners, the consultation and engagement outcomes may also be communicated more widely as appropriate, for example through press releases and social media posts.
The purpose of the Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (DASV) Consultation Network is to be a platform to gain the authentic voice and lived experience of victims/survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence across Gloucestershire and to seek the wider voice of the community. It is essential that we hear and learn from victims/survivors, and those working with them, to inform our approaches to service development and support available for domestic abuse and sexual violence.
The DASV Consultation Network will be a database of contacts offering to support engagement and consultation work across the county. Through signing up, you will be contacted to support relevant pieces of engagement and consultation; this may, for example, be due to your lived experience, a group of people you are working with, where you live or a community you are part of. If you feel able to support a specific piece of consultation and engagement work then further details will be shared with you and your consent will be sought, you can also choose not to engage with any piece of work.
Through signing up to the DASV Consultation Network you will receive quarterly newsletters informing of the consultation work taking place and other county updates relating to strategy, plans and developments. You have the option to opt out of these newsletters on the membersip forms. All personal information will be held securely by the Office of Police and Crime Commissioner, for further information please see our Privacy Notice. At any point you can choose to remove yourself from the Consultation Network by emailing DASVconsultation@gloucestershire_pcc.gov.uk and requesting to be removed. We will ensure your details are removed and deleted from the database within 28 days.
If you feel this is something you are able to support then please complete a membership form either as a victim/survivor of domestic abuse and/or sexual violence, a professional who may be able to support this work or as a community leader. Within the form for victims/survivors, there are some equality monitoring questions; we want to ensure individuals signed up to DASV consultation network are representative of the demographics within Gloucestershire. If you would like to sign up personally and professionally please could you use personal contact details for signing up as a victim/survivor and work contact details if signing up professionally. Please send all completed membership forms to [email protected]