A new training program is set to launch in early March and aims to close critical gaps in domestic abuse support.
Developed by Barnsley-based charity Resolute, the program targets professionals across workplaces, social services, and police to better recognise and respond to domestic abuse.
Deborah Jones, founder of Resolute, said the initiative was created in response to ongoing failings within the system, leaving victims unprotected and unsupported.
She said: “Women are being encouraged to come forward but they are not being protected. Authorities don’t realise the impact it can have on a victim if they don’t get their reports right at the first point of call.”
The training is designed by survivors with lived experience to provide powerful, first-hand perspectives.
“That’s what makes it so unique because they’re a lot less likely to forget a real-life story, a real-life person rather than just a training package,” Ms Jones explained.
It aims to increase awareness and accountability among professionals, empowering them to spot early signs of domestic abuse.
Ms Jones said: “We should all have a basic understanding of the signs and the more awareness there is, the more chance we’ve got of calling it out.”
According to Ms Jones, gaps in current training and accountability measures are allowing perpetrators to go unchecked, with the system failing to protect victims adequately.
“There is no accountability anywhere. Why is it that we are punishing the women, they shouldn’t be the ones fleeing, the perpetrators should be locked up.”
Resolute hopes the program will inspire change by holding systems accountable and preventing repeated failings.
“If we can get some major companies to invest in it enough to get everybody in their workplace trained up, then that’s huge. Hopefully then, it’ll have a snowball effect,” she said.
“It’s absolutely doable and we’re not going to stop really until that mission’s completed.”
The service also has a podcast on Youtube featuring real life stories of survivors.
It covers issues like family court failings, the lack of enforcement of Protection orders and coercive control.
Founded in 2021, Resolute’s ongoing mission is to bring about systemic change through prevention, accountability, and reform.
To find out more about Resolute, visit their website