West Mercia Women’s Aid
Training & Consultancy
“There were many highlights of the training, but the survivors were the biggest. Please pass on my thanks and respect to them.”
Course Attendee
Who are you and how can we help?
I’m a Social Care professional looking for Domestic Abuse training to support clients/ service users
Are you a school, residential home, college, social care provider or one of the many partner agencies we work with?
We are able to offer a number of sessions to enable you to effectively support, sign post and respond to DA disclosures by adults, children and young people.
We also design and deliver bespoke training packages to respond to the needs of your organisation and service.
I’m an employer or employee looking for advice or training re supporting colleagues and employees in the workplace around DA disclosures.
Sometimes work can feel like the only safe space and people may disclose Domestic Abuse to colleagues, line managers or HR teams. The way that an organisation responds can have a massive impact on the survivors journey. We offer sessions that enable employers, colleagues and HR teams to respond effectively in the support and signposting offered. This includes courses such
• Understanding Domestic Abuse
• Domestic Abuse Awareness for Employers, HR teams and Managers
• Domestic Abuse Support Organisational Champions
• We can also offer bespoke packages tailored to your needs
I want to understand more about Domestic Abuse and how to help
You may be here because you want to learn more about domestic abuse and its impact. Perhaps someone close to you—a friend, family member, or acquaintance—is experiencing abuse, or has in the past, and you want to better understand what they’re going through.
You might also be considering working or volunteering in the sector, and are looking to build your knowledge before taking the next step.
Whatever your reason, knowing how to support someone safely and sensitively is incredibly important.
We offer sessions that will help you recognise the signs of abuse, understand its effects, and learn safe and appropriate ways to offer support—whether in your personal life or as part of a professional or voluntary role.
Domestic Abuse Statistics – Did you know?
- An estimated 1.6 million women and 757,000 men in England and Wales experienced domestic abuse in the year ending March (ONS, 2020)
- £78 billion is the estimated annual economic and social cost of domestic abuse. (Women’s Aid 2023)
- £17 billion is the estimated cost to businesses. (Women’s Aid 2023)
- More than 1 in 3 (37%) people surveyed across multiple industries and at varying levels of seniority have experienced domestic abuse. (Vodafone)
Diane Harding, WMWA Training & Participation Officer
Domestic Abuse: The Hidden Costs To Your Organisation
“Beyond the moral obligation, there are economic motivations for addressing domestic abuse in the workplace. The cost of domestic violence to UK businesses is estimated to exceed £14bn annually due to reduced productivity, absenteeism, poor performance, and employee turnover. Moreover, it is estimated that more than 66 per cent of employees affected by domestic abuse do not disclose their needs due to privacy concerns and shame. This hidden crisis places an immense financial burden on employers, estimated at approximately £7,245 per affected employee, with a retention cost affecting one in 10 employees”
People Management article “Businesses shouldn’t ignore domestic abuse in the lives of their staff” Oct, 2024
About WMWA & our Training
There are a number of agencies and organisations delivering training in relation to Domestic Abuse – exploring what it is, how it affects the victim/survivor and the wider impact. They discuss the work of national agencies and national helplines.
At West Mercia Women’s Aid our approach is different.
WMWA is a local charity that has been supporting victim/survivors of domestic abuse for over 40 years. Operating across the whole of West Mercia – we employ teams of specialist and trained safety advisors who work with those in crisis and at high risk of significant harm. We offer longer term support, safe accommodation and refuges, free-to-call Helpline, counselling and peer group programmes. We also provide support for children of all ages affected by domestic abuse in their homes. Our experience in delivering local services informs our training, and our trainers have all been practitioners and can illustrate their training with real-life examples. This evidence-based approach enables us not only to bring the issues ‘to life’ but also to signpost participants to our local services. In our training we invite participants to consider current issues affecting survivors and to explore scenarios that resonate with participants as issues that they feel could arise for their organisation.
Our Domestic Abuse Training courses are designed to equip professionals, volunteers, and community members with the knowledge, confidence, and practical tools to identify, understand, and respond safely to domestic abuse. HR professionals and businesses, University staff, housing officers, social workers, and health professionals are just some examples of groups we work with to provide training and support. WMWA training packages include input from our survivor networks, to whom mentoring and support is provided to ensure that the sharing of their own testament is a positive experience.
We believe that awareness saves lives — and that effective training builds safer communities.
Who is the training for?
Our courses are suitable for:
- Employers and HR professionals
- Health and social care professionals
- Teachers and education staff
- Police and criminal justice professionals
- Housing officers and support workers
- Charities, community groups, and volunteers
Whether you’re new to the topic or looking to deepen your understanding, our flexible courses provide evidence-based learning relevant to your role.
Who will the Training be provided by?
Diane Harding leads on the Training service for WMWA, Diane’s experience in Domestic Abuse includes working as a front line practitioner/team leader at WMWA for over 15 years with high risk cases of domestic abuse. Diane is also qualified in Education and Training, delivering training and education programmes around domestic abuse for a number of well respected Domestic Abuse support organisations.
We also use the services of the many knowledgeable and experienced practitioners who work for WMWA, these include Children & Young People workers, Independent Domestic Violence Advisors, Specialists in Housing, and those working on recovery programs for Women. This ensures the training we deliver reflects current knowledge and practice in relation to the Domestic Abuse sector.
Any questions?
If you’re not sure what you need, if you want to discuss potential training for your organisation or if you only have a small budget but want to understand how to support employees in the workplace we can design something that works for you. Contact us at training@wmwa.org.uk
Latest Training Events
Visit our eventbrite page to view our full programme of training events!