DON’T LEAVE ME OUT: How the most vulnerable to DVA are often the most ignored Kaz Williams Senior Personal Advisor Somerset County Council Targeted Youth Support & Youth Offending Team

BACKGROUND  30 years campaigning and work related to domestic and sexual violence and abuse  Self-defence and martial art instructor for 20 years working largely with marginalised groups in UK and internationally  Last 15 years focus on work with young people, especially those who have what is now termed ‘protected characteristics’  Current role lead on Domestic violence and abuse, child sexual exploitation and Sexual Health within SCC targeted youth support and Youth Offending Team

Todays presentation The aims of this presentation are to: A. Highlight risk and impact of DVA on marginalised groups of young people B. Present new local research on young people and DVA C. Introduce ‘intersectionality’ as a way of understanding complexity of experience

Domestic and Sexual Abuse Domestic and sexual abuse is a broad umbrella term covering a variety of different issues including: Domestic violence and abuse (DVA) including teen abuse Sexual violence and rape Forced marriage ‘Honour’ based violence Female genital mutilation (FGM) Human trafficking/ sexual exploitation Sexual harassment/ sexual bullying

Sexual harassment/Sexual bullying at school Sexual harassment of young women at school is widespread. It can be very oppressive to young women and contribute to feelings of lack of control in their lives. Verbal abuse and sexual harassment can be seen as an attempt to control and exert power of young women. Some groups of young people may be more vulnerable to this.

WHO IS AT RISK AND WHY?  Pakistani high achieving Muslim young woman 17yrs  Somali gay young man in first relationship aged 15yrs  White MTF young trans woman aged 16  White young woman aged 16yrs professional parents  White disabled young man aged 14  White young woman aged 13yrs living in foster care  Irish gypsy young woman aged 14yrs  Kurdish young woman new to UK aged 13yrs  White young woman aged 15yrs living with mother who was in an abusive relationship 5 years ago Discuss in pairs- first thoughts

LGBT / Disabled and BME young people  Common experiences of prejudice, discrimination and oppression  Impact of Internalised feelings on self-esteem and self-efficacy  Lack of specialist services and awareness of specific needs  Isolation  LGBT – lack of inclusion in Relationship and Sex Education  Lack of trust in systems and services  Like all adolescents could minimise abusive behaviour and not be aware it is a crime

Young women & Young men  Young women aged group highest risk of experiencing DVA  Young people often do not have the information they need to access support services or may not define their experiences as abusive  Young people could be experiencing abuse at home and in intimate relationships so additional difficulty in disclosing  Financial resources could be less  Young men could find very limited access to services  Adolescents may want independence so keep relationships secret from parent/carer  Adolescents often inexperienced in relationships and are exploring

Risk Factors  Previous experience of violence in the home  Parent/ carer drug user  Parent/carer has mental health issues  Poverty  School non-attendance  Homelessness  Drug and alcohol misuse  Sexual relationships  Sexual exploitation  Low perceived control  Depression

Protective Factors  Achievement at school  A safe haven  Support from positive role models  Friends/mentors  The belief that others have high expectations of them  Physical, emotional and economic security  Decision-making capabilities  Assertiveness (internal and external)  Awareness of legal rights  Awareness of how to form healthy relationships

Intersectionality and DVA It is the intersection between forms or systems of oppression, domination or discrimination. As a theory it can help us understand how the violence in many young peoples, especially young women’s is often shaped by other dimensions of their identities, for example:  Ethnicity  Sexual orientation  Gender identity  Immigration status  Disability  Socio economic status

Local research  Initial findings from the Somerset Youth Offending Team case screening summer 2014  Pilot screening of 294 young people engaged with YOT/TYS  Screened of DVA victim, perpetrator, witness  Not perfect data collection as was first time this research was carried out in our service so we estimate true figures are higher  Will use data to inform future practise

Gender and age of young people surveyed

The young people were asked if they had ever been a victim of domestic violence or abuse? 54.5% of the 123 females asked said “YES” 31.6% of the 171 males asked said “YES”

We asked our young people if they had been the perpetrator of domestic violence or abuse……. 17 out of the 123 females surveyed answered “yes” 41 out of the 171 males answered “yes”

Have our young people been a witness to domestic abuse? 40.4% of males asked have witnessed domestic abuse 53.7% of females asked have witnessed domestic abuse

65% participants were either a witness, perpetrator or victim of domestic violence

69% participants who were involved in DV were the witness and victim

31% - 58 participants who were involved in DV were both the witness and perpetrator

31% - 58 participants who were involved in DV were both the perpetrator and victim

How to help a mate I’m worried about my friend You should watch out for the following signs. Remember, these don’t necessarily mean your friend is experiencing violence.  depression and anxiety  cancelling plans at the last minute  argumentative or upset  fearful or withdrawn  unexplained injuries  use of drugs and alcohol  early sexual activity/risk taking  getting upset when receiving texts or calls from a particular person  afraid of making partner angry  Makes excuses for partner’s behaviour Professionals look out for changes in behaviour what’s behind it? Find out more at:

How to help as a professional  Receive  Reassure  Respond

Questions and thoughts

Contact details Kaz Williams Senior Personal Advisor Targeted Youth Support/Youth Offending Service, Somerset County Council  Tel:  Mobile: