Participation in Action: Young people learn how to deal with domestic violence

According to the British Crime Survey, people aged 16 to 19 are the most likely group to suffer abuse from a partner. This finding prompted the government to redefine domestic violence to include teenagers from March this year. Despite this change, young people do not always recognise dangerous behaviour in unhealthy relationships, says domestic abuse survivor Leanne Higgins.

In an effort to tackle this, the 24-year-old is using her experiences to help other young people protect each other. Last year, she set up Deal with D.V. – a London-based project that delivers domestic violence training workshops to young people. These aim to help young people recognise the signs of domestic abuse and learn how to get help.

Higgins runs the project alongside her job as a detached youth worker for Greenwich Council. With a team of four young volunteers, she has delivered training to about 50 13- to 19-year-olds so far. She developed her training approach in consultation with local police officers, domestic abuse organisations and social workers.

Deal with D.V.’s work has been youth-led from the outset. It received its first funding to produce a poster about domestic violence with a group of young people. “Young people I spoke to about the project told me domestic violence posters are depressing and not aimed at them,” says Higgins. “We came up with a bright flyer that directs young people to the Deal with D.V. website so they know where to get support.” This work was funded by O2 Think Big, which provided £300.

Subsequent funding enabled Higgins to run two pilot workshops with 18 young people in May, thanks to £500 of funding from vInspired, which were delivered to members of the charities YMCA and Oasis. “I put a resource pack together and designed a programme that would enable young people to talk about relationships in a fun, interactive way,” says Higgins.

The workshops include games to prompt discussion about healthy and unhealthy relationships. The young people also explore the legal definitions of violence and abuse, and investigate referral pathways in the local area. One of the 14-year-olds who took part said the training made him rethink his “attitude towards girls”.

“A lot of young people don’t realise what domestic abuse is,” says Higgins. “They understand physical abuse such as bruising and black eyes, but they don’t understand the psychological, emotional and financial aspects of abuse. That can come as quite a shock to them.”

Some young people have found behaviour they considered to be normal can actually be considered risky, she says. “One young girl told me she liked men that were ‘quite rough’ and that she likes to be told what to do,” says Higgins. “I told her that could be a warning sign depending on how it’s said and how ‘rough’ you call ‘rough’. She was quite taken aback by that.”

Community awareness events
Higgins’ organisation – part of a community interest company – is set to grow this year having received £2,500 of funding from O2 Think Bigger, available to existing recipients of Think Big Funding. This will be used to deliver community awareness events for professionals. Higgins hopes these will spread word of the project among teachers so she can deliver more training in schools.

She is also developing the Deal with D.V. website to provide a database of support services for young people affected by the issue. 

In addition, Higgins offers drop-in sessions in the community so young people can speak to her confidentially about their concerns. She hopes to train more young people to deliver workshops so the project can have a wider reach.

The workshops have proved popular so far. One youth worker described Deal with D.V. as having “down-to-earth, approachable leaders that made young people feel confident to express themselves.”

A 15-year-old girl who received the training added: “I encourage every person dealing with domestic violence to talk to someone like Leanne and get help. It’s daunting, but there is always light at the end of a dark tunnel.”