Issues surrounding domestic and sexual violence are to be discussed in events held in Lewisham in a bid to prevent future abuse.
This week marks National Adult Safeguarding Week in England. Lewisham Safeguarding Adults Board is running its own programme of training sessions and webinars.
The events will cover a range of safeguarding matters related to domestic and sexual abuse. There will also be safeguarding training and a session on how to prevent financial abuse.
According to a council report, Lewisham has the second-highest rate of domestic abuse of any London borough, with over 9,500 incidents reported to police between June 2019 and May 2020. Data suggests that “approximately 7.5% of adults in Lewisham” experience domestic abuse.
Lewisham SAB have previously published a series of Safeguarding Adult Reviews, relating to historic instances of abuse. The findings from these reviews informed the various webinars.
Monday’s webinar highlighted how to use information learned from previous SARs to highlight key issues for professionals to consider to prevent future abuse. Tuesday’s session informed participants on how they can respond to sexual violence, emphasising awareness and prevailing attitudes around the issue, as well as suitable practice in responding to incidents.
Today’s webinar takes place at 1pm and is a foundation level training session for online adult safeguarding. The event will last for roughly three hours. You can sign up here.
Upcoming events include a networking and safeguarding event at the Lewisham Islamic Centre and webinar on financial abuse that will take place on Thursday at 12:30pm and Friday at 1pm.
Lewisham has recently undertaken a range of initiatives to combat domestic abuse in the borough. During a mayor and cabinet meeting on last month, the council adopted a new violence against women and girls strategy. Next month, a domestic abuse and violence online summit for people working with children, adults and vulnerable adults will take place.
Anyone who is currently a victim of domestic abuse can get help using the Athena service, details of which can be found here.
