Category Archives: 20141009

9 October 2014 9:30 ~ The Cut – Conference on FGM – Nottingham

FGM is illegal in the UK. It is also illegal to arrange for a child to be taken abroad for FGM. Despite this, over 137,000 women and girls are living with FGM in the UK.

Nottingham Women’s Centre is proud to support WeAreNudge for ‘The Cut’ conference. This national conference taking place in Nottinghamshire is a unique opportunity to explore the reality of FGM, listen to inspirational speakers, learn and become part of a movement to create positive change.

Introduction

For non-medical reasons, but rather to conform to social and cultural norms, the procedure, formally known as “Female Genital Mutilation” is carried out on thousands of young girls every year.

Due to the lack of knowledge, misconceptions and fulfilment of men’s pleasures, “the cut” is commonly performed across the African continent, Middle Eastern countries and Far East, by religious and non religious groups alike.

You may think this is a practice carried out continents apart; think closer to home; Cardiff, Manchester, London, Birmingham, Sheffield, Slough, Reading, Crawley, Oxford, the list goes on.

FGM is illegal in the UK. It is also illegal to arrange for a child to be taken abroad for FGM.

During these summer holidays, many innocent, young girls would have been taken back to their country of origin unaware of the sinister, but culturally accepted act concluding their childhood.

Aims and Objectives

Through open discussion, debate and exploration, the aim of the conference is to bring together professionals from a variety of industries and key members of communities, to raise awareness about the growing issue, through a common, coordinated approach that promotes positive, social change at the community, regional and national level.

The conference aims to deliver a call to action, to educate; thus differentiate cultural beliefs and religious teachings, to create dialogue in order to identify means of helping and ultimately strengthen efforts aimed at the elimination of female genital mutilations post Girl Summit Conference.

Post conference we aim to bridge minds, through creativity and collaboration. Development and implementation of a 3 month creative outreach programme, using art, music and drama, engaging religious, education and health institutes, and localised youth groups, tackling issue at grass root levels.

Who Should Attend

The conference is open to all, however shall be relevant and highly beneficial to professionals from a wide range of industry backgrounds. Professionals from the medical field, practitioners in mental health, law, education and government industries, religious leaders, NGO and social workers, policy makers, academics and journalists, would all enhance their understanding, apply their learning’s in their professional environments and aid positive movement.

Programme of the Day

    09:30 Registration Tea, Coffee & Biscuits
    10:00 Welcome & Opening Speech Chair
    10:10 Inspirational talk Key Note Speaker : Alimatu Dimonekene Manor Gardens Welfare Trust
    10:25 Thousands of cases, only one prosecution Key Note Speaker : DCI Melanie Bowden Nottinghamshire Police – Identifying the issues which have hindered investigations and prosecutions – What steps have been taken to overcome the challenges
    10:40 An International Problem Key Note Speaker : Marie-Anne 28 Too Many – Making Change : NGO sector tackling FGM – How can you help make change
    10:55 The action plan post Girl Summit 2014 Key Note Speaker : Catherine Pearson Department of Health – What next? – Actions & commitments agreed to end FGM in a generation – Current situation in UK, latest statistics
    11:10 Tea & Cake Break
    11:25 Morning Workshops
    12:05 Gathering Our Thoughts and Q&A
    12:30 Lunch, Networking & Creative Programme Happening
    13:30 Afternoon Workshops (same as morning workshops)
    14:10 Tea & Cake Break
    14:25 Workshop Feedback
    14:55 Gathering Our Thoughts and Final Panel Q&A
    15:25 Final speech, thank you and Farewell

http://www.nottinghamwomenscentre.com/the-cut-fgm-conference-9th-october/

September 12, 2014

AVA (Against Violence & Abuse) Autumn Training Courses – London

Working with children and young people exposed to violence against women and girls, September – November, London more info…
5 day OCN course
AVA is an OCN accredited centre that has developed an accredited training course for practitioners working with children and young people exposed to domestic violence. The course is aimed at professionals wishing to deepen and consolidate their understanding of the issues with which they work and gain a formal qualification equivalent to A-level standard.

Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), domestic violence and families, 25 September 2014, London more info…
FASD is the leading known cause of intellectual disability in the Western world, and is caused when alcohol is consumed in pregnancy. Many women who have endured domestic violence may have used alcohol as a coping mechanism or lived with men who didn’t want them to stop drinking when pregnant. Professionals would benefit from recognising the strong relationship between violence, trauma and FASD. This introduction to FASD will assist participants to recognise and understand FASD and the connection to domestic violence.

Troubled families, problematic substance use and domestic and sexual violence, 9 October 2014, London more info…
Domestic and Sexual violence is often present or has been present in the lives of ‘troubled families’, some times across multiple generations and has a significant impact on their lives. Problematic substance use can also be a defining factor of a ‘troubled family’ and is often linked with domestic and sexual violence.  Participants will gain knowledge on the links between DV/SV and problematic substance use, as well as what support and interventions can be effective with individuals and families experiencing these dual issues. This course includes how to respond appropriately to disclosures and how to support a survivor of abuse by recommending appropriate services. Delegates will also learn about risk, harm and resilience in ‘troubled families’ and what tools and interventions are available to work with these complexities.

How to support parenting post domestic abuse, 23 October 2014, London
more info…
Post domestic abuse parents often find themselves struggling with not only the trauma of having lived with the abuse but their children’s complex behaviours and needs. Traditional parenting support is based upon a behaviourist model which relies upon incentives and consequences to control and manage behaviour. However, the latest neuroscience and attachment research, along with a better understanding of the effects of early childhood trauma, show us that parents and children’s needs are best met when support is informed by these findings.

How to use a Response-Based Approach with survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence and sexual exploitation, 14 November 2014, London more info…
Whenever someone is treated badly, they resist’ (Dr Allan Wade 1997) Survivors of abuse are often described as passive in their experiences of violence and abuse. Response-based therapy, a ground breaking psychotherapeutic approach, challenges this idea and identifies the many everyday ways survivors of abuse resist. It recognises survivors of abuse as actively responding to acts of aggression and actively opposing their abuse in order to protect their dignity and self-respect.
Participants will gain knowledge about a response-based therapy as well as how to effectively use response-based techniques with survivors of abuse. Participants will learn skills to appropriately challenge self-blame attitudes, and which encourages survivors to recognise their own resistance to violence and to support a positive view of themselves.

Perspectives on adolescent to parent violence, 5 December 2014, London more info…
A course on Adolescent to Parent Violence (APV), designed to raise awareness of the topic and provide participants with an opportunity to explore the dynamics of the issue as a profile of domestic abuse. Information will be provided on definitions, background theories, prevalence, risk factors, case studies and behaviour patterns. Consideration will be given of the problems of engaging with families around this issue and an overview of current service provision (models of work) will be provided.The day aims to increase knowledge of this issue and ways to respond, although it is not a training to deliver a specific intervention model, some useful activities for both parents and young people will be provided.

To book click on the relevant link or email Jude.long@avaproject.org.uk

September 4, 2014