Domestic violence conference

Trafford Housing Trust is leading the way to raise awareness of domestic violence and abuse, particularly in Black and Minority Ethnic communities, within the social housing sector.

Domestic violence, forced marriages and honour violence were the key issues under the spotlight at the event - to highlight best practice in supporting victims and survivors.

The three-year-old Manchester-based Registered Social Landlord held its first conference on the subject, with national campaigner Jasvinder Sanghera, a victim of forced marriage and honour based violence, as the event’s key note speaker.

Jasvinder is the author of best selling biography ‘Shame’, a testimony to women experiencing forced marriages, and the founder member and Director of Karma Nirvana, an Asian Women’s Project, for victims of forced marriages and honour-based crimes.

She addressed more than 200 delegates including regional and national Registered Social Landlords, local authority housing departments, Women’s Aid and domestic violence helplines, police and social services, voluntary and community groups.

She spoke on the subject of ‘izzat’, which translates as honour and shame, stressed how seriously it must be taken and gave delegates advice for best practice for how to help victims.

Matthew Gardiner, Chief Executive of Trafford Housing Trust, said: “Domestic violence and honour based crimes are an outrageous abuse of power.

“The Trust is proud to lead the way to put this subject under the spotlight.
Our event stressed that sensitivities and political correctness around these issues must be stripped away, they must be viewed for what they are, serious crime against the person.

“By hosting this conference we have helped draw out best practice to share with our peer associations, organisations and charities.”

Speakers at the event held on Thursday (12 March) at Manchester United Football Club, included:

•    Home Office Policy Advisor Hannah Buckley, who spoke on the work of its Forced Marriage Unit.

•    Trafford Housing Trust’s BME homeless champion, Aysha Qasim, and Kim Entwistle, Housing Advice and Homelessness Coordinator, who spoke about the work of their respective teams which provide support to people at risk of becoming homeless through family and relationship break downs and domestic violence.

•    Trafford Housing Trust’s, Kim Entwistle, Greater Manchester Police’s DC Nat Percival, Trafford Children’s and Young People Services, Lisa Gordon and Trafford Probation Services, Shirley Burton, all spoke on the advantages and benefits of holding Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conferences for high risk cases domestic violence cases.

•    South Manchester Law Centre’s Nick Donlan, housing caseworker and Sukhdeep Singh, immigration caseworker, who advised on best practice for people with immigration status not eligible for financial help from the state.

For more information please contact Diana MacCarthy at IPB Communications on 0161 976 1414.