Toolkit to help public sector workers communicate about the Violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence (VAWDASV) strategy.
Contents
Purpose of the toolkit
The VAWDASV communications and engagement toolkit ensures our communications and engagement activity is cohesive, robust, collaborative, and aligned with the objectives set out in the VAWDASV Strategy 2022 to 2026.
The toolkit demonstrates our commitment to continue our work with professionals to help them to identify, challenge and refer cases of VAWDASV. It reflects our public health approach and public awareness interventions to facilitate behaviour change to de-normalise VAWDASV and the attitudes that support it.
It provides details of how we will share progress and key updates with our stakeholders.
We are committed to ensuring all literature, messaging and awareness raising initiatives are inclusive and shaped by engagement with communities throughout Wales including those with lived experience.
The toolkit will be regularly updated as work develops.
National strategy objectives
- Challenge the public attitude to violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence across the Welsh population through awareness raising and space for public discussion with the aim to decrease its occurrence.
- Increase awareness in children, young people and adults of the importance of safe, equal and healthy relationships and empowering them to positive personal choices.
- Increase the focus on holding those who commit abuse to account and supporting those who may carry out abusive or violent behaviour to change their behaviour and avoid offending.
- Make early intervention and prevention a priority.
- Relevant professionals are trained to provide effective, timely and appropriate responses to victims and survivors.
- Provide all victims with equal access to appropriately resourced, high quality, needs-led, strength-based, intersectional and responsive services across Wales.
Communication and engagement
Teams and responsibilities
Welsh Government Communications Team
- Live Fear Free
- Sound campaign
Welsh Government VAWDASV Team
- Pilot Bystander Training
- National Training Framework
- VAWDASV Communications Group
- VAWDASV Strategy Communications and Engagement
- VAWDASV Survivor Voice and Scrutiny Panel
VAWDASV Blueprint Team
- VAWDASV Blueprint Communications and Engagement
Principles
- Collaborative
- Anti-racist
- Inclusive and accessible
- Relevant and timely
- Evidence-based
- Public Health approach
- Measurable and evaluated
Stakeholder engagement
To facilitate behaviour change at a whole- societal level, de-normalise VAWDASV and the attitudes that support it, engagement with all stakeholders, including men and boys, is integral to our success.
This involves collaboration and participation from our public and third sector partners, communities across Wales and crucially the voices of survivors and those with lived experience.
To uphold our communication and engagement principles, we are supported by the VAWDASV Blueprint Intersectionality Guide and Toolkit as well as the Survivor Engagement Toolkit developed by Welsh Women’s Aid.
Key stakeholders
Strategic Decision Makers - National Partnership Board and survivors from the survivor voice scrutiny and involvement panel
Primary stakeholders
- Welsh Government
- Fire and rescue
- Private sector
- Domestic Abuse Commissioner
- Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA)
- Future Generations Commissioner
- Children and Young People’s Commissioner
- Older People’s Commissioner
- Non-departmental public body
- Local authorities
- Education
- Police
- Transport
- Community interest companies
- Non-governmental organisations
- Victims and survivors
- Research centres
- Health
- HMPPS
- HMCTS
- Police and Crime Commissioners
- Sports
- Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)
- Wider organisations not represented in workstreams
Secondary stakeholders
- Victims and survivors outside of survivor voice panel
- National and local businesses
- Wider public
- Sport and leisure organisations
- Regulatory bodies
- Operational staff from organisations represented
- Operational staff from organisations represented
- Media and press
- Grass root organisations
- Operational staff from organisations not represented
- UK Government
- Local communities
- Opportune stakeholders*
Delivery channels
- Live Fear Free
- National Training Framework
- Sound campaign
- Pilot Bystander Training
- VAWDASV Blueprint
- VAWDASV Policy Business
- VAWDASV Communications Group
- VAWDASV Survivor Voice Scrutiny and Involvement Panel
Outcomes
- Cultural shift in perceptions and intolerance of the attitudes and beliefs that underpin violence against women, domestic abuse, and sexual violence
- Long-term behaviour change.
- Reduction of perpetration and crime.
- Safer communities.
- Improved societal response to understanding and responding to VAWDASV.
- Clear support and referral pathways for victims, survivors and perpetrators.
- All victims and survivors are provided with compassionate and trauma informed support.
- Increased availability of culturally competent services for victims, survivors, and perpetrators.
- Upskill members of the community to be upstanders and have a zero tolerance to VAWDASV.
- A more knowledgeable, confident and competent workforce.
- Reduced risk by meeting needs at the earliest opportunity.
- A consistent, Wales-wide whole system approach to violence against women, domestic abuse, and sexual violence.
- Reduction in repeat demand for services.
How we will communicate our progress
VAWDASV 7 minute briefing
- Frequency: Quarterly
- Channel: Email
- Audience: Key and primary stakeholders
- Owner: Blueprint Team
VAWDASV Workstream Meetings
- Frequency: Quarterly
- Channel: Teams
- Audience: Key and primary stakeholders
- Owner: Blueprint Team
National Partnership and Programme Boards
- Frequency: Every 4 months
- Channel: Teams, written and oral updates
- Audience: Key and primary stakeholders
- Owner: Blueprint Team
VAWDASV Policy Updates
- Frequency: As needed / bi-annually
- Channel: Email
- Audience: Key, primary and secondary stakeholders
- Owner: VAWDASV Policy Team
VAWDASV Annual Report
- Frequency: Every autumn
- Channel: GOV.WALES
- Audience: Secondary stakeholders
- Owner: VAWDASV Policy Team