About Authentic Voice
SafeLives, Improvement Service and Resilience Learning Partnership have been awarded funding by the Scottish Government to work in partnership with survivors of violence against women and girls (VAWG) and trauma. Our aim is to help ensure that local authorities and other community planning organisations have the knowledge, confidence, and tools they need to embed survivor voice into local system and service design processes in a robust, trauma informed and meaningful way.
The project will be supported and overseen by the SafeLives Authentic Voice Panel, a group of women with lived experience of domestic abuse, dedicated to ensuring that survivor voice is at the heart and start of services, policy, and strategy.
Resilience Learning Partnership joined the project in 2021, bringing the voices of women with lived experience of domestic abuse and complex trauma. Bringing together a mixture of women from across RLP we now have established our AV (Active Vision) Team. This team will create and contribute to the suite of resources this project will produce.
2017-2020
SafeLives Whole Lives Scotland project - SafeLives Authentic Voice Panel formed
October 2021
Delivering Equally Safe Funding for Authentic Voice Project awarded to SafeLives and Improvement Service.
Authentic Voice Project begins. Discovery exercise carried out with existing lived experience projects
Additional Trauma Funding to work with Resilience Learning Partnership confirmed. Resilience Learning Partnership join the project.
October - March 2022
Partners introduce project to key Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) and Trauma Networks
March 2022
Project launch event and publication of Discovery Report
May 2022
First deep dive workshop held focusing on whole system working
July 2022
Beginning of 1-1 implementation support: pilot project with one local authority area agreed
October/November 2022
Series of national deep dive workshops held focused on key barriers to embedding lived experience
November 2022
Resilience Learning Partnership launch podcast series
January - June 2023
Dundee Pilot Project engagement activities and events delivered
September 2023
Dundee Pilot Project Report completed
The Team
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We are SafeLives, the UK-wide charity dedicated to ending domestic abuse, for everyone and for good.
No one should live in fear. It is not acceptable, not inevitable, and together – we can make it stop.
Every year, over two million people in the UK experience domestic abuse. Not one of them should have to wait until they're in crisis before we pay attention.
And why do we say "for good"? Because we want to stop it before it starts. And if it does start, we want a response that provides long-term, wraparound support to decrease the chance it will happen again. Too many perpetrators repeat their behaviour, too many children grow up impacted by the long-term effects of domestic abuse.
The cycle needs to stop. Forever. For everyone.
What we do
- We put the voice of survivors at the heart of everything we do.
- We focus on early intervention for the whole family, helping people become safe sooner and challenging perpetrators to change.
- We test innovative projects and replicate those which work, looking for long term solutions not quick fixes.
- We combine our national data, research and expertise to help services improve and to continue to influence policy makers everywhere.
- We train domestic abuse professionals and provide support and knowledge to frontline staff and commissioners.
- We run change programmes in the public, private and voluntary sectors to increase understanding of domestic abuse and its impact.
The Improvement Service (IS): the ‘go-to’ organisation for local government improvement in Scotland. The IS was established in 2005 as the national improvement organisation for Local Government in Scotland. We were set up to deliver improvement support that would help councils to provide effective community leadership, strong local governance and deliver high quality, efficient local services.
The Protecting People programme at IS offers strategic support for local authorities and their community planning partners to improve outcomes for people affected by all forms of violence against women and girls (VAWG) and/or psychological trauma. The team coordinates the National Violence Against Women (VAW) Network and the Trauma Champions Network as well as working to support local authorities and community planning partners to embed the voices of lived experience in system and service design processes.
Our vision: People with lived experience are valued and are thriving. They are supported by authentic and meaningful relationships within safe, nurturing environments. They are at the heart of public policy, decision making and service design.
Our Mission: We will create space for people with lived experience to be heard, valued, and supported, enabling them to discover their potential and realise their ambitions. As a lived experience led organisation, we will influence positive changes across Scotland enabling services to better engage and support people with lived experience.
Our Values:
- Integrity - Doing what we say we will. Acting truthfully, honestly and striving to do things to the best of our ability, holding ourselves to account.
- Respect - Caring about the feelings, wishes and the rights of those around us
- Dignity - Listening to and recognising the value in the experiences of those around us without judgement.
Our priorities and commitments:
- Realising aspirations - Discovering hope or ambition to achieve personal goals
- Building social capital - Creating a sense of belonging and nurturing connections
- Influencing change - Working with other organisations to improve the way that they deliver support and services.
Find out more
Resources and reports
Find a range of materials that can help you learn more about Authentic Voice.
Events
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Get in touch
If you have any questions or just want to chat further, we'd love to hear from you!