ARU research addresses postcode lottery for victims
We need culturally responsive domestic abuse and sexual violence support – Dr Guha
Dr Mirna Guha, Senior Lecturer in Sociology and Deputy Head of the School for Humanities and Social Sciences
Research from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) has highlighted how one Cambridgeshire project could serve as a blueprint to end the postcode lottery faced by domestic abuse and sexual violence (DASV) victims across England and Wales.
Nationally, there is a significant shortage of support services provided by and for women from minority backgrounds. Dr Mirna Guha of ARU is leading initiatives to address this by fostering racially diverse leadership within services that tackle violence against women and girls.
Dr Guha recently presented her research findings, which highlighted regional disparities in service provision and showcased the success of an innovative scheme in Peterborough, to a national audience in London.
Following her pilot study focusing on Asian women in Cambridgeshire which showed the need for DASV services to be more culturally responsive, Dr Guha collaborated with Peterborough Women’s Aid to secure Home Office funding for the first ‘by and for’ provision for Asian women experiencing domestic abuse in the county.
The Dahlia Project is delivered entirely by a team of newly recruited Asian women from the British Pakistani community in Peterborough and is governed by a board of Asian men and women.
Dr Guha is currently evaluating The Dahlia Project, which has received around 200 referrals since launching in 2023, including from women of African Caribbean, Middle Eastern and South-east Asian backgrounds, highlighting its importance to different racial minority groups.
Additionally, further research carried out in Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Suffolk last year by Dr Guha, in collaboration with Dr Katherine Allen from the University of Suffolk, identified the need for representative and culturally responsive leadership to ensure organisations delivering DASV services are welcoming for diverse members of staff, and the support provided is accessible for victims-survivors.
It also underlined the need for practitioners from diverse backgrounds to have access to role models and networking opportunities to help combat professional isolation.
In response to this regional need, Dr Guha and Dr Allen recently established a Community of Practice for Diverse Women Leaders and last week introduced the HUM Leadership Model for Emerging Leaders at the event in London, which brought together a diverse group of women leaders from voluntary and national statutory organisations, including the National Police Chiefs’ Council.
The event, which also featured a speech by Superintendent Jasvinder Kaur, Domestic Abuse Lead at Suffolk Constabulary and co-founder of the National Women of Colour in Policing, UK, highlighted the success of The Dahlia Project and demonstrated how the Peterborough scheme could be replicated in regions similarly affected by the postcode lottery.
“In certain regions, representation of women from racially and culturally diverse backgrounds in politics and policymaking is low, and systemic barriers also prevent victims from these communities seeking support.
“Celebrating and supporting Black and racialised women’s leadership in organisations that address violence against women and girls is crucial. The network we have set up aims to accelerate the leadership of minoritised women and make domestic abuse services inclusive and responsive to the complex needs of victims-survivors from different backgrounds.
“Evidence from my research will support efforts by the Domestic Abuse Commissioner to advocate for a dedicated national ‘by and for’ funding pot. This would ensure minoritised victims-survivors across England and Wales receive high-quality support, regardless of their location. The Dahlia Project is making a real difference in Cambridgeshire, but we need more projects like it across the country to end this postcode lottery of provision.”
Dr Mirna Guha, Senior Lecturer in Sociology and Deputy Head of the School for Humanities and Social Sciences at ARUThe Community of Practice will be hosted online through Anglia Ruskin University, with the goal of evolving into a Regional Advisory Body to influence future practice, research and policy design affecting victims-survivors.
Dr Guha’s work ‘Nothing about us without us’: Investigating the impact of the leadership of ethnic minority women on domestic abuse service provision in East England has received Medical Research Council UK Prevention Research Partnership VISION funding.