How will Step Forward to Recovery help me?

Developed by experts at MyCWA in collaboration with survivors who truly understand what’s needed to support recovery – Step Forward is an easy-to-follow, self-paced programme that’ll help you support the people you work with.

I work for a local authority

If you work for a local authority providing support to families affected by domestic abuse, you can use Step Forward to Recovery as cost-effective supplement to your face-to-face support. Fill in the contact form below to tell us a bit more about what your organisation needs.

i WORK FOR A CHARITY / NFP

Maybe you work for a charity or not-for-profit providing vital services for your communities, like we do. Or perhaps you specialise in other areas and have a limited understanding of domestic abuse. Or you might want to signpost people who have disclosed abuse to a specialist support service as well as their local authority. Contact us using the form below and let’s take it from there.

I work in education

We know disclosures of domestic abuse from parents and students are commonplace in educational settings. If you work in a school or university and would like to provide access to Step Forward as part of your welfare offering – as an extension of your standard safeguarding procedures and support – please get in touch using the contact form below.

I’m an employer

Whatever the size of your business, if you’re responsible for developing your company’s benefits packages and/or employee wellbeing schemes, why not provide your staff with access to Step Forward in recognition that domestic abuse can affect anyone? Show your employees that they’re valued – and you’re there to help, without judgement – when your colleagues need you.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for facts about the impact of domestic abuse on the workplace…

 
 
 

what I learnt:

“Understanding, awareness and self esteem. Also knowing what support is available and recognising things like red flags.” – Step Forward participant.

 

Step Forward to Recovery – programme content:

Through six modules, survivors cover the following topics, all designed to help them heal from their experiences. Click on the module titles below to learn more about Step Forward to Recovery.

  • In this section, survivors are introduced to the programme and given an overview of what to expect: keeping yourself safe and looking after your emotional wellbeing. They’ll also be introduced to the recovery journal and be able to download it.

  • This module is designed to help survivors keep themselves safe online, in their home and out in public – as well as looking after their mental health and wellbeing.

  • This section covers history, research and the models we use to support you. In gaining an understanding of domestic abuse, survivors’ experiences are validated, which is such an important aspect of recovery.

  • This module is important when it comes to helping adult survivors and their children recover from their experiences and rebuild their lives. We discuss communication, healthy parenting, the impact of domestic abuse through the life stages, and activities survivors can carry out with their child/children.

  • In this section, we provide survivors with an overview of the different types of behaviour that can be present in someone who causes harm. We describe how survivors might feel in different situations and we discuss behaviour change options available for people who use harmful behaviours.

  • The final section of the programme contains a variety of activities for survivors to complete; around topics such as setting boundaries, spotting signs and red flags, and understanding relationship values – with emphasis on self care and reflection.

 

IMPORTANT:

Each section contains helpful self-care activities for survivors to complete before they move on to the next module. Self-care is extremely important in recovery from domestic abuse, so we encourage survivors to prioritise it throughout the course.

 
“It has helped me to identify the signs of an abusive relationship. And where to go if I need support in the future.”
— step forward to recovery feedback
 

FAQs

We’ll add to this section as we receive more enquiries, but for now here are some of our most frequently asked questions. Please feel free to contact us with any other questions you have.

  • We can provide you with training, all the way from domestic abuse awareness, to asking the right questions, handling disclosures and how to introduce Step Forward to Recovery to the survivors you work with.

  • We can provide training for you and support you in understanding the Step Forward to Recovery programme so you feel confident in offering it to those who need it.

  • Of course, you should follow your own standard safeguarding procedures, but we can provide information about whether or not Step Forward is suitable for someone.

How to register

We’ve designed the Step Forward to Recovery programme to be completely adaptable according to the needs of your organisation, area and clients.

We’re happy to work with you to incorporate your relevant information and signposting, film your staff for the introductory modules and add in information about the domestic abuse services in your area.

We also offer training to accompany the roll out of the programme within your organisation/area (such as domestic abuse awareness and how to have conversations with clients about Step Forward to Recovery)

If you’re a local authority, we can also provide you with progress reports.

Please use the contact form below to briefly describe your requirements and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

 

Contact us

 

The impact of domestic abuse on the workforce

One in four women and one in six men will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime. When looking at even a small workforce of a dozen or so employees, the likelihood is that at least one of them will have been impacted by domestic abuse.

The impact on UK businesses is huge. Research by KPMG and Vodafone in 2019* into the impact of domestic abuse found significant costs associated with recruitment, training and absenteeism as well as productivity and output.

£316million in economic output is lost by UK businesses each year as a result of work absences related to abuse

If you make a genuine commitment to supporting employees affected by domestic abuse, you’ll reduce rates of absence, improve employee retention, enhance wellbeing and improve motivation across your workforce.

In the UK, about 122,000 working women took time off work because of domestic abuse in a single year (2018/19)

Your employees may be struggling behind closed doors. Show them you care and you’ll support them – without judgement – whenever they need to talk about how their relationship might be impacting their work.

* Source: The Workplace Impacts of Domestic Violence and Abuse