How NIDAS is Working to #ChangeTheStory in Norfolk

The theme of this year’s White Ribbon Campaign is #ChangeTheStory, encouraging people – particularly men and boys – to do their bit to tackle domestic abuse and all forms of violence against women and girls.

As we are rapidly approaching the second anniversary of NIDAS, we wanted to share some of the ways the service is already changing the story across Norfolk, as well as sharing how you can support the work that we do.

We want to encourage businesses, organisations, and individuals to do all they can to #ChangeTheStory, whether that is in your workplace environment, looking out for friends and family, or raising awareness in your local community.

We all have a role to play to tackle domestic abuse.

The Journey So Far

Since launching in January 2022, NIDAS has grown considerably, and we are proud of the hard work that has been put in to support people experiencing domestic abuse across Norfolk.

We now have specialist Independent Domestic Abuse Advocates (IDVAs) supporting vulnerable people with disabilities, people from diverse communities, LGBTQ+ people, male victims, and family support workers.

NIDAS also has dedicated Child and Adolescent to Parent Violence and Abuse IDVAs (CAPVA), following additional funding to deliver the Respect Young Peoples Programme (RYPP) earlier this year.

These specialist roles ensure that we are providing support that is tailored to the individual, rather than offering generic one-size-fits-all support that does not fully cater to the service users’ needs.

They have been gradually introduced over the past few years as part of NIDAS’ ongoing commitment to providing the best possible support for all survivors across the county, regardless of their support needs or where they live.

The Future

Over the next couple of years, we hope to continue to grow the service to ensure that we are providing the best possible support for survivors, meeting the challenges that are affecting people across our communities.

We know that survivors face many barriers when accessing support – just in the last few years we have seen the impact that the rising cost of living has had.

We will continue to meet these challenges, working with organisations across the county to ensure that all support is joined up and meets the needs of our service users.

We also hope to continue our work to raise awareness of domestic abuse and the support NIDAS provides across Norfolk, whether at local events, training, presentations, or through our Domestic Abuse Champion network.

Everyone has a role to play to tackle domestic abuse and we want to encourage organisations to do their bit to support employees and those that use their services.

Supporting NIDAS

There are many ways for businesses, organisations, and individuals to support NIDAS and the work that we do.

It might be that your organisation would benefit from a presentation or training to increase your knowledge of domestic abuse, helping you to support your employees and service users that may be experiencing it.

We also have some useful resources such as information cards and posters that may be appropriate to be displayed in your workplace.

Even just sharing posts on social media can make a massive difference, helping us to raise awareness of domestic abuse and the support that NIDAS provides, as well as potentially getting information to people that may need our support.