Isobel Shirlaw, Refuge - DFID Girl Summit 2014

"We all have a duty to listen - practitioners, policy makers, politicians. If we tailor our every action, every intervention, policy, response, in short, our entire system around the needs of women and children, then we might start to see real change..." - Isobel Shirlaw

Panel Discussion: Spotlight on Progress A6 - Supporting and Empowering Those Affected by FGM and Child, Early and Forced Marriage

Context
This is one of the 14 "Spotlights on Progress" video-recorded sessions that took place at the Girl Summit 2014 in London on 22nd July. The sessions were organised to spark conversations and share best practice between practitioners from around the world, between grassroots activists and ministers, and across all the issues of female genital mutilation (FGM) and child, early, and forced marriage (CEFM). Girl Summit is a project of the Department for International Development (DFID), UK.

A featured panelist of this Spotlight session was Isobel Shirlaw, Head of Justice Initiatives, Refuge, who will talk about "Violence Against Women and Girls: Seeing the Whole Picture, UK".

Profile of Speaker

Isobel Shirlaw is the head of Refuge’s Justice Initiatives team. She leads on Refuge’s work with criminal justice agencies; liaison with international partners; and Refuge’s domestic homicide programme. She is responsible for the development of services for victims of domestic violence and other forms of gender-based violence across the UK.

Project strategy and key points made in the presentation:

Refuge, a charity which was started in 1971, is the UK's largest provider of specialist services, supporting 3000 women and children on any given day across the national network of services. These are women and children who are facing a range of gender-based violence which include: Domestic violence (physical, sexual, financial, emotional or psychological abuse); rape and sexual assault; stalking; prostitution; trafficking for sexual exploitation; female genital mutilation; forced marriage; and so-called 'honour'-based violence.

Refuge uses a three-pronged approach which involves:

• Provision - of a range of high quality services for abused women and children (more information below).
• Protection - Refuge advocates for improvements to domestic violence policy and practice, and the implementation of legislation to meet the needs of abused women and children. They also encourage other agencies to develop best practice services and approaches.
• Prevention - the organisation helps to prevent domestic violence through campaigning, education, training, and research. It works in partnership with other agencies to raise awareness of domestic violence, its causes, and solutions.

As outlined in the talk and on the organisation's website, the services provided by Refuge include:

• A network of refuges across the country - these provide emergency accommodation for women escaping abuse as well as emotional and practical support.
• Independent domestic violence advocacy - this service provides expert guidance for women going through civil and criminal courts. They help women to obtain injunctions and occupation orders, and they help increase conviction rates.
• Outreach services - as some women may choose not to go into a refuge or leave their home, outreach workers meet with women at safe times in their own homes or in discreet places in the community. They help women to draw up safety plans, process housing applications, and also provide emotional support.
• Culturally specific services - as women and children from minority ethnic groups often find it difficult to access mainstream support services, Refuge provides culturally specific refuges and outreach programmes for Eastern European, African, and Asian families.
• A helpline - Refuge operates a national 24-hour domestic violence helpline (run in partnership with Women’s Aid).

Isobel Shirlaw stresses the importance of providing bespoke services that have been tailored to meet the specific needs of each individual survivor. Refuge does not believe that 'one size fits all' as every woman and every child experiences violence and abuse in a different way. So, if a woman would like to have her niece brought to a place of safety before she testifies, then Refuge will help her to do that.

She also stresses the importance of listening to women, saying that if we do not listen to women, we will not end violence against women, but will end up designing blanket policies, procedures, responses that continue to fail women and children. Women are the real experts and unless we listen, there is a danger that we focus too much on the wrong thing.

She talks about how Refuge's frontline staff are highly trained to listen and to respond appropriately and sensitively. They are also forbidden from telling any women what to do because this is what her abuser did. They must ask her what she wants - and experience has shown that when women are put in the driver's seat, they are better able to turn their lives around.

She ends off by saying that "We all have a duty to listen - practitioners, policy makers, politicians. If we tailor our every action, every intervention, policy, response, in short, our entire system around the needs of women and children, then we might start to see real change."

Overview of the "Supporting and Empowering Those Affected by FGM and Child, Early and Forced Marriage" session:
As outlined in the programme summary document handed out at the summit:
"This spotlight discusses the different types of services that we must ensure people affected by FGM and child, early and forced marriage have access to, highlighting the importance of providing a holistic package of support. The spotlight will showcase initiatives which provide medical, counselling and advocacy support, and programmes dedicated to supporting the needs of married girls. This spotlight will hear others’ experiences and discuss what we can learn from them."

As summarised by the panel organisers following the panel discussion:
"The panel of speakers shared their experiences of frontline service provision or programming to support those affected by FGM and CEFM. In discussions on FGM and CEFM, the need to break the cycle of shame were emphasised, and the need to listen to those affected. There was a lot of positive reflection that after many years of campaigning on these issues, people were finally getting a platform to share the reality of girls’ and women’s experiences. However it was agreed that much more needed to be done. There was consensus that a holistic response was needed, that services and programmes needed to consider women and girls whether pregnant or not, and married or not, and that although there were workable models out there to eliminate both practices, these needed to be scaled up."

The session was opened by Leyla Hussein, activist and founder of Daughters of Eve and Dahlia Project.

The speakers, in order of appearance, are:
Isobel Shirlaw Head of Justice Initiatives, Refuge
Dr Venkatraman Chandra-Mouli Department for Reproductive Health and Research, World Health Organisation
Jasvinder Sanghera CBE Chief Executive and Founder, Karma Nirvana
Dr Edna Adan Ismail Founder and CEO, Edna Adan Maternity Hospital and Chancellor, Edna Adan University
Juliet Albert Specialist FGM Midwife, Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital (Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust), London
Doris Bartel Senior Director of Gender and Empowerment, CARE USA

The session is moderated by Susan Bookbinder, journalist, broadcaster, columnist and media consultant with a particular focus on FGM.

Footage of this (available below) and other "Spotlight Sessions" are available on DFID’s YouTube channel.