NEWS: Say Women Training Available to practitioners working with survivors of sexual abuse
Say Women, established in 1991, are an organisation working to provide safe accommodation and related services for young women who are survivors of childhood sexual abuse, rape and sexual assault, who are threatened with homelessness.
They have a wealth of knowledge in this area and are now offering training to other organisations, so that workers can feel confident in supporting young women who may be facing these issues.
The training responds to the needs of survivors, workers, organisations and strategic bodies:
- All of SAY Women's training reflects and contributes to the Scottish Government's Equally Safe strategy priorities.
- Scottish society embraces equality and mutual respect, and rejects all forms of violence against women and girls.
- Women and girls thrive as equal citizens: socially, culturally, economically and politically.
- SAY Women's interventions are early and effective, preventing further violence and maximising the safety and well-being of women and girls.
- Men desist from all forms of violence against women and girls and perpetrators of such violence receive robust and effective response.
- SAY Women's training provides a thorough understanding of Housing First and tenancy sustainment; firmly recognising that CSA is a housing and homelessness issue and that women's housing needs are unique and different.
A range of courses are available to be delivered face to face or via zoom, including:
Child Sexual Abuse and the links to Housing and Homelessness > 1 day This course informs participants about the links between child sexual abuse and homelessness, exploring how the impacts of sexual abuse can contribute to difficulties in tenancy sustainment. Participants will develop their understanding of child sexual abuse and the social context in which abuse occurs and consider a gendered analysis of homelessness.
Working with Self-Harm > 1 day This training aims to increase participants' awareness of self-harm, helping participants to recognise the needs of individuals and respond appropriately.
Toolkit for Working with Survivors > 1 day Builds on workers' knowledge and understanding of sexual abuse and its impacts, and explores appropriate ways to work with and support survivors of sexual abuse through appealing to a model of trauma recovery used by SAY Women.
Working with Survivors of CSA who experience Addiction Issues > 1 day Developed and delivered in partnership with SDF, this course aims to increase understanding of the complex relationship between substance use and child sexual abuse.
CSA Awareness > half-day This half-day course seeks to raise participants' awareness of child sexual abuse and the prevalence.
Supporting Disclosure of CSA > half-day Supports participants' to feel confident about managing disclosures of sexual abuse, offering practical guidance about how to facilitate disclosures.
Understanding Gender-based Violence > half-day This short input provides participants with an understanding of Gender-based Violence, introducing a feminist analysis of why violence against women and girls occurs.
Groupwork Facilitation > 1 day Drawing on SAY Women's successful groupwork provision, the training offers guidance on the planning, execution, and facilitation of groupwork within services.
There is a also a range of online courses which can be undertaken in 2 hours.
If you are interested in accessing courses for your staff team, group access can be arranged. Please contact the team at Scottish Mentoring Network on info@scottishmentoringnetwork.co.uk and we can pass on your details to the team at SAY Women.