Background
The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland and Catalyst Stockton have been working to improve support for ethnically diverse victims of domestic abuse.
In 2022, the OPCC launched the £30,000 Bridging the Gap fund, which was run by Catalyst.
Funding has now been given to a range of voluntary and community organisations, who work with people from a diverse range of ethnic backgrounds.
It aims to help victims of domestic abuse, who face cultural barriers, to access existing domestic abuse agencies.
The fund was launched after consultation with groups working with ethnically diverse communities.
Research showed that many people from ethnically diverse communities did not access support for domestic abuse.
Other community members were happy to access support through existing domestic abuse services. However, they wanted agencies to be able to cater to their cultural or religious needs.
The Criteria
All submissions met one of the following categories:
Education and awareness raising:
- Helping ethnically diverse communities to understand what domestic abuse is in the UK. Helping them to understand how the criminal justice system works as well as the support services available in Cleveland.
Brokering connections:
- Building bridges between ethnically diverse communities and domestic abuse services. Working with criminal justice partners to increase opportunities for reporting and referrals.
Victim support:
- Ethnically diverse representatives to support domestic abuse victims as an advocate, friend, navigator or champion. This may be by giving one-off support (accompanying to specialist appointments) or longer term assistance to aid recovery from abuse.
Specialist information, advice and guidance:
- Providing expert knowledge on specialist topics such as forced marriage, honour-based violence and female genital mutilation. This may include tailored information for specific groups, such as asylum seekers, migrants or refugees.
2022 Awards
Awards, worth a total of £30,000, were made from the Bridging the Gap fund. Grants were given to to the following organisations:
- Stockton African Caribbean Association – SACA (awarded £5,000)
- Women Today North East (£4,042)
- Ubuntu (£4,000)
- Afghan Women (£4,750)
- Creative Minds/Purple Rose (£8,000)
- Victory Christian Ministries International – VCMI (£4,208)
Read more about this year’s funding at: