SignHealth specialist service for deaf victims of domestic abuse and their famlies

Date: Thursday, 14th Sep 2023 | Category: General

Funded by Home Office SignHealth run the UK’s first and only specialist service for Deaf victims of Domestic Abuse and their families.

• Our team of qualified Independent Domestic Violence Advocates (IDVAs) and Young People Violence Advocates (YPVAs) are Deaf using British Sign Language (BSL) and other International Sign Languages (ISL) to support clients.
• Experts by experience, our team communicate directly with clients, quickly establishing trust and rapport.
• This model is significantly safer and more cost-effective than using BSL / English interpreters and is crucial for providing the right support for Deaf survivors.
• We won’t exclude non-BSL users.
• We will assess whether our service is suited to meet their needs or if we signpost to another service that can be supported by us.

Aim: We strive to educate, empower, encourage, and protect Deaf people from all forms of domestic abuse using their preferred language, BSL.

We have a wealth of accessible resources in BSL to give Deaf people fair access to the same vital information as their hearing peers. Watch videos here: https://signhealth.org.uk/video-category/domestic-abuse/ i.e., Sexting, Consent, HBV, FGM and many more.

We also offer training for mainstream/hearing providers – Workshops such as Domestic Abuse in the Deaf Community is a detailed look into domestic abuse in the Deaf community and why many Deaf people fear to interact with services.  We also explore some Deaf Awareness to support others in making their service more accessible. This training is FREE.