Domestic and sexual abuse support worker

Respond to and manage information from survivors and supply information to external agencies.

Respond to and manage crisis situations whilst adhering to lone working policies and other relevant procedures.

Carry out risk assessment and safety planning with survivors whilst considering safeguarding issues and individual support needs.

Commit to equality and challenge inequality and discrimination in all aspects of practice.

Use different communication methods and adapt your style to achieve the desired outcomes for survivors.

Create a safe and appropriate environment for survivors within the context of your service using trauma informed approaches.

Manage and maintain casework and information sharing in line with legal requirements and organisational policy and procedures.

Raise awareness of the nature, prevalence, and consequences of all forms of domestic and sexual abuse and violence.

Support survivors through criminal and or civil court processes.

Support and engage with survivors to inform them of local and regional services.

Advocate for survivors and their families within multi-agency settings and processes.

Provide information and support to enable survivors to make their own informed choices towards recovery.

Maintain own wellbeing and personal development via training or supervision

Demonstrate an understanding of trauma and apply trauma informed approaches in support interventions.

Contribute to and promote local and national initiatives including consultations and campaigns.

Support survivors to explore appropriate accommodation and access appropriate health, welfare and financial support using local and national provisions.

Support survivors who are not British citizens, including asylum-seekers, refugees, individuals from the European Economic Area (EEA) and other migrants, to access safe housing, financial support and other services using local and statutory provisions that meet cultural and religious needs.

Support survivors to understand the nature and impact of the abuse on their family and assist them in accessing relevant resources.

Support children, young people and their parent or carer with their emotional and practical needs.

Provide engagement activities appropriate to the child or young person’s individual experience of abuse.

Empower and support survivors with tools to maintain and strengthen their relationships with their children.

Carry out early intervention and preventative work with children and young people.

Contribute to initiatives to educate children and young people around consent, healthy relationships, gender inequality and all forms of domestic and sexual abuse and violence.

Act as an advocate to challenge institutional discrimination.

Deliver a specialist advocacy service for survivors and co-survivors of sexual violence that focuses on meeting the individual needs of the client, recognises and responds to intersecting causes of oppression.

Identify and challenge myths and stereotypes surrounding sexual violence.

Provide trauma informed, strengths-based, client led support to survivors of sexual violence.

Support clients in understanding their reactions in the immediacy of sexual violence and recognising and managing the longer-term impacts they might experience.