In a bid to help and support more people who are going through sexual or domestic violence, Fermanagh Women’s Aid have recently delivered accredited training to first responders of the emergency services in Fermanagh.

The first ever joint emergency services training on domestic and sexual violence was lead by Women’s Aid Training Co-ordinator Michelle Alonso and was delivered to 50 staff from A&E, the Ambulance Service, the Fire Service and the PSNI in Fermanagh. Mrs. Alonso commented: “Women’s Aid were successful in securing funding from Halifax to deliver the OCN Level two certificate in domestic and sexual violence to first responders in the Fermanagh area. The reason we applied for the funding for first responders was because these are the services that they would maybe be coming into contact with on a first hand basis.

“The best way to support anyone who is going through sexual or domestic violence is if you fully understand what sexual and domestic violence is in the first place. This training is really centred around bringing all of the learners on her journey from the initial stages of meeting her partner right through until maybe the first responders come into contact with her.”

Dr. Alison Little, Consultant in A&E South West Acute Hospital, Podge McKeon, District Commander Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service and PSNI Inspector Joni Beatty were three first responders who took part in the training with Women’s Aid.

When asked by The Impartial Reporter if they had ever experienced a domestic violence disclosure whilst in their role as a first responder, both Dr. Little and Inspector Beatty confirmed that during their 15 years working in their respective fields, they had experienced many disclosures.

Noting that he hadn’t experienced a domestic violence disclosure, District Commander McKeon commented: “But it has made me think, with nearly 30 years in the fire service and outside, I’m thinking back on several instances where I think I should’ve taken note of stuff specifically in my private life.

“I have discussed it with my wife at home and there’s been a couple of cases where I think I missed the signs and now because of the training, it’s been playing on my mind for the last six/eight weeks since I did the training and I think now I’d be better prepared.”

Asking Dr. Little if she would now respond differently to a domestic violence disclosure following the training with Women’s Aid, she replied: “I have had some training throughout my career, but this training was slightly different in that it took you through the experience of the woman. While you can’t understand it if you don’t live it, it helps you understand a lot more of what the women are going through.”

She added: “I have actually had a disclosure since the training and I do feel that I responded better, well I hope I responded better to it and I’ve worked in different places where there has been very clear referral pathways which we haven’t got here at the moment but I think that the training helped me deal with it better and to know who to contact and what to do.”

Responding to the same question, Inspector Beatty said: “From my point of view, definitely, and I speak probably on behalf of most of the officers that have had the training. I’ve certainly had feedback from some of the officers that they do deal with it differently.”

She added: “Sometimes we get called to things and you’re getting called a lot but the woman won’t maybe tell us, you can see she’s maybe building up to it and you’re thinking, ‘that person again, what is it about?’ But after doing the training, officers, because of the way Michelle delivers it, have the empathy then to understand the back story, the coercive control and the drip feeding effect of it.

“They have more empathy for the person and they deal with it differently because they understand the psyche of the perpetrator and the psyche of the victim.

“They know the pattern and they know that she isn’t making a nuisance of herself and phoning in, she’s trying to reach out and it’s knowing then the questions to ask afterwards to try and encourage her to open up a bit more and it’s all on the back of this training.”

Dr. Little commented that the training gave her a “real understanding” of why women don’t leave or they feel unsafe or they are unable to leave.

“I think that for me, that was one of the big things I took away from the training,” she said, adding: “Sometimes it can feel frustrating that you’re seeing people repeatedly with domestic violence injuries but just having that understanding of what’s actually going on at home on a daily basis and understanding why they can’t leave.”

Highlighting the aspect of the training that he thinks he will find the most helpful in his job, District Commander McKeon said: “For myself it would be about making that partnership and that connection. The training was exceptional and I found a lot of it quite hard to take.

“It wasn’t an easy day by any stretch of the imagination but it is now about, being one of the organisations trusted by the community and allowed in people’s homes, being able to signpost in the correct way.”

Inspector Beatty shared: “As an organisation we talk of outcomes, so when somebody reports any crime, an outcome is when we get a prosecution or a result as a finishing point. G District, which is Fermanagh and Omagh, has the highest outcome rate in the whole of Northern Ireland. We have seen an increase of 9.1 per cent in our outcomes within the past three/four months and it is all because of the training our officers are receiving, so much so that our people in headquarters are phoning down to see what we are doing differently in Fermanagh.”

“If we can get a criminal justice outcome for somebody, it’s amazing and when it comes to domestic abuse, it is so difficult but we are leading the way down here and all other districts are looking to see what we’ve done and how we’re doing it and we’re telling them that it’s the training, because I wholeheartedly believe it is,” she added.

Dr. Little concluded by offering advice: “If you feel your situation is immediately unsafe please call the police on 999.

“The emergency department is also a place of safety so if you feel you or your children are unsafe or have thoughts of harming yourself or anyone else as a result of your situation and are unable to call the police or not ready to take that step, we can provide help and support in the Emergency Department 24/7,” Dr. Little told this newspaper.