Anti-racist practice in IDVA and ISVA work

Racism shapes how survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence are seen, believed and protected by the services meant to keep them safe. For IDVAs and ISVAs, anti-racist practice means recognising that pattern in each case, naming it, and acting on it with the survivor.

Racism and risk

Black and racialised survivors can be disbelieved, criminalised or offered a one-size-fits-all service that ignores the specific risks they face. Terms like BAME flatten distinct communities into one category, and they hide the differences in culture, faith, family and immigration that shape a survivor’s safety. Racism can be part of the abuse itself, when a perpetrator uses racist language, immigration threats or isolation from community as tools of control.

Practice requirements

• Name racism as a risk factor wherever it affects a survivor’s safety, including racist abuse from the perpetrator and racism from services.
• Advocate with agencies when a survivor’s account is doubted, and record that advocacy on the case file.
• Ask each survivor about their own culture, faith and family, and avoid assumptions about their community.
• Use professional interpreters, and never ask family or community members to interpret.
• Build relationships with by-and-for services, and refer with the survivor’s consent.

Accountability

Anti-racist practice includes looking at our own assumptions, and at the policies and processes of the services we work within. An advocate who notices a referral pathway failing racialised survivors has a responsibility to raise it, record it and push for change.

Training

Our Intersectional IDSVA programme teaches anti-racist practice across every unit, starting with a Foundations block on anti-racism, intersectionality and power. Learners work with our own frameworks, including the Friedom Framework. These come from our research with racialised victim-survivors, funded by the West Midlands Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner. You can find the dates, units and costs of our accredited IDVA and ISVA training on our Intersectional IDSVA Training page.