Survivors Panel

The Survivors Panel is for adult (aged 18+) victims and survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence in Teesside.

Domestic abuse includes emotional, physical, and economic abuse; controlling or threatening behaviour; and so-called 'honour'-based violence. It can happen between couples or family members.

Sexual violence is any kind of sexual activity without consent. This includes rape, sexual assault, sexual abuse, and sexual harassment.

Everyone is welcome, whether the abuse is happening now, in the past, or in your childhood.

We also welcome friends and family who are supporting victims and survivors.

We recognise that it's also important to hear from children, and this is something we'll be looking at in the future.

The Survivors Panel is made up of victims and survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence, as well as victim support professionals.

The panel makes sure the views of survivors are heard in discussions about local support for survivors of domestic abuse, sexual violence, 'honour'-based violence, and exploitation. It also looks at what's working well and examples of best practice, as well as areas for improvement.

We use 'victims and survivors' to describe people with experience of domestic abuse, sexual violence, and 'honor'-based abuse. We feel it's the most common term to describe people with lived experience of abuse.

We might also just say 'victims' or 'survivors' sometimes, if we're trying to be concise.

But we know some people do not like or use these terms. We fully support everyone's right to describe themselves, and their experiences, in a way which is comfortable for them.

We ask survivors to share their experiences of accessing or receiving support. We're looking for examples where this worked well, but also where there could be improvements.

You only ever have to share as much as you're comfortable with.

Panel members will also take part in activities to help us identify key themes, like a particular area which needs improvement.

The panel meets every 6 weeks, at the same place and time. This will be shared before the meeting.

We understand that panel members might not be able to attend every meeting. We'll make sure there are still ways for you to share your experience, ideas, and thoughts, even if you cannot attend every meeting. This could be online, by email, in private with one of the panel members, or via the specialist service supporting you.

Yes. We'll make sure there are still ways for you to share your experience, ideas, and thoughts. This could be online, by email, or in private with one of the panel members.

We'll follow the safeguarding procedures set out in our Terms of Reference.

We're going to work with survivors to write the Terms of Reference, to make sure they support all panel members, and keep them safe.

We understand that talking about abuse, or hearing other people talk about it, can be extremely upsetting.

Some of our panel members are from victim support services, and have experience of working with victims and survivors in a trauma-informed way. They'll be able to support you if you're struggling with a certain topic.

There are also ground rules in place to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the panel and its members. Everyone must agree to these rules when they join the panel.

We may share information with the police and other professionals, support services, and funders, to help change and improve services for survivors.

Everything will be shared anonymously and will not include your name. You can also ask us not to share anything you've talked about.

Survivor engagement means empowering victims and survivors of domestic abuse to use their lived experience to create change.

'Lived experience' means something you've directly experienced yourself. Someone with lived experience of domestic abuse or sexual violence will have experienced any form of domestic abuse or sexual violence, including having lived with it as a child.

Survivor engagement could involve:

• advising a service which works with victims and survivors about how they provide support
• speaking about your lived experience at an event or to the media
• taking part in research
• consulting with organisations on relevant policies (for example, those which have an impact on victims and survivors)

It can be online or in person, depending on the type of activity.

It might include filling in questionnaires, taking part in one-to-one interviews, or attending a focus group to look at a specific issue.

Survivor engagement opportunities will depend on what the topics, requests, or themes organisations or survivors are looking for.

For example, organisations might want to hear from survivors who live or have lived in a particular area, or who've had experience with a particular agency.

Opportunities can be online or in-person, and may be one-to-one, in groups, or anonymous.

Taking part in the Survivors Panel

The role description explains what's involved in being a panel member.

Our self-audit checklist can help you think about whether you're in the right place to be involved in the Survivors Panel. Not all of the questions will have a 'right' answer. The checklist is just to suggest some things you might want to think about.

We understand that people's circumstances can change, and you always have the choice to leave the panel if it's no longer right for you.

Taking part in survivor engagement

As well as the self-audit checklist, there are specific things you might want to think about when you're offered the chance to take part in a survivor engagement opportunity. For example:

1. How much time do I have to give up?
2. What is the purpose?
3. Is it online or in person? If it's in person, will they cover my travel expenses?
4. Who is running the activity? What experience do they have?
5. Are they offering payment or vouchers for my time?
6. Do I need support from a victim support service to take part in the opportunity?
7. Can I change my mind at any time?
8. Do I have to share my identity?
9. Are there procedures in place to keep me safe?