Ashram Housing to stage major domestic violence conference

A film about four women from black and minority ethnic communities who experienced domestic violence will be showcased at a national conference next week.

The conference, hosted by Ashram Housing Association and the University of Wolverhampton, will explore issues such as forced marriage and the under-reporting of domestic violence within the ethnic minority community.

High-profile speakers at the event on Tuesday November 25 include Wiltshire Chief Constable Brian Moore, the lead on domestic violence for the Association of Chief Police Officers, and Nicki Norman, Deputy Chief Executive, Women’s Aid England.

Margaret Moran MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Domestic Violence, is also giving a video address.

Since 2004 Ashram has dealt with almost 700 cases of forced marriage in the Midlands alone, and a further 450 cases of so-called ‘honour crime’. Many hundreds more cases go unreported.

The conference will explore why women from ethnic minorities are less likely to seek help and how agencies can work together to tackle the problem more effectively.

Ashram and charity Women Acting In Today’s Society (WAITS) commissioned the film which follows the experiences of women from Jamaica, China, Brazil as well as a British-Pakistani woman to illustrate the additional challenges faced by women from ethnic minority communities.

Margaret Moran MP said: “There are literally thousands of women out there suffering domestic violence and we as a society have a duty to do everything we can to tackle that.

"Organisations like Ashram have shown how we can provide services that are both effective and culturally appropriate.

“A ‘one-size-fits all’ response to these sensitive, complex and challenging issues is not going to meet the needs of these women – now is the time to be exploring how we can raise awareness and mainstream culturally appropriate services to not only help these people, but to reach out to them in the first place.”

Amanda Nicholls, Ashram Deputy Chief Executive, said: “There is a significant issue in the Midlands, and indeed nationally, with domestic violence relating to areas such as forced marriage and so-called honour-crime which we need to tackle sensitively but effectively.

“We need to understand why reporting in certain communities is lower and explore how mainstream services can better meet their needs. The informal advice and networks which exist are not a long-term solution.

“Partnerships between community-based organisations such as Ashram and mainstream agencies are vital in reaching those suffering domestic violence and in helping organisations develop services which are culturally appropriate.”

The conference, being held at the University of Wolverhampton, will also show a clip of the first ever British-made feature film on Honour Crime. The film called Land, Gold, Women, was filmed in Birmingham earlier this year.