Our Pioneers

Pioneering at SafeLives

Our vision is to place the voice of people with lived experience at the heart of all we do to end abuse. To do this, we must co-create our approach and work closely with our group of experts by experience – the SafeLives Pioneers. It is Pioneers’ expertise and passion that makes our work meaningful, authentic and effective. Their vision should be interwoven into everything we do.

Pioneers, and a wider community of people with lived experience, can be involved in work through a number of ways:

Informing our activity internally: External relations:
  • Co-producing initiatives and interventions
  • Providing expertise on our current and future projects
  • Survivor consultations
  • Facilitating survivor meetings
  • Writing and reviewing documents
  • Providing feedback on our activities
  • Completing surveys
  • Project planning
  • Providing quotes and case study material
  • Digital engagement (e.g. social media takeovers)
  • Talking to the press and media
  • Public affairs activity/events
  • Fundraising bids/events
  • Speaking at conferences

What have Pioneers been doing this year?

We are working in partnership with organisations in Manchester, Bolton and Sheffield to support local survivors to transform responses to domestic abuse in their area.

We recently completed a Pioneer-led partnership with the University of Central Lancaster on an e-learning package on domestic abuse entitled “Our Journey, Your Role” which directly links the experiences of survivors engaging in help with the knowledge professionals need to respond well, demonstrating the impact of domestic abuse on children.

We are working with the Institute for Addressing Strangulation to ensure the voices of survivors and those with lived experience are at the heart of our understanding of how best to respond to Non-Fatal Strangulation.

With the Vision Foundation, we are working with survivors, including survivors who have experienced sight loss, to develop training and a toolkit for professionals to understand the needs of survivors with sight loss.

Pioneer Organisations

Some of the SafeLives Pioneers have outstanding organisations outside of their work with SafeLives. Below you will find resources and information on a few by-and-for organisations founded by some of our pioneers.

Logo for Bambuuu

Bambuuu

Bambuuu is a Community Interest Company with one purpose: to end domestic abuse for every woman and girl. Our aim is to highlight and challenge...
Logo for Bambuuu

Bambuuu

Bambuuu is a Community Interest Company with one purpose: to end domestic abuse for every woman and girl. Our aim is to highlight and challenge all forms of gender-related violence against women, empower Survivors to gain confidence and control over their lives; to live free from fear of violence and assert their human rights to justice, equality, and freedom. Bambuuu is an organisation founded by women of colour, specialising in supporting women of colour. As experts in their field, their mission to to deliver a service that is compassionate and understanding a Survivor’s individual need.

Logo for Amour Destine

Amour Destiné

Amour Destiné, French for “Love your Destiny”, is a community interest company that aims to improve the socio–economic status of women born of African and...
Logo for Amour Destine

Amour Destiné

Amour Destiné, French for “Love your Destiny”, is a community interest company that aims to improve the socio–economic status of women born of African and Caribbean heritage in the UK. They aim to achieve this by helping women affected by, but not limited to traumatic care experiences, domestic abuse and sexual violence work towards building the lives they desire. By accessing advocacy support from Amour Destiné, women are able to address the various challenges they may be facing such as no recourse to public funds, family law access and mediation. Amour Destiné helps women develop confidence and self-belief which will enable and encourage them to live out their ambitions to succeed in life.

Logo for Voices

Voices

Voices is a survivor-founded charity in Bath specialising in domestic abuse recovery and lived-experience consultation. VOICES works together with people who have been affected by...
Logo for Voices

Voices

Voices is a survivor-founded charity in Bath specialising in domestic abuse recovery and lived-experience consultation. VOICES works together with people who have been affected by domestic abuse, whether in the past or more recently, to prevent harm and promote recovery. They aim to help families to recover and thrive. We do this through individual support and advocacy, and a suite of group recovery programmes.

The logo for St Helens The Best Me CIC

St Helens The Best Me

St Helens the Best Me CIC is a by-and-for grassroots organisation, led and run by volunteers in the community with lived experience of adverse childhood...
The logo for St Helens The Best Me CIC

St Helens The Best Me

St Helens the Best Me CIC is a by-and-for grassroots organisation, led and run by volunteers in the community with lived experience of adverse childhood experience and domestic abuse, filling in the gaps that are normally left behind, breaking the cycle of domestic abuse and help survivors process trauma.