Domestic abuse survivors look to train Thames Valley Police officers to better support victims
The group wants to educate officers on the signs of trauma and how to respond
A group of domestic abuse survivors working at Thames Valley Police are hoping to help change the way officers understand and respond to victims.
The team of five recently set up a support group for anyone affected by domestic abuse within the force, but have also spoken about plans to train officers for their investigations.
PC Skye Feasey said: "We want to work with our senior management teams, specific domestic abuse teams and our internal professional standards department to have conversations around how we can support victims in a better, more specific way."
Community Support Officer Alison Blood says it's important that officers recognise that victims may not always behave in the way they expect when reporting abuse.
"I was very traumatised and dissociated when I was trying to report things and couldn't remember everything," she said.
"That was almost seen as a negative, whereas actually that's very standard behaviour for someone that's been through years of trauma in an abusive relationship."
She also emphasised the importance of reaching staff as soon as they enter the force.
"We want to try and educate these officers as they're starting and to build their career," Alison said.
This could include hosting sessions for the new recruits as part of their wider training programme.
The aim is to help them better understand the signs of trauma and provide a more supportive response during investigations further down the line.
The group hopes the work will not only improve support for police officers and staff experiencing domestic abuse, but ultimately lead to a better service for victims across the Thames Valley.