VAWG training courses

I’m pleased to announce new training dates for Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) for May and some in June. Training courses include Allyship & Misogyny; Trauma Informed Practice and VAWG; VAWG & Online Safety; VAWG & Non-English Speakers; Harmful Practices: ‘Honour’ Based Abuse and Forced Marriage; and please scroll to the bottom to see training dates for the next VAWG Champion 3 day training course. These have all been attached as a document for easy access.

Please sign up and/or share with all networks of Tower Hamlet’s professionals and volunteers:

Topic	Dates & Time
Allyship and Misogyny:   This interactive workshop will help staff understand how misogyny and toxic masculinity are detrimental to all sexes and underpin VAWG. We will explore the importance of allyship and challenge our own bias in a non-judgemental and respectful space. We will discuss how we can make safe spaces for women. The training will cover: Misogyny and Toxic masculinity VAWG and Intersectionality Types and experiences of discrimination  Internalised misogyny How to be an ally How to challenge discriminatory behaviour to create safe spaces	18th May 2023 10:00-12:00 MS Teams   22nd June 2023 10:00-12:00 MS Teams       For those who have a Learning Hub log in – please apply via Learning Hub   External staff please apply using this External Partner’s link.
Trauma Informed Practice and VAWG:   An interactive session to explore what trauma is in the context of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), how it affects people differently, what trauma informed practice looks like and how to employ tools to help you work in a trauma informed way. It will address the effects of trauma on professionals, addressing vicarious trauma and strategies for self-care. The training will cover: Definitions of trauma Intersectionality Understanding how trauma affects individuals Practical tools of trauma informed practice Responding to VAWG survivors Addressing vicarious trauma and self-care	16th May 2023 09:30-12:30 MS Teams     For those who have a Learning Hub log in – please apply via Learning Hub   External staff please apply using this External Partner’s link.
VAWG & Online Safety:   To increase delegates’ knowledge on how technology is used to carry out Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) To gain an understanding of online abuse and its impact on adults and young people To learn about resources that can support practitioners’ work with their clients	12th May 2023 10:00-12:00 MS Teams   For those who have a Learning Hub log in – please apply via Learning Hub   External staff please apply using this External Partner’s link.
Harmful practices: ‘Honour’ based Violence and Forced Marriage:   Have an improved understanding of ‘honour’ based abuse and forced marriage Have confidence in identifying the risk factors/indicators and develop safety planning tools Understand Forced Marriage legislation and protection orders To understand the range of options available in the borough and to identify appropriate referral pathways	17th May 2023 13:00-16:00 MS Teams   5th June 2023 13:00-16:00 MS Teams   For those who have a Learning Hub log in – please apply via Learning Hub   External staff please apply using this External Partner’s link.
Violence Against Women & Girls (VAWG) & Non-English Speakers:   A webinar exploring language barriers and the impact this has on those experiencing a form of VAWG who do not speak English. You will learn from a domestic homicide review case study as well as understand best practice when utilising interpreters. Understanding Violence Against Women & Girls (VAWG) Barriers for non-English speakers accessing support Domestic Homicide Review (DHR) case learning Using interpreters best practice Resources	24th May 2023 10:00-12:00 MS Teams   For those who have a Learning Hub log in – please apply via Learning Hub   External staff please apply using this External Partner’s link.

Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Professional Champion Course

Day	Topic
1	Introduction to VAWG Understanding: Domestic Abuse; Stalking & Harassment Sexual Abuse
2	Understanding: Harmful Practices (‘Honour’ Based Abuse, Forced Marriage, Female Genital Mutilation) Prostitution as a form of Adult Sexual Exploitation
3	Referral pathways and support Risk Assessments and Safety Planning Trauma informed Practice Role of the VAWG Champion

Dates and Applying:

Topic	Dates & Time
VAWG Professional Champions May-June Course	Day 1 – 31/05/2023 09:30-12:30 Day 2 – 07/06/2023 09:30-12:30 Day 3 – 14/06/2023 09:30-12:30   Where? MS Teams Meeting   Applying: Please apply via this application form
VAWG Professional Champions June Course	Day 1 – 13/06/2023 13:00-16:00 Day 2 – 20/06/2023 13:00-16:00 Day 3 – 27/06/2023 13:00-16:00   Where? MS Teams Meeting   Applying: Please apply via this application form

There will be a VAWG Training Opportunities to share with you soon, but in the interim please consider signing up to the above training courses. And please share among your staff, colleagues and networks.

Women’s Safety event

This event is targeted especially at women and will give you the opportunity to share
your thoughts and concerns on areas in Tower Hamlets where you don’t feel safe, as
well as presentations and lunch.
We look forward to seeing you there.

An in-person discussion about women’s safety.

It will take place on

24 May from 10am until 2pm at
Account3, 1-3 Birkbeck Street, E2 6JY.

The session will cover the following:

• A chance for anyone that was unable to make the virtual sessions a chance to share
  their concerns or issues in their area
• Summarise key findings
• Take recommendations for future planning and design
  Please register your interest in the event by emailing
  safercommunities@towerhamlets.gov.uk

The timetable for the day is:
10am – 11am: Drop in session
11am – 12pm: Presentation
12pm – 1pm: Lunch
1pm – 2pm: Drop in session

Ticket fraud

If you are planning on buying tickets to an event this summer, take time to read Get Safe Online’s advice on purchasing tickets online safely. Attached is a new leaflet on Ticket Fraud, whilst the below link provides the latest advice listed on our website:

https://www.getsafeonline.org/ticketfraud/?utm_source=nw&utm_medium=email

Whether it’s cricket, tennis or a concert, however desperate you are, don’t buy tickets from anyone apart from official vendors, the box office or reputable fan reseller sites. 

Stalking awareness week

24^th-28^th April (this week) is National Stalking Awareness week, as VAWG Champions it would be great if you could spread the awareness of this form of abuse as wide as possible. Below is awareness information from the LBTH VAWG team and information about the next VAWG Professional Champions course and how to apply. I have also attached resources from the Suzy Lamplugh Trust ‘TOP TIPS: What to do if you are being stalked’ and ‘The Myths & Realities of Stalking’ – please read up on this form of abuse and raise awareness wherever you can.

24-28^th April 2023 is National Stalking Awareness week.

Am I being stalked?

Stalking is often misunderstood and behaviours taken in isolation may appear harmless, but when taken together reveal a course of conduct intended to frighten and intimidate.

Stalking is defined as “A pattern of fixated and obsessive behaviour which is repeated, persistent, intrusive, and causes fear of violence or alarm and distress in the victim” (Suzy Lamplugh Trust). 

Stalking behaviours include: unwanted phone calls, texts, emails; following, loitering, watching; letters, gifts; damaging property; contacting your work or friends and family; cyberstalking and much more. The stalking could be from an ex-partner, a neighbour, an acquaintance, a friend, family member, a colleague or a stranger.

It’s stalking if the unwanted behaviour has happened more than once

It often has significant emotional, physical and social impacts on those affected. The Suzy Lamplugh charity have an online ‘Am I Being Stalked?’ assessment tool to help someone understand if they are being stalked and offer advice on what to do next.

Who is affected by stalking?

Anyone can be affected by stalking regardless of age, gender, race or any other factor. The most recent data has found 1 in 4 women and 1 in 10 men report being affected by stalking in England and Wales each year.

Suzy Lamplugh Trust is the UK’s leading stalking authority and this year their campaign is ‘Standing Against Stalking: Supporting Young People’ after noticing an increasing number of 16 to 24 year olds contacting them to seek support.

Around 45% of those who call the National Stalking Helpline are being stalked by their ex-partner. Stalking has a strong correlation with murders of women by their current or former ex-partner with studies showing that stalking was present in 94% of domestic homicide cases.

Useful help and advice

Paladin, the National Stalking Advisory Service has the following advice:

• Trust yourself and your instincts
• Report it as early as possible to the police and tell others what is happening
• Keep evidence of what’s happening, try writing a diary
• Get advice from Paladin or the Suzy Lamplugh Trust
• If you’re in immediate danger, call 999

Stalking is illegal and there are both criminal and civil protection orders to enhance the safety of those affected.

What support is available?

The National Stalking Helpline is run by Suzy Lamplugh Trust and can be contacted on:

0808 802 0300  

9.30am to 4pm every weekday, and 9.30am to 8pm on Wednesdays.

For additional advice and support services, please see the Tower Hamlets VAWG Service Directory

How can I find out more?

Sign up to become a VAWG Professional Champion to learn more about stalking and other types of abuse. Please see the details of the next course below and contact vawg@towerhamlets.gov.uk if you are interested in this or any other VAWG training.

Topic	Dates & Time
VAWG Professional Champions May-June Course	Day 1 – 31/05/2023 09:30-12:30 Day 2 – 07/06/2023 09:30-12:30 Day 3 – 14/06/2023 09:30-12:30   Where? MS Teams Meeting   Applying: Please apply via this application form
VAWG Professional Champions June Course	Day 1 – 13/06/2023 13:00-16:00 Day 2 – 20/06/2023 13:00-16:00 Day 3 – 27/06/2023 13:00-16:00   Where? MS Teams Meeting   Applying: Please apply via this application form

Membership safety

Just as I had a conversation with one community leader, who insisted that websites like OWL or Ourwatch are not needed because we have WhatsApp and social media, I read about Ghost Apps that can instal on your phone and read your communications.

Members must not underestimate the safety sites like OWL and Ourwatch bring to members. Your data and communications are kept secure and each mail is numbered.

All Apps on your phones can be abused by fraudsters who get into your system and use numbers to introduce you to criminal activity, covered up as part time job for example.

Additional risk on social media is that you really do not know who you are talking to, people and even robots can create multiple accounts. Literally an account can be created per email address. I also read a lot of posts on social media sites, which aim to gather information about individual who are often illegally pictured and also posts aimed to create hate and could lead to vigilante activity.

With membership systems like OWL or Ourwatch, you are unable to create more than one account with the same address, email address or other details.

On OWL or Ourwatch you would not be able to post anything, that could endanger the members you have access to; and with both sites both OWL and Ourwatch, a membership administrator is acting upon complaints from members.

Additionally we individually carefully verify all our public facing co-ordinators and know who they are. We do not allow unknown people who may have bad intentions loose onto the general public.

Stay safe and register with OWL and Ourwatch for safe membership.

Keeping electronic communications safe

We have followed the example set by our government and our main data officer has removed TikTok from their communications devices.

We do run a WhatsApp group with our main communications officer but follow strict procedures in that we only accept members on that group who are known to us and who have registered with either OWL and/or Ourwatch with their number. We do not accept numbers only members.

Our group does not show any phone numbers but names of members.

Yesterday, ActionFraud distributed an important WhatsApp safety message via Neighbourhood Alert, which had only been received by Ourwatch subscribed members who have ticked the option of receiving ActionFraud messages.

For the sake of public safety, we reproduce this message for all to read here:

Criminals are targeting WhatsApp users by posing as a friend and asking for a security code. Action Fraud has received over 60 reports relating to this scam.

The scam begins when a criminal gets access to another WhatsApp account which has you listed as a contact.

The criminal, posing as your friend or someone that’s a member of a WhatsApp group you’re in, will then send you seemingly normal messages to try and start a conversation with you. However, around the same time you will receive a text message from WhatsApp with a six-digit code. This is because the criminal has been trying to login to WhatsApp using your mobile number. The criminal will claim that they sent you their code by accident and ask you to help them by sending it to them. Once the criminal has this code, they can login to your WhatsApp account and lock you out.

The criminal will then use the same tactic with your WhatsApp contacts in an effort to steal more accounts and use them to perpetrate fraud.

What you need to do:

·  Set up two-step verification to give an extra layer of protection to your account: Tap Settings > Account >Two-step verification > Enable.

·  THINK. CALL. If a family member or friend makes an unusual request on WhatsApp, always call the person to confirm their identity.

·  Never share your account’s activation code (that’s the 6 digit code you receive via SMS)

·  You can report spam messages or block a sender within WhatsApp. Press and hold on the message bubble, select ‘Report’ and then follow the instructions.

If you have been a victim of fraud or cyber crime, report it to Action Fraud or 0300 123 2040.

Further advise

See our crime prevention advice pages for fraud and scams and consider training as scams champion