Stacey Kiney, Family Support Co-ordinator
Acorns were lucky enough to have four volunteer families and one young person contribute their stories and experiences from the family courts to this project. This has now been developed and Nicola had the honour to take one of the parents to Middlesbrough to view the finished production. We were invited to watch the VR resource and look at the supporting tool kit. There were some ‘happy’ tears shred as we witnessed this huge step forward in the response to domestic abuse and the Family Courts.
Within this event, there were some very important and impactful survivor stories that were shared in relation to decisions that the Family Courts have made in the past around child contact with perpetrators. These stories highlighted the horrifying reality of the importance that a child’s voice must be heard in court proceedings.
So what is the resource about?
Through The Eyes of Another is a virtual reality resource which enables the viewer to objectively consider the perspective of domestic abuse as it unfolds in the ordinary moments of life. This is not a televised drama, but a collection of real down-to-earth moments which unfortunately take place in homes up and down the country, and which ooze authenticity owing to the voices of survivors which have been included in the professionally-written script. The resource includes a handy IDVA (independent domestic abuse adviser) voiceover to explain what would be best practice in different situations. This resource is aimed at those working within the Family Courts; however it has been recognised on completion that this resource could be utilised much further and will continue to develop.
Who was involved?
This resource has been developed by District Judge Robinson who is a serving district Judge and a Special Constable when not in court. He explained how working on the front line had given him an insight to things which the court do not always see and he felt this should be highlighted to give better understanding to what families can face and the things which professionals can see as ‘minor issues’ which are often a pattern of abuse and part of a bigger picture. The project was supported by Northumbria PCC, Durham PCC and Cleveland PCC, and Teesside University kindly supported the production of the resource. Survivors shared their stories, and the real life scenes which can be watched through the VR headset, were written by JoJo Kirtley founder of Workie Ticket Theatre.
During the presentation a clip was played from the ending scene of the resource. In this scene, the victims share what domestic abuse has done to them, what advice they would give to the judiciary, the outcomes of their case and if they felt their child’s voice was heard. We were incredibly proud when we realised the clip they chose to share was the story shared by our Acorns Young Person and many people commented about how moving it was. The stories which our service users have shared have also been used by Workie Ticket Theatre on their new production ‘The Wrong Type’ which follows the stories of 3 characters experiencing post-separation abuse and coercive control via the Family Courts. This is being developed together with the support of Northumbria University. I’m sure you will join me in congratulating our fantastic families for using their stories and experiences to contribute to much-needed raising of awareness and change!
I would also like to extend a special thank you to our Family Support Worker and IDVA, Nicola Armstrong, who has dedicated a lot of her personal time and effort into making this project a success, and supporting and co-ordinating the families’ voices, which so desperately need to be heard. I am very proud to have her on my team.
