Content note: This article contains discussion of domestic abuse

St Catharine’s College has announced its plans to launch a new support programme for survivors of domestic abuse, building on its existing partnership with Cambridge Women’s Aid.

The college will host a Survivor’s Conference, where 30 survivors will share their experiences with each other and advise local service providers on how to improve support.

In addition to this, the Ask Me Community Ambassador Scheme, an online scheme organised by Cambridge Women’s Aid, has organised training schemes to St Catharine’s students, staff and Fellows’ to educate them on how to respond to and support survivors.

Chief Executive Officer at Cambridge Women’s Aid, Angie Stewart, said: “We’ve been on a remarkable journey with St Catharine’s and I am delighted that we will be strengthening our connection in the months ahead for the benefit of survivors in the Cambridge area.”

This follows the success of another initiative organised by St Catharine’s and Cambridge Women’s Aid, which provided 1,456 nights of free accommodation to 23 women and children escaping domestic abuse in 2020.

The temporary initiative was made possible by rooms left vacant due to the pandemic, and the Monday Charitable Trust supported costs by donating £50,000.

The Monday Charitable Trust has confirmed that it will provide a grant of £114,287 over the next 3 years to support this new programme. This will include covering the cost of the survivors conference and the training schemes.

The conference is scheduled for late 2022, at which point the college will have opened a new suite of meeting spaces, which are currently being constructed on Trumpington Street.

Angie Stewart said that she was “confident” that the location of the conference would ensure that survivors of domestic abuse would feel “safe”.

“Using the same venue as prestigious academic conferences demonstrates to our survivors that they are valued and deserve to be heard.”

Master of St Catharine’s, Professor Sir Mark Welland said: “I am proud that our expanded partnership with Cambridge Women’s Aid will continue to improve the support available to survivors of domestic abuse in the Cambridge area.”

“I encourage our students, staff and Fellows to seize the opportunities that we‘ll be providing to understand more about domestic abuse and how to respond to survivors.”

If you have been affected by the issues raised in this article there is support and information available via the National Domestic Abuse Helpline, which is always open on 0808 2000 247, as well as on their website: https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/ or Cambridge Women's Aid - information about their services can be found at https://www.cambridgewa.org.uk