VAMHN'S ECR BURSARY WINNER erin mccloskey REFLECTS ON HER EXPERIENCE attending THE "Working with Adults in the Context of Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse" course

Have a read below to see what our ECR bursary winner Erin McCloskey did with her award money. To find out how you can apply to our ECR Bursary Scheme click here.

Working with Adults in the Context of Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse course at Goldsmiths University, I have a more holistic understanding how to best support people who experience abuse and how to ethically conduct research in this field. The course explored relationship, community and societal factors that contribute to abuse with an emphasis on the impact trauma plays in the lives of those who experience abuse. There was an emphasis on spiritual abuse during this short course than normal, and I’m thankful to gained insight on this specific area that is not often discussed within the domestic violence and abuse field. There were speakers from Christian, Muslim, and Jewish services who gave detailed insight how religion is manipulated by abusers and how detrimental this type of abuse is on victims and the family system. The interconnectivity of faith and abuse was crucial to learn about as faith can be an important aspect of survivors’ lives and by not avoiding conversations about it can hinder their recovery.

​As a PhD student with a keen interest in this area, this course was helpful in building my understanding of the key challenges regarding how to best support domestic violence and abuse survivors. ​