Foreword
This toolkit is rooted in the experience of those working directly alongside women, and is personal, down to earth, straight talking, accessible, friendly and practical. It’s an enjoyable read that shares the triumphs, big and small, of running the groups, as well as the challenges and learning.
We hear about the day-to-day experiences of the women co-ordinating, facilitating and participating in the groups. We are offered tools, exercises, resources and tips; to consider and work through with the women in our groups, as well as colleagues and co-facilitators.
During the programme I had the good fortune to meet some of the women, participants and coordinators, at the learning events. Each time I was struck by the positive energy in room. Women were delighted to be funded for what they felt they often did best – to bring women together for mutual support. There was excitement at being part of a large community of projects, and surprise and relief to have headspace to reflect, share and develop thinking. Those attending were moved and motivated by the stories of the women attending the groups; the challenges they have faced, their personal growth and courage.
Through these events, the programme allowed space for collaboration, cross-fertilisation of ideas, fresh thinking and new ways of working. All which is reflected in this guide. This toolkit is comprehensive, but well signposted, and is ideal for dipping in and out of at each stage of your group’s journey.
The toolkit starts by considering the values underpinning women’s peer support, and highlights the necessity of addressing safety and trust when working
with women with experience of abuse and trauma. Many of the women in the programme had experienced domestic violence, sexual abuse, damaging experiences within the care system or other neglect and abuse, and thus were cautious about developing new relationships or trusting an organisation.
This chapter supports us to think in a trauma-informed way, to create groups where women can feel safe, build relationships and avoid re-traumatisation. There are games, tips and resources to spark discussion and guide your practice, to help you and your group consider the physical space, language and behaviours needed to ensure a trauma-informed environment.
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The next section brings us learning from the projects in Wales. We are supported to consider how we can meet the needs of Welsh speakers, women living in rural isolation and those experiencing poverty. We are offered an exercise to explore the meanings of words for different women in order to to support mutual understanding and highlight similarities and differences.
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There is also consideration of how to approach a group with women with a range of first languages. Whilst one group might choose for the women to speak English together, another group may choose to get close to the women’s emotions and experiences by speaking in their mother tongue. The key message is to think and talk it through together.
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The toolkit then moves into a consideration of power and leadership. Peer support is personal and the personal, of course, is political. Peer support is powerfully rooted in mutuality and day-to-day lived experience. At the same time, it aims
to address institutional and societal power imbalances through the aspiration of shared leadership and decision making. We are offered questions and exercises to aid discussion of power and roles in our groups. To help women think through their relationship to leadership and begin to take small steps towards more responsibility including group coordination and facilitation. This is no small task for highly vulnerable women, who may link leadership with abuse of authority, or who feel ‘not safe’, ‘alone’ or ‘invisible’. The tools support us to consider the ways in which women might feel more comfortable to lead, perhaps ‘not leading from the front but from within’ and learn from women who have inspired them in their lives so far.
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This section shares insights from the programme’s learning events, which supported project collaboration and sustainability. We learn about the value of partnership with other local organisations, such as increasing referral through close working with the police, GP surgeries and counselling services, and bringing specialist knowledge into training events, such as refugee expertise from the British Red Cross. The section also offers tips to help you run a successful networking event in your own area.
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Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many peer support groups have continued to meet by moving online. The toolkit shares the experience of online and text-based peer support within the programme, including practical tips on building safety and trust. We are supported to consider the design of our approaches to induction, welcome, confidentiality, agreeing a group contract, privacy, anonymity, time out and choices around use of video. There are also considerations about digital poverty, structuring digital sessions, maintaining boundaries and facilitator self-care.
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This leads us into examining, in-depth, self-care for both those co-ordinating and participating in peer support. Women, across many cultures in our society, frequently take the roles of ‘caretakers, homemakers and nurturers’. Further women themselves can view self-care as a ‘selfish’ act, rather than a ‘luxury not a necessity’. This section of the toolkit suggests that ‘to look after other people, I would have to look after myself first’. This chapter provides us with the tools to more closely connect with our emotions, needs and capacity, as well to identify relevant self-care strategies. There is also guidance for gaining support from colleagues, establishing regular supervision, journalling, maintaining clear boundaries and more.
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The section looks at evaluating your group and addressing likely challenges in the everyday coordination and facilitation of peer support. We run our projects within a culture of evidence-based practice and funding. It is important that we can show what we did, who benefited and whether women experienced positive change
in their lives. The toolkit reflects on the comprehensive evaluation undertaken for Women Side by Side, with ideas for projects wishing to carry out their own evaluation. There is a call for transparency, inclusion and care, to ensure that women understand fully the what, why and how of evaluation, as well as to develop trust, for example regarding confidentiality of data. A trauma-informed approach is also important with regard to developing evaluation tools, including aiming to avoid using questions that are ‘triggering’ for women.
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The toolkit closes with helpful tips to address common challenges in peer support for women experiencing multiple disadvantage. There is a call to ensure peer support is inclusive, including for women and not professionals, to decide whether peer support is right for them. We are reminded that establishing groups, particularly safety and trust, takes time. There are reflections on the usefulness of group agreements and the issue of personal responsibility; to ensure that group behaviours are mutually respectful. The section and toolkit ends with further consideration of self-care; to carefully weigh up your own needs with that of running a group.
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