Co-Creating Spaces for Change

Colleagues from the Faculty of Business and Creative Industries (FBCI) and the Faculty of Life Sciences and Education (FLSE) are working in partnership with RCT Domestic Abuse Services on the Co-Creating Spaces for Change project.

The collaboration offers women living in refuge the chance to take part in free taster sessions of some of the activities that colleagues specialise in at USW, including introductions to: photography, music making, creative writing, yoga and dance, filming, collage, poetry, creative art, homicide and its investigation, mindfulness, and psychology and health.

The sessions, which are all facilitated by female colleagues from USW, have been designed in close collaboration with the women. Free transport is provided, and participation is completely anonymous, with a support worker attending each time. The project started on 11th of April with a tour of the Creative Industries facilities at the Cardiff Campus, runs for 14 weeks, until 10 July.

Prof Fiona Brookman, Professor of Criminology in FLSE, said: “Having to flee domestic abuse, often with one’s children, is undoubtedly one of the worst moments in a woman’s life. Refuges provide a haven for women and their children and are intended as a short-term emergency measure.

Sadly, due to housing shortages, many women in Wales are stuck in refuge for many months, and in some cases, up to two years.

“The Co-Creating Spaces for Change project is intended to enhance the well-being of women during this difficult period of transition and limbo, so to see this project come to fruition is amazing. It is a privilege to meet with the women and their children each week, and already there has been great engagement, laughter and fun. Long may it continue!

“Thank you to the fabulous colleagues across USW who have committed to this project – you are all inspiring. And thank you to the women for giving this a go and working with us at such a difficult time.”

Prof Emily Underwood-Lee, Professor in Research and Development in FBCI, added: “Anyone can experience VAWDASV (Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence), and levels of VAWDASV are at an all-time high, with one in three women likely to experience it.

“In 2022-23, more than 1,500 people were referred to specialist refuge-based support services in Wales, and one in five people living in refuge in Wales were there for at least six months.

“We are delighted to be delivering the Co-Creating Spaces for Change project. The idea is that the women spend a few hours in a safe space, doing something just for them, that will be fun and may inspire them.”

For more information about the project, contact a member of the project team: Fiona Brookman, Sarah Wallace, Sophia Kier-Byfield or Emily Underwood-Lee.