West Cumbria Domestic Violence Support - Freedom Project

Freedom Project was set up initially to provide counselling/support to adult victims of domestic abuse in West Cumbria (Allerdale and Copeland).

Over the years the scope of its work has expanded in response to needs identified by both clients and public agencies such as Children’s Services, Health and the Police. This saw them beginning to work with perpetrators from 2003 and children from 2010.

Its mission is to help stop domestic and sexual abuse in West Cumbria through the following objectives:

Supporting survivors to move on, equipped with the resilience and skills to avoid future abusive relationships
Help perpetrators to change their behaviour so that they cease to abuse
Act as an advocate so that domestic abuse is kept high on the political agenda
Work with partner agencies to promote better integrated services to victims and perpetrators.

Sellafield Ltd has supported the Freedom Project and Perpetrator Project, which work with perpetrators on a 1-1 basis is to encourage them to take responsibility for their actions and facilitate change.

Sellafield Investment

£371,530

Timeline

2016
Project Start

2022
Project End

Outcome

Perpetrator project:

Decreased incidents of domestic and sexual abuse.
Increased safety.
Living in an abuse free home.
Better relationship with the perpetrator.

Freedom project:

Victims having skills and confidence and being empowered to keep themselves safe and healthy, take control of their own lives, access employment/ training, have improved life chances and communication
Perpetrators will change their behaviour breaking the cycle of violence, anger and criminality, improve life-chances for themselves, partners and children.
Children will feel safe and secure, communicate more healthily, express and understand feelings without fear, better life chances/ improved health.
Our clients will become fully functional individuals with raised self-esteem able to take responsibility for themselves and their children.