PFCC support for pregnant women and new parents in Essex to break the cycle of domestic abuse

Pregnant women and new parents in Essex are being supported to break the cycle of domestic abuse affecting babies and young children.

National charity The For Baby’s Sake Trust is working with parents in Essex who have experienced trauma or are living within an abusive relationship which could be impacting their babies and toddlers.

Through their award-winning programme For Baby’s Sake, each parent is paired with their own therapeutic practitioner to work through traumas they may have experienced which has resulted in abusive behaviour, learning better coping mechanisms and communication skills to break the cycle of trauma and abuse.

The Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex (PFCC) has contributed £15,000 to For Baby’s Sake in the form of a crime and disorder reduction grant from the 2023-2024 Community Safety Development Fund to deliver the programme in Essex.

Roger Hirst, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex said: “Initiatives like for Baby’s Sake are providing a much-needed service to help young children and babies in families affected by domestic abuse. Being able to provide support at an early stage can be crucial in their emotional development and stability as they grow.”

Fundraiser Dorien Scheets said: “After some research into social issues plaguing society, we found that babies and toddlers are the most vulnerable during things like domestic abuse. So, we decided to launch this programme to tackle exactly that.

“We are working with parents from pregnancy up to the childen’s age of two to address the domestic abuse they are experiencing. That can be physical, emotion or financial abuse.

“We are really excited to be able to provide this support in Essex. The PFCC funding gives us the stability to continue to work with the families we already do, but also to develop the referral pathways to reach even more people in Essex.

“We hope to see a reduction in incidents of domestic abuse. Our evidence elsewhere shows we are successful, with a 94 per cent reduction in high level abuse and 66 per cent reduction in overall abuse. We also see 50 per cent of the babies we are involved with have the required contact with social care drop to zero after our programme.

“Parents see a huge increase in their mental health and wellbeing; they feel in control of their emotions and more bonded with their babies.

“They just feel equipped to be the person they want to be.”

It is hoped the project can be expanded to further support single parents in future.

Of the PFCC funding, Dorien said: “The funding means so much. Not only does it enable us to continue to do our work and to reach more families in need, but it means more commitment to this area going forward which has a knock-on effect that lasts for generations.

“It is amazing that the PFCC recognises what we are doing and is willing to invest in us.”

Contact For Baby’s Sake for support on welcome@forbabyssake.org.uk or 01438 873420.