The Portal Podcast: Bringing Academia to Social Work Practice

In this episode, Sarah and Lesley reflect upon and chat about Season 2 of The Portal Podcast. We consider some of the key threads that have run through each of the conversations and reflect on the key messages for practice.Click here to access the transcript for this episode.The music is called “Together We’re Stronger” by All Music Seven (All7 Studios) (you can listen to their music here).Production and editing by Paperghosts.The Portal Podcast is funded by the University of Sunderland.

In this episode, Dr Sarah Lonbay (University of Sunderland) swapped roles to become a guest on the podcast and Dr Angie Wilcock stepped in, to co-host with Lesley. The episode explores research that was undertaken by Sarah and Dr Carole Southall (Northumbria University) in relation to domestic abuse in the older population. The podcast discussion explores some of the complexities of abuse in later life, as well as key messages for social workers.  To view a transcript for this episode, please go to the podcast website: https://portalpodcast.org/Within the episode, reference is made to the following: A paper published by Sarah and Carole about this research on domestic abuse and older people, titled ‘Identifying and responding to domestic abuse in the older population: key challenges and complexities’.  Another paper published by Sarah and Carole which explored ‘Social workers’ of the liminal space between personalisation policy and practice’.  The Care Act 2014. Some published research which explored the changing nature of domestic abuse across the life course: Band-Winterstein, T., & Eisikovits, Z. (2009). ‘Aging out’ of violence: The multiple faces of intimate violence over the life span. Qualitative Health Research, 19(2), 164–180. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732308329305  A film titled ‘Eggshells’ which was produced by Made by Mortals: Behind the scenes of short film ‘Eggshells’. You can find the film on Youtube: Eggshells. The music is called “Together We’re Stronger” by All Music Seven (All7 Studios) (you can listen to their music on SoundCloud).Production and editing by Paperghosts.The Portal Podcast is funded by the University of Sunderland.

In this episode, Sarah and Lesley speak with Dr Louise Harvey-Golding and Carrie Phillips (both University of Sunderland) about their research exploring the experiences of Eastern European women. Whilst the research did not set out to explore domestic abuse, it came up as an important area of concern, particularly in relation to a lack of access to services for Eastern European women. In this episode, Louise and Carrie talk to us about their research findings and recommendations for practice. Click here to access the transcript for this episode.You can read more about their overall work via their two research reports. You can access part one here: ‘A survey for Eastern European women’ and part two here: ‘An exploration of discrimination experienced by Eastern European Women’: https://sure.sunderland.ac.uk/id/eprint/14580/In the episode they also make reference to their project partners, ICOS, which stands for International Community Organisation of Sunderland. The music is called “Together We’re Stronger” by All Music Seven (All7 Studios) (you can listen to their music here).Production and editing by Paperghosts.The Portal Podcast is funded by the University of Sunderland.

In this episode, Lesley and Sarah speak with Dr. Angie Wilcock (University of Sunderland) about two areas of research. The first was about help seeking in response to domestic abuse. The second area was about the experiences of Thai women living in the UK in relation to domestic abuse.  Click here to access the transcript for this episode.Within the conversation, Angie makes reference to a number of writers, as noted below. Professor Liz Stanley and Professor Sue Wises’s work, particularly in relation to consciousness raising. Professor Martin Denscombe’s work on research practice. Kristin Blakely’s work on the role of emotion in feminist research. Girl Guiding and their work on safeguarding and domestic abuse. The music is called “Together We’re Stronger” by All Music Seven (All7 Studios) (you can listen to their music here).Production and editing by Paperghosts.The Portal Podcast is funded by the University of Sunderland.

In this episode, Sarah and Lesley speak to Dr Sarah Martin-Denham (University of Sunderland) about her research on domestic abuse. The conversation covers emotionality and safe practice in research and practice, stigma and labels, support and education. Sarah’s work explored services for male perpetrators of domestic abuse, as well as services for women who had been victims/survivors of domestic abuse and uncovers some important messages for social workers which are discussed in the podcast episode.  Click here to access the transcript for this episode.The music is called “Together We’re Stronger” by All Music Seven (All7 Studios) (you can listen to their music here).Production and editing by Paperghosts.The Portal Podcast is funded by the University of Sunderland.

In this episode, Sarah and Lesley speak with Paula McCormack and Darren McGee from the Wallsend Children’s Community and Emma Aggar from University of Sunderland about the work of the Children’s Community and findings from a recent project which uncovered financial consequences of domestic abuse. In this conversation, Paula, Darren and Emma spoke to us about some research they did to explore the Wallsend Children’s Community’s Emergency Response Grants. Within this work, domestic abuse emerged as a key theme in the data and this is the focus of the podcast episode. You can read more about the overall work in this report: ‘An exploration of the Wallsend Children’s Community’s Emergency Response Grant as an Emerging Necessity’.  Click here to access the transcript for this episodeThe Wallsend Children’s Community believes that to improve outcomes for children and young people living in the area, it needs to be able to provide them with the same offer as those in more advantaged areas. You can find out more here: Wallsend Children’s Community. The music is called “Together We’re Stronger” by All Music Seven (All7 Studios) (you can listen to their music here).Production and editing by Paperghosts.The Portal Podcast is funded by the University of Sunderland.

In this episode, Sarah and Lesley introduce the new series of The Portal Podcast. In this series we have focused on domestic abuse and in each episode we speak to a different researcher about their work on domestic abuse and what social workers can learn from their research to inform their practice.Click here to access the transcript for the introductory episodeThe music is called “Together We’re Stronger” by All Music Seven (All7 Studios) (you can listen to their music here).Production and editing by Paperghosts.The Portal Podcast is funded by the University of Sunderland.

In this second season of The Portal Podcast, we have a range of guests joining us to talk about domestic abuse. The nature of this topic means that we cover content that some listeners may find distressing. Lesley and I discuss this within the audio below.Click here to access a transcript of this episode.If you are affected by any of the issues discussed within this podcast series you can access help and support from a range of services available across the UK. These include:National Domestic Abuse Helpline: 24/7 service: 0808 2000 247Refuge: provides specialist services to survivors of domestic abuseWomen’s Aid: domestic abuse support for women and childrenMen’s Advice Line: domestic abuse support helpline for men: 0808 8010327Rape Crisis: support after sexual violenceNSPCC: helping to rebuild children’s lives and support familiesGalop: support for LGBT+ people who have experienced abuse and violenceIranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation (IKWRO): support for victims of forced marriage, ‘honour’-based abuse and FGMSouthall Black Sisters: support for Black and minoritised women and children experiencing abuseKarma Nirvana: support for ‘honour’-based abuse and forced marriage: 0800 5999 247Forward: African women-led organisation working to end violence against women and girlsPaladin: support for victims of stalking in England and WalesSignHealth: provide a specialist domestic abuse support service for Deaf adults and childrenRespect: working with domestic violence perpetrators, male victims and young people

In this episode Sarah and Lesley reflect upon and chat about the episodes from this first series of the Portal Podcast. We consider some of the key threads that have run through each of the conversations and reflect on the key messages for practice.Click here to access the transcript for this episode.The music is called “Together We’re Stronger” by All Music Seven (All7 Studios) (you can listen to their music here). Production and editing by PaperGhosts.  The Portal Podcast is funded by the University of Sunderland.