Bawso Service User Engagement – July 2025

At Bawso, we believe that meaningful and sustainable change can only be achieved when individuals with lived experience are empowered to shape and lead the services designed to support them. Central to our approach is the active involvement of current and former service users across all levels of our work. We provide ongoing training, capacity-building, and leadership opportunities for those who wish to contribute to our mission and the wider movement for change.

Our commitment to embedding lived experience is reflected structurally and strategically across the organisation. Bawso’s Board is chaired by a former service user, and survivors are involved in our staff recruitment processes. Many of our projects involve direct input from individuals with lived experience, ensuring that services are designed and delivered in ways that are both effective and empowering.

Key examples of service user engagement include:

1. Welsh Government’s VAWDASV Strategy (2022–2026)

Bawso actively contributes to the implementation of the Welsh Government’s Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (VAWDASV) Strategy. This national strategy adopts a whole-system approach, bringing together stakeholders across the police, justice, health, education, social services, academia, charities, and communities. Two Bawso ex-service users currently sit on the Welsh Government’s Survivor/Victim Scrutiny Panel. Their lived experience provides critical insight into policy development and improvement efforts to better meet the needs of survivors.

2. Service User Engagement with South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner (SWPCC)

Bawso facilitates regular meetings between survivors and representatives from South Wales Police. These sessions provide a platform for survivors to share their experiences, challenges, and feedback regarding police support from initial contact to court proceedings or ta point where the survivor is happy with the service and exits our support. The dialogue enables real-time learning for police and feeds directly into the development of more responsive and survivor-centred policing policies and practices.

3. ‘Listening is a Big Step’ – Multi-Agency Framework Co-Development
This two-year research project, funded by Health and Care Research Wales and delivered in partnership with the University of South Wales, originated from the ideas and priorities identified by service users. Two ex-service users are employed as peer researchers, while nine current and former service users sit on the project’s advisory panel. The panel also includes representatives from the police, health, social care, and Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Services (CAFCASS). Together, they are working to co-develop a multi-agency framework aimed at improving responses to Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse, and Sexual Violence (VAWDASV) as experienced by Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) women in Wales. The resulting framework will provide practical guidance for agencies to collaborate more effectively in supporting BME survivors.

4. Research and Policy Collaboration with Cardiff University

Bawso is engaged in several ongoing research partnerships with Cardiff University focusing on domestic abuse and policy advocacy. These collaborations are informed by service user voices and aim to influence policy and practice at both local and national levels.

Through these initiatives and more, Bawso demonstrates a deep and sustained commitment to centring survivor voice in the design, delivery, and evaluation of services. By ensuring that those with lived experience are not only heard but actively shaping systems and solutions, we foster change