What would you do if a friend told you they were being abused? Most of us would want to help. But it is hard to know what to say, and it is easy to worry about saying the wrong thing.
That is why Cambridgeshire Deaf Association is working with Cambridge Women’s Aid to run a free workshop, Responding to Domestic Abuse Disclosure, at our Cambridge office on Tuesday 20 October 2026, from 10am to 3pm. There will be a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter and captions throughout.
When someone tells you
When someone trusts you with something like this, you feel a real responsibility to get it right. Should you tell them to leave? Call the police? Get involved yourself? Some of the things we would do on instinct can actually make the situation more dangerous for the person being abused.
For deaf people there is an extra barrier. Training and information about domestic abuse is rarely offered in BSL or with captions, so deaf people, and the friends and family they might turn to, often miss out on it altogether.
The workshop aims to improve how our community responds to domestic abuse, so that people feel more able to support victims and survivors safely.
Working together with Cambridge Women’s Aid
Rachael Dance, Service Manager at Cambridgeshire Deaf Association, said:
“This is an important piece of work to really support deaf people to know how to report domestic abuse if they’ve had it disclosed to them. Handling these kinds of situations appropriately and sensitively can be really, really important to someone eventually escaping domestic abuse, or to not making the situation worse. So this course is vital.
I want to thank Cambridge Women’s Aid for working with us on this project. It’s great to do innovative work together and to have fully accessible sessions. This one is going to have BSL and it’s also going to be captioned, for women who might not sign but are still just as vulnerable, and also for their friends, who might usually find this information inaccessible.”
Workshop details
- What: Responding to Domestic Abuse Disclosure, with Cambridge Women’s Aid
- When: Tuesday 20 October 2026, 10am to 3pm
- Where: Cambridgeshire Deaf Association, 8 Romsey Terrace, Cambridge CB1 3NH
- Cost: Free
- Access: BSL interpreter for BSL users, and captions for people who are hard of hearing or do not sign
How to book
Please book your place using our online booking form.
If you need help now
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 999. Deaf BSL users can contact 999 through 999 BSL. The National Domestic Abuse Helpline is free and open 24 hours a day on 0808 2000 247. You can also contact Cambridge Women’s Aid directly.
And please help us spread the word. Share this with friends, family and colleagues. You never know who a friend might turn to next.
