Advertisement
Activism

How a board game is helping professionals support domestic violence victims

Academics at the University of Sheffield have created a new board game to break down the complexities of the issue and explore ways to improve care

A domestic abuse-themed board game might set alarm bells ringing in your mind – but a University of Sheffield academic has created just that to engage students with the sensitive subject.

The Domestic Abuse Training Game will be showed off at the the RCN International Nursing Research Conference this week after launching the product last month.

Dr Parveen Ali is an experienced nurse and senior lecturer at the university who has worked in the field of gender-based violence and domestic violence for more than 15 years and teamed up with educational game maker Focus Games to create the training aid.

It allows between two and 12 players to chat and explore the symptoms of the subject and how to tackle different scenarios with the end goal of reaching the “Safety Zone” in the centre of the board.

Dr Ali was insistent that the board game does not trivialise domestic abuse – one of the key drivers behind homelessness in the UK – but gives professionals the tools to understand what victims may be going through.

Advertisement
Advertisement

“Because I have been working in this area for so long, I’m aware that it is quite a sensitive topic, it can take quite some time to explain it to students to help them understand what it all means. It is also difficult to keep them engaged for a long time,” she told The Big Issue.

“So I wanted to come up with something unique, which is different. It’s obviously quite a sensitive subject so people shy away from using something like a game. Thinking about how you can use games to deal with a subject like this can lead to fears that you are trivialising the subject but obviously we are not. Games can be a fantastic tool for learning.”

Dr Ali’s research into domestic abuse at the University of Sheffield Interpersonal Violence Research Group and her work with frontline healthcare professionals and victims of DVA were the driving force behind the development of the game.

But using a game as a training tool at the university and beyond with clinical staff helps to engage students over a longer period and provokes discussion for a generation whose first thought is ‘turn to Google’.

Dr Ali said: “We know that healthcare professionals can feel unprepared and lack confidence to ask questions when it comes to approaching topics like DVA with patients. I also think the generation that we are working with now find it difficult to talk now.

“If you ask them for a definition they will go straight to Google rather than talking to each other. So anything that engages them into something hands on I think is really useful.”

If the launch of the Domestic Abuse Training Game proves a success, Dr Ali plans to develop the game further to release new versions aimed at educating healthcare professionals about child and elder abuse.

And Umme Rubab, a domestic violence survivor from Rotherham who has been supported by local domestic violence charity Apna Haq, said: “Professionals need to understand that domestic violence is wider than just apparent physical abuse that they may see.

“Mental and verbal abuse cannot be seen but needs to be identified, and if professionals do not have a holistic understanding of the issue, they may miss the signs and never identify that DVA is even taking place.

“The game will lead to professionals feeling more confident in identification and thus early help can be offered, reducing the impact on the survivor.”

Image: Focus Games/University of Sheffield

Advertisement

Support someone in your own community

With our online vendor map, you can support a local vendor by supplementing their income with a subscription to Big Issue. For every annual subscription sold via a vendor, a vendor receives £50.

Recommended for you

Read All
Mums on hunger strike since Mother’s Day in solidarity with parents who can’t feed their kids
Food poverty

Mums on hunger strike since Mother’s Day in solidarity with parents who can’t feed their kids

Migration ‘hits the headlines for all the wrong reasons’. What if a museum could fix that?
Activism

Migration ‘hits the headlines for all the wrong reasons’. What if a museum could fix that?

Everything you need to know about Red Nose Day ahead of the 2023 telethon
Red nose day

Everything you need to know about Red Nose Day ahead of the 2023 telethon

Tory councillor quits party over refusal to back homeless donation scheme
Activism

Tory councillor quits party over refusal to back homeless donation scheme

Most Popular

Read All
Here's when people will get the next cost of living payment in 2023
1.

Here's when people will get the next cost of living payment in 2023

No internet, no opportunities: Addressing the challenges of digital exclusion in the UK
2.

No internet, no opportunities: Addressing the challenges of digital exclusion in the UK

What are 15-minute cities? The truth about the plans popping up from Oxford all the way to Melbourne
3.

What are 15-minute cities? The truth about the plans popping up from Oxford all the way to Melbourne

They Might Be Giants is not a cult: How they built a birdhouse in your soul... and a 40-year sustainable creative enterprise
4.

They Might Be Giants is not a cult: How they built a birdhouse in your soul... and a 40-year sustainable creative enterprise