Southwest Women’s Spark Project - Trevi

Trevi is a nationally award-winning women’s and children’s charity based in Plymouth, South West England, which provides safe and nurturing spaces for women in recovery to heal, grow and thrive. Operating across Devon, Cornwall and Dorset, the Southwest Women’s Spark Project was led by Trevi and involved a unique partnership of seven organisations including the Women’s Centre Cornwall, Exeter CoLab, the NSPCC, The Zone, Plymouth City Council, BCHA and the Eddystone Trust. The project aimed to prevent women with multiple disadvantages being affected by violence and abuse; ultimately achieving a better-quality of life. The project offered 24/7 support by delivering a wrap-around, outreach programme incorporating trauma-informed Assertive Outreach Practitioners (AOPs), fast-track access to women-only supported accommodation, practical and therapeutic support, and a violence prevention programme in schools. The project was designed to directly respond to the rise in domestic abuse cases, which has been attributed in part to the pandemic and home working which has denied many victims access to safe spaces. Furthermore, sexual violence has increased; recorded rapes have doubled; women’s homelessness, and street work and ‘survival sex’ has escalated.

The Social Research Unit (SRU) was commissioned as an Evaluation Partner to assess the learning and impact of the Southwest Women’s Spark Project.

The methodology included focus groups with beneficiaries - Two focus groups with 11 prostituted women in total were conducted. The focus groups allowed us to capture the women’s experiences of prostitution and trauma, and explore what support is needed and how that support is best delivered. The focus groups also aimed to examine the extent of the issues on the ‘digital’ street, and how best to address them.