We were delighted to welcome Jessie Owen to the Forward Assist & Salute Her UK HQ, and talk about the services we offer to veterans accessing our services. After a tour of the Forward Assist Health & Wellbeing Hub in North Tyneside she travelled to Newcastle to meet with a group of women veterans accessing the support of Salute Her UK.
Thanks to funding from the Covenant Fund Trust we have two more Mindfulness of Dream & Sleep Courses running in 2022. The first online course will take place on Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th July 2022. Followed by another workshop over the weekend of 10th & 11th September. Both courses are ringfenced for Afghanistan Veterans and their families, they are free of charge and the joining instructions are below.
Stephanie Peacock is the Labour MP for Barnsley East and has been an MP continuously since 8 June 2017. She currently undertakes the role of Shadow Minister (Defence). Forward Assist & Salute Her UK were delighted to host a visit from Stephanie and facilitate a virtual meeting with a group of women veterans with lived experience of in-service bullying , harassment, discrimination and sexual assault. A keen advocate for all veterans, she has asked numerous questions of Parliament in relation to the Government and MoD’s reluctance to recognise the term Military Sexual Trauma. (MST)
We all know how difficult it is to keep our children entertained over the summer holidays, so the Family First team has organised a kids summer camp at their HQ in Newcastle East End Football Club. Designed for children aged 5 upwards the fun packed days will include creative activities for children and their families during July 2022.
Back in March 2022, we hosted a virtual seminar to educate veterans about the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme. The event, delivered in partnership with Irwin Mitchell was a great success and will be repeated again later in the year. Watch this space.
Team Salute Her UK have organised a virtual workshop for any women veterans wanting to know more about the menopause. If you would like to know more contact Paula Edwards
In partnership with Labour Friends of The Forces we are conducting a consultation exercise with women veterans with lived experience of the Criminal Justice System. If you would like to take part contact Paula Edwards. See Below.
Our Family First Veterans Coordinator has organised a series of virtual benefit clinics. If you wish to take part contact Nicole directly. See Poster
Our planned angling trip on trip on the JFK Two was cancelled due to bad weather… however we have rearranged the trip for 10th May 2022. Tight Lines!
Forward Assist & Salute Her UK have always welcomed members of the LGBTQ+ community to access its services. We are delighted to have over 100 veterans that identify as LGBTQ+ and as well as setting up a virtual LGBTQ+ support group we are also carrying out a consultation exercise with the LGBTQ+ veteran community to ensure any services we create are needs led, person centred and designed for demand. If you are interested in accessing any of the above mentioned projects or groups please email Nicole Dodd at nicole@forward-assist.com
Forward Assist & Salute Her UK were delighted to be invited to be part of an International Five Eyes virtual colloquium on military sexual and other forms of abuse The video recording of this webcast can be accessed at https://youtu.be/wPuzBhnD77E
Salute Her UK supported and continue to engage with and offer trauma informed therapy to the women survivors of military sexual assault featured in this journalistic article by Isobel Thompson.
It’s hard to assess the full extent of sexual assault within Britain’s armed forces. The figures that do exist are almost certainly an underestimate – as they tend to be with sexual assault in civilian life – because many people never report what has happened to them. The hierarchical nature of the armed forces, in which reporting an abuse is often seen as subversive, particularly discourages victims from speaking up. Around 10% of people in the armed forces are women; only 5% of senior officers are.
A growing body of court cases, reports and testimonies from individuals in the forces indicates the scale of the problem. In 2012 Channel 4 News obtained details of an internal investigation in the British Army which suggested that all of the 400 women interviewed had received unwanted sexual attention and that many felt an “over-riding” lack of trust in the ability of senior officers to handle complaints about such concerns.
Veterans are being taught the art of British Parliamentary Debating to help in their ongoing recovery from trauma and injury during their military careers, helping many to regain the voice they feel has been lost.
Forward Assist supports veterans with a host of issues – from unemployment and homelessness to involvement in the criminal justice system and mental health struggles – to live positive lives as part of civilian society, with the struggle to adjust often being exacerbated by the hugely traumatic experiences they have suffered during their time in service. The pioneering charity is the only resource in the UK to offer support with military sexual trauma – estimated to be one of the main causes of PTSD amongst veterans – and many of its thousands of clients may also experience brain injury, physical injury and mental illness.
Read more here: https://www.nrtimes.co.uk/empowering-veterans-through-debating/
A report by North East veterans charity Forward Assist has revealed a grim catalogue of sexual abuse including rape against male servicemen in the military.
Researchers interviewed 30 male survivors aged 41 to 58 from across the UK of what they described as Military Sexual Trauma (MST).
It involved incidents like new recruits being tied down and a black bag containing a nauseous concoction of various bodily fluids mixed with alcohol produced.
"Young soldiers would be held down and forced to drink it," the researchers were told.
"The initiation gang was made up of Commissioned Officers, NCOs and other soldiers. I wouldn't take part and that was my downfall and I was raped."
Mike Kelly’s Coverage can be read here.
https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/shocking-sex-abuse-men-armed-23169898
Up to Forty women Veterans, trained in the art of British Parliamentary Debate, have been invited to visit the Palace of Westminster in London later this year. The women all took part in the Covenant Trust Funded Gender Specific Debate Training project, which utilised virtual online training sessions to ensure the project went ahead during lockdown. Forward Assist commissioned Parallel Histories and The Chimp Paradox Training team to deliver, not only lessons in the art of debate but also dedicated sessions in mental health resilience and wellbeing given the negative impact experienced by many during the C-19 pandemic. In recent months students from the Cambridge University Debating team helped the women brush up their debating skills and we are looking forward to visiting the Cambridge Debating Chambers in March as their special guests of honour. Sarah Atherton MP, Emma Lewell Buck MP and Baroness D’Souza have all collaborated to ensure the visit to Westminster in May is a trip to remember. As well as a dedicated reception planned in Parliament, the women will also get a guided tour of the House of Commons and House of Lords and the opportunity to take part in a mini debate during the visit. Its beginning to look like a great experience for all involved.
Forward Assist has set up a gender specific male veterans support group for those whose lives have been negatively impacted by Military Sexual Assault and associated Trauma. The confidential support group takes place on the last Thursday of every month and is facilitated by trauma informed therapist Paula Edwards. Interested? Email: paula@forward-assist.com for more information.
Equality and Diversity runs like a golden thread though all Forward Assist & Salute Her UK interventions. We value the unique experience every individual brings and in recognising not every individual faces the same barriers, we have adopted an intersectional approach to our work. Our virtual support group for LGBTQ+ veterans starts on 24th February 2022. Interested? Contact our LGBTQ+ Veteran Care Coordinator nicole@forward-assist.com for more information.
Cambridge University Debating Society is the oldest debating society in the world, and the largest student society in Cambridge, the Union remains a unique forum for the free exchange of ideas and the art of public debate. The Union Society is proud of our long and extensive tradition of hosting prominent figures from all areas of public life, including the Dalai Lama, President Ronald Reagan, Bill Gates, Stephen Hawking, Prime Ministers Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, and John Major. In late 2021 .
The Debating Society students kindly gave up their free time to train a group of women veterans taking part in the Forward Assist Veterans Debate Project in the principles and rules of British Parliamentary Debate. Forward Assist and Salute Her UK were honoured to accept an invitation to take a group of women to watch a debate in the chambers in the March 2022, as the society’s guests of honour.
The Australian Government has called a Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide in Australia which commenced its work on Monday 29th of November 2021. The Royal Commission is taking a broad ranging approach to the issue and Open Door made a submission to share findings from its recently completed but not yet released Australian Research Council supported study into physical, sexual and other abuse within the Australian Defence Force (ADF) from the 1950s-2021.Open Door was invited to make the first in person submission to the Royal Commission to share insights from the study with Associate Professor Ben Wadham the Director of Open Door presenting on behalf of the Centre.
Read more here: Submission to Royal Commission 2021 (1).pdf
The Australasian Services Care Network and the Open Door: Veteran Transition, Integration and Wellbeing Centre along with our partners extend an Invitation for you to join them for the launch of the “Virtual International Colloquium on Military Sexual and Other Forms of Abuse”. This Colloquium seeks to explore the issue of Military Sexual and Other Forms of Abuse and its impact on Military Service Members, Veterans and their immediate Family across the 5 Eyes Countries. The issue of Military Sexual and Other Forms of Abuse is not exclusively directed at a particular gender, those of different sexual orientation or any other group within the Military. It impacts people of all genders, orientations and backgrounds and for many it has lifelong consequences. The aim of this conversation is to shine a light on the issue and to share what we know about it and evidence informed responses and interventions to address the issue and support those affected by it.. You can register for the event at: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_sGZAMQ8MR-amF8nRW-P4KQ
