“Your voice matters, no matter how long you’ve been silent.”
What is OWLS?
The OWLS group is a bespoke 12 week programme offered to male and female domestic abuse survivors over the age of 55. It is an empowering and supportive programme that looks at future proofing the way that they may live their lives This specialist service focuses on how domestic abuse and sexual violence affects older women and men. This is organised through discussing strategies both in one-to-one sessions and via the specialist older people’s group work programme – OWLS. The group work includes understanding trauma and how it works within the brain, mindfulness, coping strategies, SMART action planning and work with nature and craft activities. Sessions include how to do online dating and safety tips related to scams and the ongoing issue of how to be safe in any relationship.
Support does not end with a closed case file.
At the end of 1-2-1 support Owls are invited to join the Owls Group Work Programme to meet other men and women with similar experiences and to form new social networks. The Owls group work programme runs for 12 weeks with the Owls worker, but many groups continue independently beyond support. Owls events bring these groups together a couple of times a year to form wider social networks and keep the Owls in touch and providing peer support and new friendships.
Did you know –
- Older people are just as likely to be abused by an adult child as they are by an intimate partner.
- Almost half of older people experiencing domestic abuse will have a disability or mobility issue.
- An older person may find it difficult to report abuse or leave a relationship where their abuser is also their carer.
- Older people may have suffered long-term abuse before reaching out for support.
- Men are at increased risk of domestic abuse as they age and the range of potential perpetrators widens.
OWLS Blogs
What is Economic Abuse?
Bore da pawb, I am Andrea the Older Persons support worker at West Wales Domestic Abuse Service which is a specialist charity that supports people who are experiencing domestic abuse. I work throughout Ceredigion supporting members of the community who have or are experiencing domestic abuse. A key issue for me is to update people’s perceptions of what Domestic Abuse is. People will often tell me ‘he doesn’t hit me, so it’s not abuse! This is outdated perception of what domestic abuse is. Like all things the definition has changed over the last 50 years so much so that in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 there was a recognition of economic abuse as part of domestic abuse.
What is Coercive Controlling Behaviour?
I am often asked to explain what coercive controlling behaviour looks like. It is difficult to identify as it can present in a number of different ways. It is a form of emotional and psychological abuse which can have long-term consequences for survivors. The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 made an amendment to the
Serious Crime Act 2015 making coercive controlling behaviour a criminal offence. Punishments range from community orders to up to 5 years imprisonment. The severity of the sentence is dependant on various factors including culpability and the extent of the harm caused.
Community Garden Project
We started our community garden project in Spring 2024 with a garden package from Keep Wales Tidy. The garden projects aims to support well-being and intergenerational bonding within the Cardigan Community.
We are looking forward to developing our Garden project in Spring 2026 with a grant received from Tesco Stronger Starts and working with Blue Green Cymru. We will be expanding the range of food produce grown in the garden and developing activities to support all ages, including camp fire cooking of fresh garden produce, making dyes and paints from flowers and nurturing the bio-diversity of wildlife.
