On the 16th of November Saturday at Maryam Centre in East London Mosque, speakers were invited from Inspirited Minds to talk about ‘The effects of Domestic violence on women’s Mental Health’. The target audience was women only due to the nature of the topic. Approximately 40 females attended the talk/workshop. After the presentation on DV & Mental Health, a DV survivor’s story was also narrated by Warisa Zainab.
After the presentation, there was a workshop carried out by Farhana Maleque on how to cope with symptoms of anxiety and depression.
The purpose of this event was to spread awareness about domestic violence and how it impacts women’s mental health and to teach them how to seek help if someone is a victim or survivor.
The feedback and response from the attendees and organiser ‘Muslimaat’ was quite overwhelming. Most people who attended found the presentation quite informative and were touched by the survivor’s story. A few sisters came forward to talk about their own experience of domestic abuse and how they would benefit more from such presentations and talk.
Feedback by Attendees:
‘I am grateful for the opportunity to attend the workshop. It was quite eye-opening as some of the topics discussed as it brought to attention certain patterns in my own personal life of family members and it also it gave me an insight to look at my own reaction and behaviour to difficult situations. At times it was difficult to acknowledge my feelings, as I felt raw with the realisation of the feelings of being betrayed by those whom you give your trust.
But overall it was really helpful and gave me much to consider. I really hope more workshops would become available in the future, I would love to attend and learn, share and encourage other women to attend’ – Maryam Siddiqui
“I cannot thank you enough for the talk. I can easily relate to everything you said as it’s something I have personally experienced in my past and going through at present.” Attendee
“That was really brave of you. Thank you so much for sharing your story with us, it hit me real hard and was a tear-jerker”. Anonymous
“I always thought that domestic abuse takes place where the victim is uneducated or someone who cannot speak English and has come from some other part of the world. I thought people who appear to be bubbly and confident could have never experienced something like this, but this talk was a real eye-opener. I have learned so much today”. Attendee
Top tips for women:
- Support each other and be a source of encouragement
- If you know anyone who may be a victim of abuse be there for them in any way you can, encourage them to open up and be a listening ear without judging them.
If you are going through a difficult time and are experiencing anything relevant to the above mentioned topic, then feel free to contact our support service including counselling. For further information please visit: Get Help
If you would like to get involved in raising awareness about mental health in your local community, we are looking to grow our outreach team to different cities around the country. We will ensure that you are fully trained and confident before running workshops & talks.
Please visit our website for more information: https://inspiritedminds.org.uk/get-involved/vacancies/
