Domestic Abuse Experts

Training & consultancy from MyCWA, one of the UK's longest-running domestic abuse charities.

All income generated by Domestic Abuse Experts is used to fund life-saving support services for adult and child survivors.

Our mission is clear: to end domestic abuse. And with nearly 50 years of frontline experience, we know what creates real change.

Our award-winning team of domestic abuse specialists consult and train professionals - across healthcare, education, law enforcement, the private sector and beyond - to recognise, respond to, and prevent domestic abuse.

“ I’ve worked in children’s safeguarding for over 20 years—this is the most engaging, fresh, and relevant training I’ve attended. You did it!”
— Training participant
“I’ve been in my role for 17 year’s and during all this time I’ve never enjoyed training as much as this. (I) loved the blend of theory and practice.””
— Training participant
“Always professional, respectful and forward-looking. They walk the walk as well as talk the talk.”
— Safeguarding partner

Our Approach

We take a whole-family, whole-system approach to addressing domestic abuse, focusing on early intervention and behavioural change.

We call this our Engage Approach.

Through Engage, we prioritise the safety of adult and child victims by holding perpetrators accountable and working collaboratively with everyone involved. We tailor our support to meet people’s needs at every age and stage of life, making lasting positive changes possible.

Our Training Programmes

  • Engage Understanding and Responding to Domestic Abuse

    An introductory, comprehensive training covering key elements of domestic abuse.

    More Information

  • Engage Do You Feel What I Feel?

    Learn effective strategies for engaging children aged 2 to 7 to understand and manage their emotions.

    More Information

  • Engage for Professionals

    Training to increase your knowledge and confidence in working with perpetrators of domestic abuse.

    More Information

  • Engage Tandem

    Training professionals to use ‘Tandem’ our toolkit to work with chid and adolescent to parent violence

    More Information

  • Engage Reset

    Train the Trainer session which equips you to deliver Reset, our 12 week healthy relationships programme within secondary school settings.

    More Information

“Amazing, inspirational, informative, real. Refreshing insights into domestic abuse. Completely engaging from start to finish”

— Engage Training Attendee

Our team is made up of a range of domestic abuse specialists with collective decades of experience across a wealth of areas.  

Our experts come from diverse backgrounds, including psychology, social work, and criminal justice, each bringing a unique perspective to our comprehensive approach.

They are adept in family dynamics, intimate relationships, and behaviour change interventions, equipping them with the skills necessary to tackle the complexities of domestic abuse.

Our Experience

Meet our experts

  • Photo of Saskia

    Saskia Lightburn-Ritchie

    CEO

  • photo of Vicki

    Vicki Rawlinson-Coates

    Specialist Services Manager

  • photo of Joanne King

    Joanne King

    Project Manager

  • Photo of Katy McGlynn

    Katy McGlynn

    Children & Young People’s Team Service Manager

  • Photo of Alice Young

    Alice Young

    Behaviour Change Expert Lead

  • photo of Bella Watson

    Bella Watson

    Custody Suite Expert Lead

  • photo of Debbie

    Debbie Cannon

    Trans Without Abuse Project Lead

  • photo of Ellie

    Ellie Volders

    Specialist Family Practitioner

  • Photo of Patricia

    Patricia Thacker

    Specialist Services Team Lead

  • Photo of Becky

    Becky Donhue

    Training Admin Worker

  • photo of Holly

    Holly Jaskolka

    Training Manager

  • photo of Paula

    Paula Brandreth

    Business Development Manager

  • Photo of Vicky

    Vicky Sail

    Chief Operating Officer

  • photo of Helen

    Helen Mitchell

    Marketing and Communications Lead

Read Expert Bios

Why We Do It

For over 50 years, efforts have focused on making adult and child victims of domestic abuse safe.

Despite this, the statistics have barely changed. More needs to be done if things are going to change for the better.

And we’re committed to driving that change.

women are killed every week by partners or ex-partners.

2

women per week die by suicide as a result of domestic abuse.

3

1 in 2

men are killed each month from domestic abuse.*

2

*We have no way to estimate how many men die by suicide as a result of domestic abuse. This is despite the fact that over 75% of 6,588 suicides in 2023 were male.

Trans people will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime.

Book a free 30-minute consultation with Paula

Book your free chat with our team to discuss how our team of experts can best support your needs.