{"id":757,"date":"2026-10-07T20:59:02","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T20:59:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/swindon-and-district\/?page_id=757"},"modified":"2026-10-19T20:23:58","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T20:23:58","slug":"fresh-thoughts","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/swindon\/our-projects\/fresh-thoughts\/","title":{"rendered":"Fresh Thoughts Booklet"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<section class=\"statistic-outer  inline section\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t\t<ul class=\"statistic\" id=\"countup\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"statistic-item\" id=\"myTargetElement3991\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"statistic-item-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"statistic-value\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"statistic-value-number counter\" data-value=\"12246\">0<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"statistic-title\">Domestic Abuse crimes<\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"statistic-summary\"><p>reported in Wiltshire during the last 12 months<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"statistic-item\" id=\"myTargetElement4278\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"statistic-item-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"statistic-value\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"statistic-prefix\">&lt;<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"statistic-value-number counter\" data-value=\"20\">0<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"statistic-suffix\">%<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"statistic-title\">Domestic Abuse incidents<\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"statistic-summary\"><p>are reported<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"statistic-item\" id=\"myTargetElement2626\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"statistic-item-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"statistic-value\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"statistic-prefix\">c. <\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"statistic-value-number counter\" data-value=\"60000\">0<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"statistic-title\">Estimated Domestic Abuse incidents<\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"statistic-summary\"><p>each year in Wiltshire alone<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\t<section class=\"pullquote-outer   section\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"pullquote pullquote-has-image\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pullquote-image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t  <img decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"\n          https:\/\/sigbi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/148\/2026\/10\/Fearfree-e1791409277259.webp 547w    \"\n    sizes=\"(min-width: 1280px) 1920px, (min-width: 960px) 50vw, 100vw\" src=\"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/148\/2026\/10\/Fearfree-e1791409277259.webp\" alt=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pullquote-info\">\n\n\t\t\t\t<blockquote>Our courts and legal system are not \u2018trauma-informed\u2019, so victims often must face their attackers all over again, standing just a few feet away from them before hearings and child access proceedings. They are already traumatised by events that caused them to leave but, because charges are so hard to prove, events must be re-lived to give evidence. The threats and intimidation don\u2019t end when a couple separates. Many perpetrators deliberately use the court system to keep controlling and harassing their victims.<\/blockquote>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<cite><a href=\"https:\/\/fearfree.enthuse.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Laura Jones, Independent Domestic Violence Advisor at FearFree<\/a><\/cite>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\t\n\t<section class=\"wysiwyg-outer  fill section\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"content-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t <h2>Soroptimists&#8217; response<\/h2>\n<p class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\" dir=\"auto\" data-start=\"721\" data-end=\"929\">Recognising that women leaving domestic abuse often have little information about what would happen next, Poole, Purbeck and District Soroptimists developed a booklet called <strong><em data-start=\"725\" data-end=\"741\">Fresh Thoughts.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"auto\" data-start=\"931\" data-end=\"1225\">Designed for clubs across England to adapt for their local areas, the booklet provides practical guidance on court proceedings, online safety, financial assistance, housing and local support services. Its purpose is to <strong data-start=\"1150\" data-end=\"1224\">educate, empower and enable survivors to regain control of their lives<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"auto\" data-start=\"1227\" data-end=\"1685\">In 2025, Salisbury Soroptimists invited Swindon and District Soroptimists to work together on a Wiltshire-wide version. The project received funding from private donors and the High Sheriff\u2019s Fund, and the first launch took place in November 2025. The booklet has also received recognition from Wiltshire Police and was commended in Parliament.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Queen Camilla<\/em> <\/strong>recently attended an Society Without Abuse (SWA) event and had commented \u201c<em>Domestic Abuse is the scourge of our Society!<\/em>\u201d HRH met the Fresh Thoughts UK team on a recent visit to Bournemouth and given a copy of the booklet again commended it.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Local club action<\/h2>\n<p class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\" dir=\"auto\" data-start=\"1710\" data-end=\"1893\">Swindon Soroptimists partnered with Salisbury Soroptimists to adapt the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/salisbury\/files\/2026\/04\/Salisbury-V2.2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">booklet<\/a> <\/strong>for Wiltshire, bringing together information relevant to survivors in the local area.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"auto\" data-start=\"1895\" data-end=\"1921\">Members have continued to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Work with domestic abuse agencies and other Soroptimist clubs to develop and improve the booklet.<\/li>\n<li>Contact local solicitors, particularly those involved in domestic abuse cases and Legal Aid, to strengthen the information available.<\/li>\n<li>Build relationships with local charities, support services, police representatives and other organisations working to prevent violence against women and girls.<\/li>\n<li>Help raise awareness of the booklet and the challenges faced by survivors.<\/li>\n<li>A launch event for Swindon is planned for 25 November 2026, the UN Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, bringing together representatives from the legal system, police, charities and domestic abuse services.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n  \n  \n\n\n\n\t<section class=\"cta-outer   section\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t<div class=\"cta\">\n\t\t<div class=\"cta-inline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"cta-info\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"cta-inner\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"cta-title\">Swindon launch<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"cta-summary\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>A Swindon launch is being held on November 25th 2026, UN Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women, 6pm-7:30pm at the Village Hotel, Swindon. \u00a0Magistrate Hatty Stafford-Charles, Wilts Polices\u2019 Chief Constable Catherine Roper and Nicky Alberry, Chair of SWA and Rotary&#039;s National Lead on Domestic Abuse are among the speakers; attendees include Lady Lansdowne, local solicitors and Domestic Abuse agencies \/ charities. The event will be publicised and covered by Shirley from Swindon 105.5FM radio.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"cta-button-outer\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eventbrite.co.uk\/e\/launch-and-networking-event-tickets-1996646565626?aff=oddtdtcreator\" class=\" primary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Register for the launch<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/salisbury\/files\/2026\/04\/Salisbury-V2.2.pdf\" class=\" secondary\">Download the booklet<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\t\n\t<section class=\"wysiwyg-outer  fill section\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"content-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t <h2>Impact<\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The Wiltshire version of <a href=\"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/salisbury\/files\/2026\/04\/Salisbury-V2.2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Fresh Thoughts<\/strong><\/a> gives survivors practical information to help them prepare for court, understand their options and find appropriate support.<\/p>\n<p>Wiltshire Police has praised the booklet and plans to use it for staff training and to distribute to victims of domestic abuse. The project has also helped bring together organisations across Wiltshire and raise awareness of the barriers survivors face when seeking protection through the legal system.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The wider aim is simple but powerful: to help survivors feel better informed, less alone and more able to take their next steps towards safety.<\/strong><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":155,"featured_media":0,"parent":667,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"page-themes":[],"topic":[],"class_list":["post-757","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/swindon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/swindon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/swindon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/swindon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/155"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/swindon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=757"}],"version-history":[{"count":51,"href":"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/swindon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/757\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1328,"href":"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/swindon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/757\/revisions\/1328"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/swindon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/swindon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"page-themes","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/swindon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/page-themes?post=757"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/swindon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}