FutureLearn and The University of Sheffield announce free online course to support victims of domestic violence
25 February 2020, London, UK: To coincide with International Women’s Day, The University of Sheffield is launching the second run of the ‘Supporting Victims of Domestic Violence’ course on FutureLearn.com, which was named one of the best online courses of 2019 by global MOOC search engine and review site, Class Central.
Domestic violence is a global health issue that can take many forms and affect anyone. In 2019 alone, there were an estimated 2.4 million adults in the UK aged 16 to 74, who experienced domestic abuse. More globally, one in three women worldwide have been in an abusive relationship with an intimate partner.
Health and social care professionals play a vital role in recognising and helping victims of violent and abusive relationships. The course aims to help those in professional support roles to spot the signs of domestic abuse and build their confidence in guiding and protecting victims and survivors. Although designed to support health and social care workers, the course is open to anyone who wants to learn more about supporting victims of domestic violence.
The course has been accredited by the CPD Certification Service, it is free to join on FutureLearn.com and will begin on Monday 9 March.
Helen Fuller, Global Healthcare Lead at FutureLearn commented: “Sadly, with new figures from the Office for National Statistics revealing that the number of domestic violence deaths in the UK has reached its highest level in over a decade, the need to spot the signs of domestic violence and support those affected, is more urgent than ever. We’re very proud to play a small part in helping professionals to increase their confidence and ability to support domestic violence victims and survivors through this great course from the University of Sheffield.”
Dr Parveen Ali at The University of Sheffield commented: “We worked with representatives from just about every area of support to ensure the course content was practical and accurate; from GPs or police officers who might be first responders, to charities working in local communities and those running government and council programmes helping those at most risk.
You might work on the reception of a doctors surgery or you might work at the highest level of the police force, but you will still be encountering or making decisions that affect some of the most vulnerable people in the country. This course will help you understand the differing types of abuse that exist, the support network available and the best way to communicate with people who are often scared and alone.”
About FutureLearn
Here at FutureLearn, our purpose is to transform access to education. We do that by partnering with over a quarter of the world’s top universities to support over 10 million learners across the globe to develop skills and achieve their personal and professional goals. We’re a leading social learning platform founded in December 2012 by The Open University and are now jointly owned by The Open University and The SEEK Group. We use design, technology and partnerships to create enjoyable, credible and flexible short online courses and microcredentials, as well as undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. In addition to top universities, we also partner with leading organisations such as Accenture, the British Council, CIPD, Raspberry Pi and Health Education England (HEE), as well as being involved in government-backed initiatives to address skills gaps such as The Institute of Coding and the National Centre for Computing Education.
About University of Sheffield
With almost 29,000 of the brightest students from over 140 countries, learning alongside over 1,200 of the best academics from across the globe, the University of Sheffield is one of the world’s leading universities.
A member of the UK’s prestigious Russell Group of leading research-led institutions, Sheffield offers world-class teaching and research excellence across a wide range of disciplines.
Unified by the power of discovery and understanding, staff and students at the university are committed to finding new ways to transform the world we live in.
Sheffield is the only university to feature in The Sunday Times 100 Best Not-For-Profit Organisations to Work For 2018 and for the last eight years has been ranked in the top five UK universities for Student Satisfaction by Times Higher Education.
Sheffield has six Nobel Prize winners among former staff and students and its alumni go on to hold positions of great responsibility and influence all over the world, making significant contributions in their chosen fields.
Global research partners and clients include Boeing, Rolls-Royce, Unilever, AstraZeneca, Glaxo SmithKline, Siemens and Airbus, as well as many UK and overseas government agencies and charitable foundations.
