Domestic abuse survivors are being asked to help shape the future of support.

Our Own Words is a new national survivor-led domestic abuse survey launched by Saskia Lightburn-Ritchie, CEO of Cheshire-based charity MyCWA.

It aims to fundamentally change how research into domestic abuse is conducted, influencing how services develop, what MyCWA campaigns for, and what they take to decision-makers locally and nationally.

Saskia said: "For too long, survivors have been spoken about rather than listened to,

"Policy decisions are made based on what professionals think we need.

"This project puts the power back where it belongs – with the people who have lived it."

Saskia, who also set up the training and consultancy service Domestic Abuse Experts, is running the project alongside Samantha Billingham, founder of online support group Survivors of Domestic Abuse.

The 30-minute survey goes beyond traditional data collection.

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Alongside demographics and experiences, it offers survivors a unique opportunity to state their own priorities, provide direct feedback on services, and make recommendations to decision-makers.

Every question has been created by people who have lived domestic abuse.

Saskia says there are questions that some professionals are afraid to ask.

They have not been translated or dampened down, and they haven't been filtered through professional language.

Saskia added: "This is not research about survivors, this is research by survivors, for survivors.

"We are not asking permission. We are taking our seat at the table."

The purpose of this survey is not to collect data for a report that will just sit on a shelf for years.

Saskia and Samantha want to build the UK's largest survivor-led dataset on lived experience and using it to hold systems to account.

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They are aiming for 1,000 responses.

The survey, which can be found online here, closes on Tuesday, March 31.