Building an evidence base to support Polish women victims of domestic violence in the UK.

ended

This 21 month MSCA Fellowship will develop a vital evidence base for domestic violence services in the UK and Europe to improve reporting and access to support by Polish migrant women in violent relationships. This will be achieved by conducting the first study of domestic violence amongst Polish migrant women living in the UK or indeed in any EU country. The research will capture the various factors shaping the domestic violence experiences of Polish women and work of practitioners (specialist domestic violence workers, social workers, police officers). The findings will also enhance conceptual understanding of how migration and transnational factors shape domestic violence. The Fellowship will draw on an inter-sectoral and interdisciplinary collaboration between Dr Iwona Zielińska (Researcher), Supervisor Celia Madden – the manager of EDAN Lincs (Host organisation) and an interdisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Lincoln (secondment). This will ensure applied, practice-focused research and training with a 6-month inter-sectoral secondment to the UoL for academic input. The Society & Enterprise route of the MSCA scheme serves best to realise the practice-related aim of the research and to advance Dr Zielińska’s career goal of becoming an expert in translating research evidence to practice settings. A combination of qualitative methods from media studies, sociology and organizational studies, and the use of online tool NodeXL,will be used to obtain a holistic picture and in-depth knowledge on the problem from various perspectives. The Fellowship will thus generate the first research findings on this important dimension of vulnerability and harm. The findings and recommendations will be widely disseminated and communicated in UK, Poland and other EU countries to improve help services and to raise awareness of the issue.