The theme for Black History Month 2024 is ‘Reclaiming Narratives’ – a matter of vital importance when it comes to the intersecting issues of racial discrimination and domestic abuse. Throughout the month, we’re pleased to be celebrating and spotlighting the transformative work of changemakers from Black, African, Caribbean and Mixed Heritage communities within the domestic abuse sector. This week we spoke to Dr. Olumide Adisa.
Dr Olumide Adisa is Complex Systems Theory Lead/Co-Investigator at VISION at City St George’s, London, UK. She is a member of the Employers’ Initiative on Domestic Abuse’s advisory council. She founded the Domestic Abuse Research Network (DARNet).
As an engaged academic in the sector, she brings an enormous breadth and depth of knowledge and experience on domestic abuse, improving services and commissioning for all victims/survivors, and developing complex systems change approaches for violence prevention and mitigation. She co-curated the pioneering edited collection titled ‘Tackling Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence: A Systems Approach’.
The book launch is on 26 November at 5.30 – 7pm, hosted by the Violence and Society Centre, City St George’s, London. Tickets available here.
The theme for Black History Month this year is ‘Reclaiming Narratives’. What does this mean to you?
Thank you for inviting me to be part of your Changemaker series. I love the name Changemaker because I think that that is more apt in relation to how people engage with a conversation around change. I'm just so happy to be part of it.
In terms of what that means to me, “reclaiming” calls to the idea of reflecting on what one's achieved. I’m involved in so many things around responding to domestic abuse. This has given me time to take stock and reflect on not only how far I've come, but how far all of those people that have been part of my journey have come, and that gives me a sense of liberation. So, for me, reclaiming narratives relates to freedom, to liberation, to the returning of self.
Most importantly, it's impossible to reclaim narratives without safe spaces. This is what we need to amplify in institutions and organisations, particularly for Black, African, Caribbean and Mixed Heritage people, because when you don't have a safe space, it's really hard to show up as your true authentic self.
Can you tell us a little bit about your role within the domestic abuse sector?
It challenges me to describe my role because there are labels that are related to my job. I'm on a mission to ensure that we re-orientate ourselves towards systemic change. Some people have called me an “engaged academic” because I get involved in communities.
I see myself as a systemic change maker. A lot of my work derives from my formal education as an economist, then doing an interdisciplinary PhD in combined economics and sociology to grapple with more complex problems around vulnerability. Then I moved into evaluation to try and develop an evidence base around domestic abuse and related areas. I also sometimes describe myself as a “scholar activist”. I've always interfaced systemic inequality and how we respond to domestic abuse, so that the system works for all victims and survivors, not just some, and that's my quest.
Some experiences can be quite intense, but they help you to remember who you are and that who you are is enough. I say that to myself as self-talk - ‘I am enough!’
That is something that I always remind myself of, in my work and all the things that I involve myself in, and spaces that I occupy to bring about change. I am there because I am the right person to be there.
In our manifesto, we have detailed some key asks to help us work towards stopping harm, one of which is 'Prioritise data and evidence’. Can you tell us about what that would look like for you?
It relates to the need for a joined-up approach and to systems thinking, which we explore in the new co-curated book, Tackling Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence which sets out ways of bringing systems approaches to the forefront of our work. It’s important when collecting data and building evidence that we take an inclusive approach, and are bold, innovative and courageous, we have to be critical system thinkers and not just focus on formal approaches of qualitative and quantitative evidence. Our data and evidence building work needs to be inclusive. It needs to centre not just lived experience but living experiences. But it also needs to ask what (and who) is missing from the data collection – are education, housing and health there, for example in understanding systemic responses to domestic abuse crime?
When we talk about data and evidence, we also need to look at the inequalities that are already built into the system. Academic voices are only one type of knowledge, practitioners and survivors are also experts in what they do, so we need to connect to that knowledge and value it, it cannot just be an add on. And most importantly, we need to invest in measuring data and building an evidence base – no one likes to talk about money, but it’s so important and it needs to be sustained investment, not a one off. The Perpetrator Fund is a good example as that was the first time there has been a dedicated pot of money to supporting research on those using harmful behaviours. I hope that the new government will carry on with the Fund as part of a national perpetrator strategy.
What is your understanding of the response to survivors of domestic abuse within Black African, Caribbean and Mixed Heritage communities and what do you think needs to change?
We need to take a systemic change approach, that looks at the structures and the processes keeping the problem in place, then come up with solutions in order to improve that problem. It's complex – for example, people have been talking about the lack of funding to by and for organisations for many years.
Structures are making the needs of Black African, Caribbean and Mixed Heritage people invisible. If we're serious about tackling this, we need to take a systemic response to it and look at it (w)holistically.
We need to have real conversations about anti-racist and decolonial approaches, but most importantly we need to talk about anti-blackness, colourism, and misogyny. We may say we want gender equality, but I always question, are we taking an intersectional approach? For example, if there is a space for the sharing of stories about anti-blackness, when people hear those stories, are they taking action, rather than just saying how sad they are that it happened? We need more allies to take a self-reflective approach to ask themselves how they are making sure they are not a part of the problem. So, as well as making Black, African, Caribbean and Mixed Heritage experiences visible, we should be shifting power, to ensure that people from Black, African, Caribbean and Mixed Heritage communities can speak for themselves, by creating safe spaces, and having them around the metaphorical “table” that they are not only invited to but have had a role in shaping.
We don't just want allies, we need more “co-conspirators.” People that can conspire to make the change in the way that it needs to be made, by encouraging co-design with those from Black, African, Caribbean and Mixed Heritage communities – which is why I'm so incredibly proud of the work we do with The Drive Partnership around cultural competency.
Finally, we need to ask, how are we going to use these narratives from racialised leaders to change the system? That's how you reclaim narratives.
Finally, can you tell us how you have been part of changing dominant narratives?
Mostly through my work on systems thinking, for me that's something I've been so evangelical about! I'm working to develop and expand the framework to look at how we might introduce that into different spaces, whether that is policy, or for smarter commissioning.
I'm a part of the Vision Consortium, where I lead the complex systems and theory strand. The aim of the Vision Consortium is to focus on violence prevention in relation to reducing health inequalities. The idea is to try to use whatever we're developing in connection to policy so that it's not in isolation.
I’ve just become a member of the Employers’ Initiative on Domestic Abuse (EIDA) National Advisory Council. EIDA are a small team, but they deliver so much, are forward thinking and understand the need to measure impact on a large scale, working with employers, empowering them, and building capacities for action.
I also developed the Domestic Abuse Research Network (DARNet) in 2019 for the East of England – I’m proud of that work because it brings academics, practitioners, survivors, and anyone interested in stopping domestic abuse to come together to find solutions.
I am proud that what comes across to people from me is that you can just be who you are. I always return to the Ubuntu philosophy that says; “I am because we are,” because the things we care about are not separate, they are interconnected. I hope my work is inspiring and relatable, and that people see how they can integrate it into their own work. I hope my work will continue to inspire people for years to come.
