Employers Against Abuse

Specialist training for employers in England and Wales

In partnership with the Home Office, we created a CPD-accredited training programme to help employers create supportive, trauma-informed workplaces for staff affected by domestic abuse and sexual violence. Until April 2026, with Home Office funding we were able to offer this training free of charge.

Within your organisation it’s likely there are staff that are or were at some point affected by domestic abuse or sexual violence within their personal relationships.

You can still benefit from this training

We’re still able to offer the contents of this training to your organisation. To receive more information and prices, please email us at training@thesurvivorstrust.org.

Why supporting your colleagues matters

Trauma caused by domestic abuse and sexual violence can have significant and long-term effects. Regardless of where the abuse occurred, or when, this can impact many areas of their life, including employment. Many affected individuals will continue working as they view the workplace as a safe haven. But trauma might impact concentration, attendance, communication and wellbeing. Most won’t disclose their experience unless they feel safe and supported.  

As an employer, you can make a crucial difference to how your employees cope and recover. Creating a trauma-informed workplace means: 

Raising awareness across the workforce

Training key staff to understand trauma

Providing clear information and signposting

Handling disclosures sensitively

Building links with external support services

Getting started

Employees who complete this training become Support Ambassadors. When your organisation signs up to this training, you can have as many colleagues as you like benefit from it. We recommend at least two per organisation to ensure continuity and peer support.  

Ambassadors receive: 

2 x 3-hour online CPD-accredited specialist training sessions , and a third session of 2 hours also online

Ongoing access to resources, peer support, and expert guidance from us

And become part of a community of fellow Ambassadors across England and Wales

This means after your training, attendees are equipped to 

Raise awareness internally

Share resources and signposting

Cascade training to colleagues 
Connect with local support services

The Ambassador role needs time to attend training and to raise awareness with their colleagues. This includes sharing resources, signposting to local services and sharing effective template policies and procedures addressing trauma and abuse. This is intended to be an ongoing commitment which will need support and encouragement from a manager and the company as a whole. 

FAQs

Will the Support Ambassadors be expected to deliver counselling or other interventions?

No. Ambassadors will receive training in responding to an initial disclosure of abuse, which is key to helping an affected colleague feel believed and supported. Their focus will be on providing that survivor with information about their options. This includes signposting to specialist support agencies.

There is no issue with abuse in my workplace; why do I need this?

This training focusses on sexual abuse and domestic violence outside the workplace. Most commonly, this will be at home, but it could take place anywhere, including online. Unfortunately, due to its prevalence, it’s likely that you do have employees with experience of abuse, whether they are experiencing it now or in the past.

What sort of person would make a good Support Ambassador?

An Ambassador can be someone from any role or grade who is keen to support their colleagues. The role requires an ongoing commitment and a willingness to reflect on and improve workplace practices. The Ambassador will need to be non-judgmental, a good listener, and willing to respect confidentiality. They’ll need to know the boundaries of their role and be ready to ask for help when needed. Because both the training and the role itself involve discussion of domestic abuse and sexual violence, this role might not be suitable for everyone, and we would advise against nominating anyone who does not willingly volunteer for the role. Anyone known or suspected perpetrator of abuse would not be suitable for this role.

We already have a wellbeing champion / mental health first aider. Is this the same thing?

This role specifically focuses on supporting survivors of sexual and domestic abuse and, as such, sits separately from other roles. That said, there are many similar, transferrable skills in each of these roles, so an existing wellbeing champion of mental health first aider might also be a good fit for this role, depending on their capacity.

Dealing with colleagues’ disclosures of abuse sounds stressful. Is it?

It can be upsetting, yes. Secondary trauma and burnout is common among those working with survivors of abuse. Throughout our training, we emphasise that the role of the Support Ambassadors is to provide information and signposting to trained specialists. We also focus on the importance of self-care and encourage Ambassadors to seek their own support if needed. Our training includes resources that will be useful to you once you completed your training. Following on from the training, you can always reach out to us for further information or guidance.

As an employer, it’s important that your Support Ambassadors are given the time, resources and support to fulfil their role. We encourage line managers to attend the training alongside the Ambassadors as this will provide them with a better understanding of the role.

Does this training cover harassment in the workplace?

This training focusses on domestic and sexual abuse that occurs outside the workplace, although in some cases these abusive behaviours have spilled over into the workplace domain, usually when domestic abusers behave in similar ways with their colleagues, such as having coercive controlling behaviour or displays narcissistic tendencies. It’s about ensuring affected colleagues understand what abuse is and can feel comfortable and supported at work to talk about it.

We recognise that sexual harassment and abuse within the workplace can be a huge problem, and we run separate training courses on tackling this. If you’d like further information, please email our training team at training@thesurvivorstrust.org

We have also developed a Trauma-Informed Quality Mark to help workplaces provide appropriate support and trauma-informed responses to disclosures of sexual violence and abuse both outside and within the workplace. This includes an in-depth look at policies and procedures for dealing with disclosures of abuse and how to instil a culture change throughout the workplace.