I’d like to congratulate, introduce and heartily recommend my friend and colleague Dawn Velody, with her new service providing training and consultancy on issues around domestic abuse.

You might have stopped reading at those last two words, thinking something along the lines of what I used to: “That’s an awful issue, but not particularly anything to do with me.”

It affects far more people than you think.

If you’re right now in a workplace, on a bus, in a cafe, on a street… look around you and consider how little we know about what those near us are going through.

We’ve gone through a number of awakenings recently, I think. It’s no longer enough for employers to think mental health isn’t relevant to them. It’s no longer enough for organisations to declare that racism isn’t an issue for them and that everyone is equal, and leave it at that. We make progress and we educate ourselves. And we stop shutting our eyes to issues that don’t—we believe—directly affect us. Domestic abuse might be the next one. If you’re in a position to influence training, staff development, culture or values somewhere, I’d urge you to give this some thought.

It’s been a privilege to work alongside Dawn in launching this, and I’m pleased to say there are lots more plans in the works. Dawn is a hugely experienced trainer, speaker and thinker; I can’t recommend her highly enough as just the thoughtful, knowledgeable and (perhaps above all) approachable person to help you get started.