New research sheds light on women’s experiences on crime and gambling related harms.
Voices of lived experience, including Beacon Counselling Trust’s families worker Nicola Jaques, are at the core of a new research study examining the experiences of women affected by gambling related harms and the links to criminality.
The study ‘Holding it all together and picking up the pieces: Women’s experiences of gambling and crime’, was commissioned by the Howard League in collaboration with Bet Know More.
Its findings have been presented showing the links between crime and gambling related harms and the impact this has on communities and wider society.
The report also outlines steps that could be taken to help reduce crime and make people safer.
The study featured 33 interviews and six focus groups, involving a total of 27 participants.
Nicola, who supports affected others through Beacon’s Six to Ten Project, joined the study as a peer researcher, initiating stakeholder contacts, interviewing other participants and taking part in the focus groups. Of the interviewees, nine were women with lived experience of disordered gambling and crime. Eight were women with lived experience of being an affected other – defined in the report as someone negatively impacted by the gambling of someone else, such as partners or family members.
All the women who took part in the study said that they encountered a lack of awareness and understanding about gambling and crime with agencies across the criminal justice system, as well as many other services including those in health, financial institutions and the family courts.
Alongside treatment through the National Gambling Treatment Service for both gamblers and family members, Beacon Counselling Trust’s education and prevention team offer a specialist training programme Arresting Harmful Gambling Within the Criminal Justice System, for professionals working within the criminal justice setting.
The course aims to support professionals in developing their knowledge and understanding of gambling related harms and its links to criminality.
It also seeks to support initiatives and professional practices that incorporate an early intervention in relation to the Integrated Offender Management framework, concerning gambling related harms.
Those who attend the training will also learn about the pathways into treatment for any offenders at risk of gambling related harms in accessing the National Gambling Treatment Service.
For more on our training please contact 0151 226 0696