A new initiative to help domestic abuse survivors with their sleep has been launched in South Yorkshire.
The project, led by Resolute Women’s Support Services and The Sleep Charity, will start on April 1 with the aim of rolling out nationally in the future.
Vicki Beevers, CEO of The Sleep Charity, said: “I have listened to the lived experience of many survivors, and sleep issues have a major impact on their lives.”
The two charities have opened a survey to investigate the broader impact of abuse, examining how trauma prevents survivors from getting valuable rest.
The survey asks how sleeping in the room where abuse took place, and hypervigilance leads to sleep deprivation for survivors, whilst also targeting ways to feel calmer during the night and manage nightmares.
“Sleep is the scaffolding that can hold everything together,” said Ms Beevers. “We want to understand survivors’ individual situations so that we can make the work that we do as impactful as possible. This really is an opportunity to co-produce and design information to help others at scale.”
A study at the University of Worcester found that sleep deprivation is a commonly used and powerful method of coercion and control in abusive relationships, leading to short-term impacts on physical and mental health.
Deborah Jones, CEO of Resolute in Barnsley, said: “I have lived experience. Knowing what I went through as a victim and a survivor, not getting any sleep, it had a massive impact on me being able to carry out my day-to-day tasks.
“When you’re going through the criminal justice system, you are faced with a lot of questions, a lot of paperwork and when you don’t have that sleep, it adds that brain fog. More often than not, a lot of women we support, they don’t get any sleep whatsoever.”
Resolute and The Sleep Charity will co-produce a training package for domestic abuse volunteers across South Yorkshire based on their survey responses, which plans to incorporate as many survivors’ voices as possible.
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) estimated that 2.2 million women faced domestic abuse in 2025, with just over 41,000 offenders convicted.
If you, or anybody you know, has been affected by the issues raised in this article, please see the link below.
