Making a Difference is a short animation created in collaboration between SWAG Cancer Alliance and the University Hospitals Bristol & Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) Medical Illustration Team. It was created to share the experience of domestic abuse victim-survivors who are also affected by cancer. The short video shares two survivors’ experiences of abuse and highlights the more subtle signs that cancer professionals may pick up on. The animation will be used as a teaching tool in the SWAG Cancer & Domestic Abuse training which has already reached 500 professionals across the SWAG Cancer Alliance Trusts. The training is aligned with ACCEND capabilities and can be added to professionals’ portfolios after attendance
SWAG Cancer Alliance is unique in employing a dedicated Cancer & Domestic Abuse Trainer, Lucy Angell-John - the only role of its kind in the UK, which shows SWAG Cancer Alliances commitment to improving outcomes for people affected by cancer who are also victim-survivors of domestic abuse. This animation is the latest stage of a project started in 2022 beginning with a partnership between Dr Sandi Dheensa (University of Bristol), Macmillan Cancer Support, Standing Together Against Domestic Abuse, UHBW and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trusts. Victim-Survivor involvement and voices have been central to the development of the project’s different stages.
The key messages of the cancer and domestic abuse project are:
- Domestic abuse and cancer are both extremely common
- A cancer diagnosis can trigger an abuser to escalate their abuse
- Domestic abuse causes long-lasting physical and mental health harm to cancer care, treatment, and recovery.
- Working in cancer care, you have a unique window of opportunity to intervene and make a difference.
“I felt that making an animation would provide me with a powerful visual learning tool for the training –bringing the voices and lived experiences of survivors to life," says Lucy Angell-John.
"This is the first animation of its kind - exploring the specific challenges that victim-survivors of domestic abuse face when also affected by cancer. Our aim is for the animation to be used alongside other resources such as the Macmillan Professionals Toolkit to raise awareness of domestic abuse in cancer settings.
“Working with the Medical Illustration team at UHBW on the animation was a joy, they worked sensitively with the content and created a beautiful piece of art which will have lasting impact on the improvement of responding to domestic abuse across cancer settings.”
Watch the full animation here
Helen Winter, Clinical Director for SWAG Cancer Alliance, said: "This is a powerful and compassionate piece of work. It brings humanity and dignity to an issue that affects so many, including within our own NHS family. Thank you for creating a film that encourages us all to notice, to ask, and to offer a safe space.
