This toolkit shares resources and ‘tools’ that have been used within the CAFADA research project. These all relate to efforts to support children, young people and women’s engagement in the research process and specifically to promote participatory research practices with those impacted by the issues we are researching – domestic abuse and service responses to it.

Although the toolkit is focused on children and young people’s participation, much of the content will apply equally to participatory research with adults. Indeed, much of the participation work that has taken place within the project has been intergenerational and engaged with children and their mothers together, or in parallel. This reflects our recognition of the relational nature of domestic abuse and the needs that arise as a result of abuse. In the context of domestic abuse, children’s and their mothers’ needs, wellbeing and safety are often interconnected in myriad ways.

Items in the toolkit are purposefully shared so other researchers and/or practitioners can use and adapt them for their own work, subject to appropriate credit (see below). Each resource is supported with a short summary describing how it was used within the project and reflections on associated strengths and challenges.

As with many participatory research projects, our efforts to foster participation within the wider research project have met with varied levels of success, engagement, power sharing and influence. The work has been diverse, iterative, and sometimes constrained by circumstances, timing or resources. Indeed, much of the work took place in the context of COVID-19 and restricted face-to-face fieldwork and was adapted to an online environment.

Our learning has been co-produced through our partnerships with children, young people and women and those who support them. Their passion for driving change in domestic abuse services and policy has been a constant spur to action and reminder of the power of participation.  This toolkit is available for others to use, share and adapt for non-commercial purposes provided appropriate credit is given. This is licenced under Creative Commons Licence CC BY-NC 4.0 Deed. Terms and conditions are available here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0.

The correct citation for the toolkit as a whole is:

Houghton C., Warrington, C., Fowler, N., Tisdall, K., Morrison, F., Mazur, J. and Callaghan, J. (2024) CAFADA Participation Toolkit: Sharing the learning about children, and young people and women’s participation in domestic abuse research  [Available at: Participation toolkit | Children and families affected by domestic abuse (stir.ac.uk)].

Where individual authors are responsible for specific resources this is stated and we request that specific credit is given in future use or adaptation.