COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROJECT (NIHME Mental Health programme) Domestic violence and mental health: experiences of South Asian women in Manchester Report on the community-led research project focusing on the mental health needs of South Asian women who are survivors of domestic violence. BY Sahel? SAHELI ASIAN WOMEN'S PROJECT, MANCHESTER Priya Chopra, Waheeda Farouk, Qmar Haq, Saliya Khan, Asima Mahmood and Aquila Mansoor May 2007 Funded by the NIMHE MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAMME, managed by SAHELI and supported by The Centre for Ethnicity and Health, University of Central Lancashire. University of Central Lancashire NHS National Institute for Mental Health in England 1
The following people were involved in the development and delivery of this project: Sundari Anitha (Researcher): I received my PhD in Politics from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London in 2003. Since completing my PhD, I have worked as Researcher at the Centre for Ethnicity and Health, University of Central Lancashire (2003-6), as Visiting Lecturer at Roehampton University (2007) and my current appointment is as Research Fellow, School of Politics and International Studies, University Of Leeds. My main areas of interest for research are cultural politics, social policy responses to domestic violence and substance use amongst Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities in United Kingdom and community engagement. I have experience of working with specialist refuges for over 8 years, as a member of staff and as a trustee. My role in this project has been to help the research team with the design of the research instruments, provide support to the community researchers on matters arising during fieldwork, conduct the data analysis and write the report. During this entire process I have consulted and drawn upon the insights and experiences of the other members of the team. Priya Chopra (Project Manager): I am the Project Coordinator for Saheli and Hosla Project. I have recently completed my Masters in Business Administration. Within my role as Project Manager for the research, I have ensured that the planning stage of the project really took into consideration the views and opinions of our service users, particularly around the understanding of mental health issues among South Asian women and the role of support and services. I have been involved in analysing the data and working closely with the researchers and support worker. I have been involved in making links within other projects and to ensure that the women with various support needs are able to participate. Waheeda Farouk (Community Researcher): I am from Pakistan where I was a science teacher and I have a Masters Degree in Zoology. I am a housewife and I have a three years old daughter. I am one of the volunteers in this project. Being involved in this study has taught me many things about mental health, by attending mental health workshops, I learned lots of things that were totally new for me. I hope that the research has been beneficial for Asian women and this will help improve services offered to them. Qmar Jawaid Haq