ISVAs and RIs Working Together

Course Content:

Dr Tina Pereira: 'Intermediaries: Role, professional responsibilities and practice’

This presentation explains the role, legal context, professional responsibilities and practice of an intermediary working with vulnerable individuals in legal settings. It identifies the key differences between the intermediary and ISVA roles, presents a case study of joint working and finally suggests a way in which intermediaries and ISVAs can work together in the best interests of the vulnerable person.

Jamie Allinson: 'Rape Crisis Tyneside and Northumberland): The Role of the ISVA'            The role of the ISVA explained including specialisms that Intermediaries can support with. This will include a summary of the new ISVA guidance and how it will affect cases.

Zoe Mitchell: ‘ISVAs and Intermediaries: Learning what Works in Practice’                    

This talk draws on qualitative research involving interviews with 14 ISVAs and 4 Registered Intermediaries.  It explores perceptions of the ISVA and RI role from their respective viewpoints, highlighting areas of successful collaboration as well as gaps in communication. Using thematic analysis, the research examines how both roles can best complement each other within the criminal justice space to effectively support victims and witnesses of RASSO.

Ruth Afako (RI) and Rebekah Ridgway (CHISVA) Joint case presentation. 

Rebekah and Ruth will describe how they worked together over a period of several months this year to support an 8 year old complainant. The girl's needs were language delay and social/emotional difficulties related to trauma. The case involved a series of both expected and unexpected events leading up to a Section 28 hearing. Rebekah and Ruth's different roles proved vital in enabling this case to progress. Their communication and joint planning assisted the witness, the family, and the other professionals involved.

Susan Stewart (RI and IfJ CPD programme Lead) 'Reflections on working with ISVAs'

Susan will reflect on her 9 years experience and learning from working with ISVAs and vulnerable witnesses. She will also draw attention to relevant documents that have changed the way she works with ISVAs

Susan Stewart (RI and IfJ CPD programme Lead) and Penny Edwards (Group Worker and Training Lead, Rape Crisis Tyneside and Northumberland):

Best Practice Exploration- 

Facilitated breakout rooms for attendees to work together to discuss their experience of working alongside each other to share practice- These conversations will be captured with a view to produce top tips info sheet for joint working between ISVAs and RIs. This would include some summary and written feedback collated from these groups. 

The top tips sheet will then be used to create an IfJ document: ‘Best Practice for RIs and ISVAs working together’

Discussion questions to include:

1.  What does best-practice between RIs and ISVAs look like?
2.  What is the one thing you think is crucial for witnesses that are supported by both an ISVA and RI?
3.  What barriers are there to successful joint-working and what might be the solutions to overcome these barriers?

Course Aims/Objectives:

The course will enable ISVAS and RIs to learn together about each other's roles, emerging research on the ISVA role, discuss shared case experiences and collaborate together to offer ideas about how ISVAs and RIs can best work together.

Course Method:

The workshop is run in the form of a small group training. The presenters will present information and will invite high levels of participation and sharing of knowledge and ideas. Prepared slides/handouts guide the process rather than impart information.

The following materials are provided:

• Powerpoint presentations
• Guidance for further reading-Bibliography