Opening Pandora’s Box
Last year we delivered community reporter training workshops with women who’ve experienced the negative impact of gambling. This is what happened when a group of women with lived experience of gambling harm worked collectively to drive change.
Community reporters pose for the cover of ‘Hidden Lives’ issue of Greater Govanhill
Words by Rhiannon J Davies | Illustrations by Olivia Jeutt, photo by Zainib Ahmed
On a chilly evening in September, a group of 9 women stepped into The Community Newsroom for the first time. The women ranged in age from their 20s-70s, and they came from different backgrounds, heritage and experiences. But they all shared one thing in common.
Their lives had been affected by gambling.
In some cases this was their own gambling, but for others, it was that of a friend, family member or loved one.
Gambling harms is a topic we’ve covered in this magazine before – back in early 2023, when we looked at the proliferation of betting shops on our high street, the hidden cost of this issue, policy solutions and how it affected the Roma community. The more we looked, the more stories we uncovered.
Read more: The Addiction Which is Being Ignored
Which is why we were pleased to be able to build on this work with funding through GambleAware's Improving Outcomes Fund. This fund aims to drive change within the sector to reduce the inequalities which exist relating to gambling harm for women and people from minority communities.
Much of the existing research on gambling tends to focus on the experiences of men. Yet research commissioned by GambleAware found that gambling harm among women is a growing issue – driven by unique motivations, behaviors, and societal influences.
Research highlights that women often begin gambling socially, but it can escalate into solitary activity, particularly during life stressful times. They also face unique barriers to seeking support, including childcare, stigma, financial issues, and domestic abuse, making access difficult.
At Greater Govanhill, we believe that lived experience of an issue makes you an expert on a subject that and that the understanding that this can bring to a subject is invaluable.
We developed a community reporter training program, designed to amplify the voices of those affected by gambling, this project has provided participants with the tools to report on these critical issues while advocating for community change.
The women all brought an amazing range of life experiences and were all generous in sharing their stories, their skills and supporting one another, quickly becoming a tight knit group.
They learned skills in using journalism for community power, developing story ideas, carrying out interviews, investigations, fact checking, telling stories with video and magazine production.
As the course progressed, participants explored essential journalism storytelling techniques, led by Eve Livingston, honing their skills in finding and developing impactful stories. Comfortably transitioning into interviews, they learned about the importance of diverse voices and how to effectively source perspectives from within the community. This was particularly significant for addressing gambling harms, as the participants recognised the need to hear from those directly affected.
As well as learning journalism skills, the group also learned how to carry out participatory action research, led by Annette Fisher. Also known as co-operative inquiry, this is a way of working with others who share similar concerns and interests in order to understand the world, and make sense of it, developing new ways of looking at things, while learning how to act to change things.
We began by examining different dimensions of power – including visible power (observable decision making), hidden power (setting the political agenda) and invisible power (shaping meaning, sense of self and what’s “normal”. This enabled the group to equip themselves to identify and strategise around gambling-related issues in their community.
The group identified critical advocacy efforts, and worked individually or in pairs on actions that included: pushing for the inclusion of gambling-related questions in mental health assessments by GPs; promoting awareness among charities about the sensitivities of fundraising related to gambling, like raffles; raising awareness about the risks to children at local secondary schools, contacting local Muslim leaders to address harms and stigma in the South Asian community.
The impact of this course stretches beyond personal growth; it aims to foster a collective movement addressing gambling harms in Govanhill and beyond. By empowering participants with journalism skills, the project paves the way for informed advocacy, community dialogue, and ultimately, systemic change in how gambling harms are perceived and addressed.
Some people said it was the first time in their lives they’d shared certain memories or experiences, giving them confidence to go away and talked to their loved ones about the topics. Another said: “I love coming here, I feel like I absorb everyone’s energy.”
The group didn’t stop there though. One participant, Cat Cochrane, appear on STV talking about this issue. Several of the women attended a roundtable event organised by the ALLIANCE Scotland Reducing Gambling Harm programme to discuss ‘Changing the narrative around gambling harm’. While others still have been working with Simon Community Scotland to developing a new website informing people on this issue.