What do we really mean by ‘community’ and ‘peer’? The terms might sound simple, but they can just as easily exclude as include. That’s the central message of a new paper by April Wareham, which explores how these labels shape people’s sense of identity – and the role services play in that process.
Wareham begins with the dictionary: community, she notes, can mean a group viewed collectively, or people who share something in common. But definitions like that don’t always hold up in real life – belonging is rarely that neat. People know instinctively who feels like ‘one of us’ – and who doesn’t. When services try to group people by a single characteristic, they often miss the complexity of individual lives and relationships.
She demonstrates the point with the example of Bangladeshi women experiencing domestic abuse in east London: they may be hidden not just from services, but from the wider Bangladeshi community itself. These are the kinds of distinctions that get lost when identity is applied from the outside.
‘Peer’ is no easier to pin down, she explains. The term is contextual – someone might be your peer in a hospital waiting room but not in the school playground. It’s another way of sorting people, and while it can be useful, it often oversimplifies.
Services frequently try to encourage involvement by booking a room, laying on some sandwiches, and hoping a user group will form, says Wareham. But as the late Australian advocate Jude Byrne put it, this can feel like ‘contrived spontaneity’. Sometimes no one turns up; sometimes people leave disappointed – or angry – when there aren’t enough vouchers to go around.
That’s not to say peer groups can’t work, she says. The ones that do work tend to have a clear focus from the start – a defined purpose and a clear idea of who the group is for. Southall Black Sisters is one example: a support service rooted in the experiences of Black and minoritised women affected by domestic abuse. The Hepatitis C Trust began with just four people seeking support and information. It’s now a national charity working to eliminate the virus by 2030 – but its work remains grounded in lived experience and clearly defined goals.
Wareham’s message is clear: lasting involvement isn’t about building one big structure that suits everyone. It’s about supporting smaller, purposeful projects that speak directly to the people they’re for – and giving them the space to grow.
Read the full paper and join the conversation at workingwitheveryone.org.uk