Domestic Abuse: Intervening early to reduce harm and maximising support and protection for victims
(Ended 23rd May 2023)
Online
23rd May 2023 to 23rd May 2023
Date of Event: Tuesday, May 23rd 2023
Time of Event: 9:30 AM — 1:00 PM
On average, two women are killed every week in England and Wales by a current or former partner and one in four women will experience domestic violence in their lifetime. Latest government data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) estimates 6.9% of women and 3% of men experienced domestic abuse in the year ending March 2022 – 1.7 million women and 699,000 men. Domestic abuse remains acutely underreported, however. CSEW data for the year ending March 2018 suggest that only 18% of women who had experienced abuse from a partner in the 12-month period reported the abuse to the police. New data from Victim Support has found that: 53% of domestic abuse victims reported an instance of domestic abuse at least twice before they felt appropriate action was taken by the police; 24% reported an instance of domestic abuse to the police three times or more before appropriate action was taken; and 12% said they do not feel appropriate action was ever taken. Furthermore, 48% of black and ethnic minority victims felt the police treated them differently from other people because of their ethnic background or heritage.
The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 aims to better protect survivors of domestic abuse and address the behaviour of perpetrators. The Act creates a legal definition of domestic abuse to provide clarity that domestic abuse can be financial, verbal and emotional as well as physical and sexual and that critically it is about patterns of abuse over time. Furthermore, children are explicitly recognised as victims if they witness abuse. Measures in the Act also include the introduction of new Domestic Abuse Protection Notices and Domestic Abuse Protection Orders to further protect victims and place restrictions on the actions of offenders. The Act also created the position of Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales, with statutory powers to help drive change nationally.
The Law Society has noted that the Domestic Abuse Act alone will not be enough, that services for victims of domestic abuse must be properly funded, and that the new legislation must be supported by a full programme of education. The charity Action Violence & Abuse has underlined that women survivors of domestic abuse face numerous barriers to accessing help and support and disclosing abuse. These barriers include: lack of recognition that the abuse is happening; feelings of guilt and shame; and lack of awareness of available support. The charity also highlights research suggesting that women from minority, marginalised or disadvantaged communities or backgrounds, or those with protected characteristics, including Black and minoritised women, lesbian, bisexual and trans women, older and disabled women, face higher rates of domestic abuse and additional barriers to support.
A year on from the passing of the 2021 Act, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Nicole Jacobs, recognised that “there’s far more to be done to support victims, to tackle the causes of domestic abuse and hold perpetrators to account”, noting that “there needs to be far more focus on prevention, early intervention and a more co-ordinated community response.” The Commissioner proposes that to better support victims of domestic abuse, the Victims Bill, presented to Parliament in May 2022, “provides the perfect opportunity to ensure that community-based services get the recognition and funding they need to plug some of the gaps which were left unfilled in the Domestic Abuse Act”, including in relation to “advocacy, safety planning, therapeutic support and counselling, support for children, and work with perpetrators to change their behaviour.” The Commissioner has also called on the government to provide £18.7m over three years to ensure that victims without recourse to public funds can access support, accommodation and subsistence.
This symposium will examine the successes and failures of the Domestic Abuse Act, how the Victims Bill can be shaped to ensure the highest levels of protection and support for domestic abuse victims, and how relevant agencies and other stakeholders can best collaborate to maximise their effectiveness.
Programme
- Evaluate the implementation of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, successes and failures, gaps in the legislation, and areas for future reform
- Assess the likely effectiveness of Domestic Abuse Protection Notices and Domestic Abuse Protection Orders
- Examine how the Victims Bill can be shaped to ensure better protection and support for victims of domestic abuse
- Plan and implement effective intervention strategies to identify and support victims early
- Evaluate whole-family interventions for families in which a child is exposed to domestic abuse
- Address gaps in specialist training for police forces on how to respond to domestic violence cases and discuss how to ensure greater commitment from law enforcement to identifying and tackling domestic abuse
- Understand what the Domestic Abuse Act means for local authorities and how they can effectively meet their statutory duty to support domestic abuse victims
- Analyse the inequalities and discrimination present in efforts to tackle domestic abuse, particularly with regard to migrant women, economically vulnerable women, and women from minority, marginalised or disadvantaged communities or backgrounds, or those with protected characteristics
- Discuss collaborative, partnership and multi-agency opportunities for reducing the risk of abuse and protecting and supporting victims
- Assess trauma-informed approaches to working with fathers, and sometimes mothers, who perpetrate severe and chronic violence towards intimate partners
- Scrutinise the current legal remedies that are in place to protect the abused and punish the abuser and their efficacy in practice
- Review the ways in which domestic abuse has changed in recent years, considering the effect of the internet, the increasing recognition of economic abuse, and the impact of domestic violence upon children
- Develop effective strategies for protecting and supporting survivors of domestic abuse, at national, regional and local levels
Who Should Attend?
- Academics
- Adult Services Officers
- Central Government Departments and Agencies
- Charities and Non-Governmental Organisations
- Children’s Specialist Safeguarding Nurse
- Children’s Trusts and Children’s Centres
- Children and Youth Services
- Clinical Leads
- Commissioning and Partnerships Manager
- Community Midwives
- Community Support Officers
- Counselling Services
- Criminal Justice Practitioners
- Domestic Violence Co-ordinators
- Families Services Officers
- Health Service Professionals
- Heads of Community Protection
- Independent Domestic Violence Advocates
- Local Authorities
- Neighbourhood Managers
- Police, Law Enforcement Agencies and Security Services
- Welfare Reform Officers
- Youth Mentors