Domestic Abuse
Statutory Guidance
July 2022
2
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abuse-act-statutory-guidance.
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Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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Contents
Contents 3
Contents in detail 6
Ministerial Foreword 11
Executive Summary 12
Purpose and legal status 12
Audience 12
Structure 14
Related material 14
Chapter 1 – Objectives 16
Objectives of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 16
Objectives of the Domestic Abuse Statutory Guidance 17
Chapter 2 – Understanding Domestic Abuse 18
Background 18
Statutory definition 19
Types of domestic abuse 22
Chapter 3 – Recognising Domestic Abuse 28
Physical abuse, violent or threatening behaviour 28
Sexual abuse 29
Controlling or coercive behaviour 31
Harassment or Stalking 33
Economic abuse 35
Emotional or psychological abuse 37
Verbal abuse 37
Technology-facilitated abuse 38
Abuse relating to faith 39
‘Honour’-based abuse 42
Perpetrator tactics 44
Chapter 4 – Impact of Domestic Abuse 48
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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Impact on Victims 48
Impact on child victims 52
Chapter 5 – Different experiences, needs and related considerations 57
Age 59
Disability 61
Deaf victims 63
Speech, language, and communication 63
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity 64
Sex 65
Pregnancy 67
Religion or belief 68
Race and ethnicity 69
Immigration status and migrant victims 70
Alcohol and substance misuse 75
Mental health 76
Socio-economic background 77
Chapter 6 – Agency Response to Domestic Abuse 78
Identifying and responding 78
Risk assessment 79
Responding to children and young people 80
Education 81
Social Care 85
Health 91
Housing 98
Local Criminal Justice Boards 104
Policing 104
Crown Prosecution Service 111
Domestic Abuse Best Practice Framework for Courts 113
Prison and Probation 114
Youth Offending Teams 116
Criminal and Civil Justice System – Criminal, Civil, and Family Courts 116
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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Jobcentre Plus 120
Employers 122
Financial services 124
Links with the voluntary sector 125
Chapter 7 – Multi-Agency Response to Domestic Abuse 127
Multi-agency working 127
Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences 130
Multi-agency working to safeguard children 131
Principles for multi-agency working 132
Addressing the behaviour of the perpetrator 141
Domestic Homicide Reviews 146
Annex A – Support Available for Victims 147
Annex B – Glossary of Acronyms 152
Annex C – Guidance Documents 154
Annex D – Table of Protective Orders 159
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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Contents in detail
Contents 3
Contents in detail 6
Ministerial Foreword 11
Executive Summary 12
Purpose and legal status 12
Audience 12
Structure 14
Related material 14
Chapter 1 – Objectives 16
Objectives of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 16
Objectives of the Domestic Abuse Statutory Guidance 17
Chapter 2 – Understanding Domestic Abuse 18
Background 18
Statutory definition 19
Types of domestic abuse 22
Intimate partner abuse 23
Teenage relationship abuse 23
Abuse by family members 24
Child-to-parent abuse 25
Chapter 3 – Recognising Domestic Abuse 28
Physical abuse, violent or threatening behaviour 28
Sexual abuse 29
Controlling or coercive behaviour 31
Harassment or Stalking 33
Economic abuse 35
Emotional or psychological abuse 37
Verbal abuse 37
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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Technology-facilitated abuse 38
Abuse relating to faith 39
Religious marriage and divorce 40
‘Honour’-based abuse 42
Forced Marriage 43
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) 44
Perpetrator tactics 44
Chapter 4 – Impact of Domestic Abuse 48
Impact on Victims 48
Physical 48
Psychological 48
Suicide 49
Addiction 50
Offending 50
Livelihood 51
Impact on child victims 52
Chapter 5 – Different experiences, needs and related considerations 57
Age 59
Disability 61
Deaf victims 63
Speech, language, and communication 63
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity 64
Sex 65
Female victims 65
Male victims 66
Pregnancy 67
Religion or belief 68
Race and ethnicity 69
Immigration status and migrant victims 70
Asylum Seekers 74
No recourse to public funds (NRPF) - change of conditions 74
Fee Waivers 74
Alcohol and substance misuse 75
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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Mental health 76
Socio-economic background 77
Chapter 6 – Agency Response to Domestic Abuse 78
Identifying and responding 78
Risk assessment 79
Responding to children and young people 80
Education 81
Early Years and Childcare 81
Schools and colleges 82
Higher education 85
Social Care 85
Children’s Social Care 85
Adult Social Care 90
Health 91
Role and structures 92
Enquiries 93
Integrated response 94
Housing 98
Role and approach 98
Homelessness and domestic abuse victims’ priority need for accommodation 99
Housing response 101
Safe Accommodation 102
Local Criminal Justice Boards 104
Policing 104
Link between victimisation and offending 107
Victims with insecure immigration status 107
Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme 108
Bail 108
Voluntary Attendance Interview 109
Protective Notices and Orders 109
Police and Crime Commissioners 111
Crown Prosecution Service 111
Victim’s Right to Review scheme 112
Domestic Abuse Best Practice Framework for Courts 113
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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Prison and Probation 114
Youth Offending Teams 116
Criminal and Civil Justice System – Criminal, Civil, and Family Courts 116
Criminal courts and special measures in the criminal courts 116
Civil courts and special measures in the civil courts 117
Family courts and special measures in the family courts 118
Protective Orders 120
Jobcentre Plus 120
Employers 122
Financial services 124
Links with the voluntary sector 125
Chapter 7 – Multi-Agency Response to Domestic Abuse 127
Multi-agency working 127
Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences 130
Multi-agency working to safeguard children 131
Principles for multi-agency working 132
Seeing and responding to the whole picture 132
Designing interventions and responses around the needs of victims 134
A clear strategic focus 136
Participation as active and joined-up partners 137
Specialist skills 137
Safe and effective information sharing 138
Valuing and employing staff with the right values 139
Address the behaviour of the perpetrator 140
Addressing the behaviour of the perpetrator 141
Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements 141
Perpetrator Panels 142
Perpetrator Programmes 143
Behaviour Change Interventions 144
Domestic Homicide Reviews 146
Annex A – Support Available for Victims 147
Annex B – Glossary of Acronyms 152
Annex C – Guidance Documents 154
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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Ministerial Foreword
Domestic abuse is cruel and complex, and can affect anyone, leaving physical and
emotional scars that can last a lifetime. The 2019 to 2020 Crime Survey for England and
Wales (CSEW) estimates that 2.3 million adults aged 16 to 74 in England and Wales
experienced domestic abuse in the previous year, the majority of whom were female.
1
We know that far too many individuals have their lives destroyed by domestic abuse.
However, for so many, their experience of abuse has been stigmatised, diminished, or worse
still, ignored. We also know domestic abuse has a devastating impact on children and young
people. Growing up in a household of fear and intimidation can impact their health,
wellbeing, and development, with lasting effects into adulthood. We need to build a society
that has zero tolerance towards domestic abuse, and actively empowers victims,
communities, and professionals to confront and challenge it, and provide victims of domestic
abuse, including children, with the support they deserve. That is why the Government is
committed to transforming the response to this terrible crime, seen through the introduction
of the landmark Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (‘the 2021 Act’) and this accompanying statutory
guidance. The 2021 Act is expected to help millions by strengthening the response across
all agencies - from the police and courts to local authorities and service providers. It
provides further protections for those who experience domestic abuse, and enhances
measures in place to bring perpetrators to justice.
Anyone can be a victim of domestic abuse, regardless of sex, gender reassignment, age,
ethnicity, socio-economic status, sexuality, or background. The 2021 Act introduces a
statutory definition of domestic abuse, and together with this statutory guidance, provides
clear case studies of what abuse looks like. Too often domestic abuse is spoken about in
relation to those who are ‘high risk’ cases, but for many victims, the abuse they suffer is
secret, it is subtle, and it is sustained.
This guidance has been subject to extensive engagement with experts from the sector,
independent Commissioners, academics, and those on the frontline. We especially
acknowledge and thank the organisations within the domestic abuse sector who
collaborated with officials in drafting this guidance, providing feedback and looking at each
section in detail in the development stages. We also thank everyone who responded during
the consultation stage sharing their comments, insights and experiences to assist in
finalising this document.
For as long as domestic abuse exists, support for victims must exist, and for those working
to protect victims, this guidance will help ensure that we are all playing our part in tackling
this abhorrent crime.
The Right Hon Priti Patel MP, Secretary of State for the Home Department
1
Office for National Statistics (ONS). Domestic abuse victim characteristics, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics
(ons.gov.uk): Data year ending March 2020.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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Executive Summary
Purpose and legal status
This statutory guidance is issued under section 84 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (‘the
2021 Act’). It is intended to increase awareness and inform the response to domestic
abuse. It also conveys standards and promotes best practice.
Section 84(4) of the 2021 Act requires persons exercising public functions, to whom the
guidance relates, to have regard to the guidance in the exercise of those functions. Some
organisations may also have specific statutory duties to safeguard victims of domestic
abuse. This guidance should therefore be read in conjunction with other relevant guidance
and codes of practice, several of which are signposted within the document.
This guidance focuses on support for victims. Not everyone who has experienced, or is
experiencing, domestic abuse chooses to describe themselves as a ‘victim’ and other
terms may be preferred such as ‘survivor’. We recognise both terms, however, the
guidance predominantly uses the term ‘victim’ to be consistent with the terminology of the
2021 Act.
Audience
This statutory guidance is aimed at organisations working with victims, perpetrators and
commissioning services, including the police, local authorities, and the NHS. It is also of
relevance to organisations dealing with consequences of domestic abuse such as
employers and financial institutions. A non-exhaustive list of who this guidance is intended
for is set out below:
• English and Welsh local authorities
• Police forces and Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs)
• The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)
• Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) and Cafcass
Cymru
• Services for forms of violence against women and girls including any specialist
domestic abuse services (including services serving men and boys)
• Local housing and homelessness teams, registered social landlords
• Early years, childcare, schools, colleges, and higher education settings
• Adult social care and children’s social care providers
• NHS England and NHS Improvement (from 2022, NHS England)
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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• Clinical Commissioning Groups (from July 2022, Integrated Care Boards)
• Integrated Care Partnerships (from July 2022)
• NHS Trusts, NHS Foundation Trusts
• Employers
• HM Prison and Probation Services
• HM Courts and Tribunals Service
• Youth Offending services
• Jobcentre Plus
• Financial services (banks, building societies etc.)
• Community and faith groups (including faith leaders)
The guidance applies to England. It applies to Wales insofar as it relates to matters in
Wales that are reserved to the UK Government – this is primarily policing, and criminal,
civil and family justice. In Wales, it is aimed at persons exercising public functions relating
to these matters and devolved Welsh authorities must have regard to this guidance in
respect to these matters.
All organisations in Wales should refer to the relevant Welsh legislation and associated
guidance in respect to devolved matters, such as the Violence Against Women, Domestic
Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act 2015 (‘the 2015 Act’) and its associated guidance.
We expect those carrying out devolved and non-devolved functions to continue to work
together to implement the purposes of both the 2015 Act and the 2021 Act where relevant
and appropriate.
Box 1.1: Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
As per section 84(2) of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, this guidance sets out: (a) the effect
of sections 1 and 2, which define “domestic abuse” and “personally connected” including
guidance as to particular kinds of behaviour that amount to domestic abuse; and (b) the
effect of domestic abuse on children.
Under section 84(4), a person exercising public functions to whom guidance is issued
must have regard to it in the exercise of those functions. Beyond this, the guidance
provides wider information about research and existing operational duties, frameworks and
structures to help inform professionals’ response to domestic abuse, support multi-agency
working, and encourage best practice.
While the whole guidance should be followed, please note that where:
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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a. ‘must’ or ‘has/have a duty to’ is used, it reflects legal obligations, including the Domestic
Abuse Act 2021 and other legislation.
b. ‘should’, ‘may, ‘can’, or ‘could’ are used, the guidance is to be followed wherever
possible, and indicates best practice.
Structure
The guidance is broken down into seven chapters: Objectives; Understanding Domestic
Abuse; Recognising Domestic Abuse; Impact of Domestic Abuse; Different experiences,
needs and related considerations; Agency Response to Domestic Abuse; and Multi-
Agency Response to Domestic Abuse. Each chapter includes a chapter summary, setting
out its purpose and content.
Case studies help illustrate some of the subject matter described. The case studies that
concern the experiences of victims have been anonymised to help protect their identities.
They present examples and are not intended to be exhaustive or representative of the
experiences of abuse that can be encountered by any group of individuals, or of any form
of abuse that they relate to.
Annexes are included at the end of the guidance. These signpost the range of support
available for victims (Annex A), define acronyms used within the document (Annex B),
highlight further guidance available to support frontline professionals (Annex C), and
summarise different protective orders which can be issued (Annex D).
Related material
The Government has published a refreshed Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls
(VAWG) Strategy and a complementary Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan, through these
aiming to transform the whole of society’s response to the issue of violence against
women and girls (VAWG)
2
, and help prevent and reduce VAWG crimes including domestic
abuse. The Welsh Government has published a refreshed National Strategy to tackle
Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (VAWDASV) in line with
the statutory duty created under the 2015 Act which also seeks to tackle cause and effect.
The Supporting Male Victims Position Statement, VAWG National Statement of
Expectations and VAWG Commissioning Toolkit have also been refreshed. The
Supporting Male Victims Position Statement (2022) is an updated iteration of the Male
Victims Position Statement (2019). It provides a focus on the additional challenges that
can be faced by male victims of crimes considered in the cross-Government Tackling
VAWG Strategy and the Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan, and outlines the continued
commitment to better enable male victims to come forward and receive the support they
2
The term ‘violence against women and girls’ refers to acts of violence or abuse that we know disproportionately affect women and
girls. Crimes and behaviours covered by this term include rape and other sexual offences, domestic abuse, stalking, ‘honour’-based
abuse (including female genital mutilation, forced marriage, and ‘honour’ killings), as well as many others, including offences
committed online. While the term ‘violence against women and girls’ is used, this refers to all victims of these offences.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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need. The National Statement of Expectations, and accompanying VAWG Commissioning
Toolkit, have also been updated to provide clear and consistent guidance for local areas
on how to commission victim support services, and to help ensure their response to
VAWG is as collaborative, robust, and effective as it can be.
As part of developing the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance, the Welsh
Government and the Office of the Domestic Abuse Commissioner have been
consulted and we thank them for their contributions. We thank the domestic abuse
sector for their engagement in the consultation and sharing of best practice ways of
working which has informed this guidance. We also thank the many victims and
survivors who shared lived experiences and testimonials which were instrumental
in the development of this guidance.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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Chapter 1 – Objectives
This chapter covers:
• The objectives of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 – promoting awareness, protecting and
supporting victims, holding perpetrators to account, transforming the justice response
and improving performance.
• The objectives of the Domestic Abuse Statutory Guidance – to provide clear
information on what domestic abuse is, provide and signpost support to those
organisations who need to respond, and convey standards and best practice for
agency and multi-agency response.
Objectives of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021
The prevention of domestic abuse and the protection of all victims lies at the heart of the
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (‘the 2021 Act’) and its wider programme of work. The
measures in the 2021 Act
3
seek to:
• promote awareness - putting domestic abuse at the top of everyone’s agenda, by
introducing a statutory definition which includes economic abuse and recognising
children as victims in their own right;
• protect and support victims - establishing in law the office of Domestic Abuse
Commissioner (DAC), introducing a new Domestic Abuse Protection Notice (DAPN)
and Domestic Abuse Protection Order (DAPO), and placing a new duty on tier one
local authorities to provide support to victims of domestic abuse, in refuges and
other safe accommodation;
• hold perpetrators to account - extending the controlling or coercive behaviour
offence to cover post-separation abuse, extending the offence of disclosing private
sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress to cover threats to
disclose such material, creating a new offence of non-fatal strangulation or
suffocation of another person, clarifying by restating in statute the general position
that a person may not consent to the infliction of serious harm and, by extension, is
unable to consent to their own death;
• transform the justice response - helping victims to give their best evidence in the
criminal courts through the use of video evidence, screens and other special
measures, and ensuring that victims of abuse do not suffer further trauma in family
court proceedings by being cross-examined by the perpetrator; and
• improve performance - driving consistency and better performance in the
response to domestic abuse including by putting the guidance for the Domestic
Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS) on a statutory footing and providing for a
3
Factsheets have been published providing more information about the provisions of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/domestic-abuse-bill-2020-factsheets
.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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statutory code of practice relating to the processing of domestic abuse data for
immigration purposes.
The measures of the 2021 Act will come into effect at different points following the
completion of steps required for their implementation. The commencement
schedule for provisions of the legislation has been published on GOV.UK. At the
time of issuing this guidance not all provisions of the 2021 Act are in legal force.
Those with a duty to give regard to this guidance, and others, should also refer to
the commencement schedule.
Objectives of the Domestic Abuse Statutory Guidance
1. Provide clear information on what domestic abuse is and how to identify it,
including the behaviours that can amount to domestic abuse and the impact on
adult and child victims. Individuals may not be aware that they are a victim of
domestic abuse, they might blame themselves, fear the consequences of leaving
the perpetrator, not know where they can seek help, or fear that they will experience
stigma and shame if they do try to seek help. This guidance aims to provide clear
information on what domestic abuse is and how to identify it.
2. Provide guidance and support to frontline professionals, and other
organisations, including signposting to further resources. The guidance will
support frontline professionals who have responsibilities to safeguard victims of
domestic abuse. It outlines some of the strategic and operational frameworks key to
providing a response, and the commissioning of domestic abuse services. It also
signposts frontline professionals and wider organisations to other relevant
resources relating to domestic abuse.
3. Convey standards and promote best practice for agency and multi-agency
response. There is a significant amount of work underway to improve the response
of frontline staff to domestic abuse for all agencies, and to promote multi-agency
responses and best practices. Tackling domestic abuse requires a whole system
approach.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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Chapter 2 – Understanding Domestic
Abuse
This chapter covers:
• Background on domestic abuse, and our understanding of it, as set out in data and
evidence informed by feedback from victims.
• The statutory definition of domestic abuse introduced by the Domestic Abuse Act 2021,
set out in detail.
• Key ‘types’ of abuse, expressed as different relationship contexts, including: intimate
partner abuse, abuse within teenage relationships, abuse by family members and child-
to-parent abuse.
Background
1. Domestic abuse is a high harm, high volume crime that remains largely hidden. The
Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW)
4
for the year ending March 2020
estimated that 2.3 million adults aged 16 to 74 had experienced domestic abuse in the
previous year.
5
Childhood Local Data on Risks and Needs estimated that, between
2019 and 2020, approximately 1 in 15 children under the age of 17 live in households
where a parent is a victim of domestic abuse.
6
2. The police recorded over 1.5 million domestic abuse related incidents and crimes in
England and Wales in the year ending March 2021.
7
This is an increase of 6% from the
previous year. Domestic abuse related incidents cover reports where, after initial
investigation, the police have concluded that no notifiable crime was committed.
Domestic abuse related crimes are defined as any incidence of threatening behaviour,
violence or abuse (psychological, physical, sexual, financial, or emotional) towards
another “personally connected” person, where it has been identified that an offence has
taken place.
3. While domestic abuse is not itself a specific criminal offence, criminal offences may be
committed by perpetrators. Related offences could include but are not limited to
4
The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) is a nationally representative face-to-face victimisation survey, in which people
resident in households in England and Wales are asked about their experiences of a range of crimes in the 12 months prior to the
interview. This includes self-completion modules on certain topics, including domestic abuse.
5
ONS. Domestic abuse in England and Wales overview - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk). Data year ending March 2020.
6
Children’s Commissioner. CHILDRN – Local and national data on childhood vulnerability. Data from 2017 to 2019.
7
ONS. Domestic abuse in England and Wales overview - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk). Data year ending March 2021.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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controlling or coercive behaviour
8
, harassment, stalking, criminal damage, physical
assault, sexual assault, rape and murder.
4. Anyone can be affected by domestic abuse – regardless of age, disability, sex, sexual
orientation, gender identity, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief. In addition,
domestic abuse can manifest itself in different ways within different communities.
5. Whilst both men and women can be affected by domestic abuse, females are
disproportionately the victims. The latest CSEW data for the year ending March 2020
estimates that 1.6 million females and 757,000 males aged 16 to 74 experienced
domestic abuse in the previous year.
9
According to this data, around one in four
women aged 16 to 74 had been a victim of domestic abuse in their lifetime, compared
with around one in seven men.
10
6. The majority of domestic homicide victims are women.
11
Data for the period March
2018 to 2020 showed that 276 women were victims of domestic homicide and in 97%
of cases the suspect was male.
12
Over the same period, 86 men were killed in
domestic homicides. In 62% of the cases the suspected perpetrator of these homicides
was male, and in 38% of the cases the suspect was female.
13
7. Domestic abuse remains under reported. There can be many barriers to disclosing
abuse, seeking criminal justice outcomes, and accessing services. Consideration is
given to this in ‘Chapter 5 – Different experiences, needs and related considerations’.
8. The CSEW data can be taken to provide estimates of the prevalence of domestic
abuse in England and Wales. It is clear that the scale of domestic abuse is vast and its
impact is significant. Research published by the Home Office estimated the social and
economic costs of domestic abuse to be in the region of £66 billion for victims identified
in England and Wales within the year 2016 to 2017. Physical and emotional harms (the
fear, anxiety and depression experienced by victims as a result of domestic abuse)
were estimated to account for the overwhelming majority of the overall costs. The
impact on individual victims is severe and can be wide-ranging and long-lasting.
Further detail is set out in ‘Chapter 4 – Impact of Domestic Abuse’.
Statutory definition
9. Sections 1 to 3 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (‘the 2021 Act’) create a statutory
definition of domestic abuse. This definition is set out in Box 2.1 below.
8
Controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship may amount to a criminal offence under section 76 of the Serious
Crime Act 2015.
9
ONS. Domestic abuse in England and Wales overview - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk): Data year ending March 2020.
10
ONS. Domestic abuse prevalence and victim characteristics - Appendix tables - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk): Data year
ending March 2020.
11
ONS. Domestic abuse victim characteristics, England and Wales: Data year ending March 2020.
12
ONS. Domestic abuse victim characteristics, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk): Data from 2017 to 2019.
13
ONS. Domestic abuse victim characteristics, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk): 1.1 Domestic homicide:
Data from 2017-2019.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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10. In the definition person “A” refers to the perpetrator of the abuse, and person “B” refers
to the victim of the abuse. The term ‘victim’ is used in the 2021 Act to denote someone
who has experienced domestic abuse. This includes children who have seen, heard, or
experienced the effects of domestic abuse, and are related to either the victim of the
abusive behaviour, or the perpetrator (section 3 of the 2021 Act).
11. Section 1(3) of the 2021 Act provides for what constitutes behaviour that is abusive.
This behaviour might consist of a single incident or a course of conduct. Section 1(3)(c)
refers to controlling or coercive behaviour. This behaviour might amount to an offence
under section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015. In order for the offence to be
committed the behaviour must satisfy the test set out in section 76(1), this means it
must be repeated or continuous and that the other elements of the criminal offence in
the section must be made out.
12. Section 1(5) provides that, for the purposes of the 2021 Act, A’s behaviour may be
behaviour “towards” B despite the fact that it consists of conduct directed at another
person – for example B’s child, other family member, friend or colleague.
13. Section 2 of the 2021 Act provides the definition of “personally connected” and this
includes those who would constitute a “relative” of the victim. The definition of “relative”
has the meaning given under section 63(1) of the Family Law Act 1996 (‘the 1996 Act’)
which includes immediate biological family, stepfamily and extended family of an
individual including such family members of their present or former spouse, civil partner
or cohabiting partner.
14. “A” and “B” do not need to be living together, or co-habiting, to be “personally
connected” under the 2021 Act.
15. Section 2(3) of the 2021 Act, for the purposes of the definition of “personally
connected”, defines a “child” as a person under the age of 18 years. This will include a
person aged 16 or 17.
16. Section 3 provides that a child (a person under the age of 18 years), is for the purposes
of the 2021 Act, recognised as a victim of domestic abuse if they see, hear, or
experience the effects of the abuse, and is related to “A” or “B”.
17. The 2021 Act does not create a single criminal offence of domestic abuse, and frontline
responders should continue to consider the full range of existing legislation and
safeguards to protect children. Offences to be considered could include common
assault, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and causing, or allowing, death or
serious harm, or child cruelty, neglect, and violence. This last offence, under section 1
of the Children and Young Person Act 1933
14
was amended in 2015, to include
causing a child emotional or psychological suffering, including through exposure to
domestic abuse. Pursuant to section 31(9) of the Children Act 1989 “harm” means ill-
treatment or the impairment of health or development of the child as a result of seeing
or hearing the ill-treatment of another person. “Development” means physical,
14
Section 1 of the Children and Young Person Act 1933 concerns cruelty to persons under sixteen.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
21
intellectual, emotional, social or behavioural development; “Ill treatment” includes
sexual abuse and forms of ill-treatment which are not physical.
Box 2.1: Domestic Abuse Act 2021 – Part 1 – Definition of domestic abuse
Section 1: Definition of “domestic abuse”
(1) This section defines “domestic abuse” for the purposes of this Act.
(2) Behaviour of a person (“A”) towards another person (“B”) is “domestic abuse” if—
(a) A and B are each aged 16 or over and are “personally connected” to each other,
and
(b) the behaviour is abusive.
(3) Behaviour is “abusive” if it consists of any of the following—
(a) physical or sexual abuse;
(b) violent or threatening behaviour;
(c) controlling or coercive behaviour;
(d) economic abuse (see subsection (4));
(e) psychological, emotional or other abuse;
and it does not matter whether the behaviour consists of a single incident or a course of
conduct.
(4) “Economic abuse” means any behaviour that has a substantial adverse effect on B’s
ability to —
(a) acquire, use or maintain money or other property, or
(b) obtain goods or services.
(5) For the purposes of this Act, A’s behaviour may be behaviour “towards” B despite the
fact that it consists of conduct directed at another person (for example, B’s child).
(6) References in this Act to being abusive towards another person are to be read in
accordance with this section.
(7) For the meaning of “personally connected”, see section 2.
Section 2: Definition of “personally connected”
(1) Two people are “personally connected” to each other if any of the following applies —
(a) they are, or have been, married to each other;
(b) they are, or have been, civil partners of each other;
(c) they have agreed to marry one another (whether or not the agreement has
been terminated);
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
22
(d) they have entered into a civil partnership agreement (whether or not the
agreement has been terminated);
(e) they are, or have been, in an intimate personal relationship with each other;
(f) they each have, or there has been a time when they each have had, a parental
relationship in relation to the same child (see subsection (2));
(g) they are relatives.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1)(f) a person has a parental relationship in relation to
a child if —
(a) the person is a parent of the child, or;
(b) the person has parental responsibility for the child.
(3) In this section —
“child” means a person under the age of 18 years;
“civil partnership agreement” has the meaning given by section 73 of the Civil
Partnership Act 2004;
“parental responsibility” has the same meaning as in the Children Act 1989;
“relative” has the meaning given by section 63(1) of the Family Law Act 1996.
Section 3: Children as victims of domestic abuse
(1) This section applies where behaviour of a person (“A”) towards another person (“B”) is
domestic abuse.
(2) Any reference in this Act to a victim of domestic abuse includes a reference to a child
who –
(a) sees or hears, or experiences the effect of, the abuse, and
(b) is related to A or B.
(3) A child is related to a person for the purposes of subsection (2) if –
(a) the person is a parent of, or has parental responsibility for, the child, or
(b) the child and the person are relatives.
(4) In this section –
“child” means person under the age of 18 years;
“parental responsibility” has the same meaning as in the Children Act 1989 (see
section 3 of that Act);
“relative” has the meaning given by section 63(1) of the Family Law Act 1996.
Types of domestic abuse
18. To deliver an effective response, professionals and agencies should be aware of the
different types of domestic abuse.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
23
Intimate partner abuse
19. Domestic abuse most commonly takes place in intimate partner relationships, including
same sex relationships.
15
Intimate relationships can take different forms, partners do
not need to be married or in a civil partnership and abuse can occur between non-
cohabiting intimate partners. As with all forms of abuse, abuse in intimate relationships
can vary in severity and frequency, ranging from a one-off occurrence to a continued
pattern of behaviour.
20. Abuse can continue or intensify when a relationship has ended or is in the process of
ending. This can be a very dangerous time for a victim including an increased risk to
their physical safety. It is a highly critical period for ensuring support for victims, as they
may consider returning to perpetrators during the period immediately after fleeing or
ending the relationship. Separation can raise both the likelihood and consequences of
risk because of the perpetrator’s perceived lack of control.
21. Post-separation abuse may involve a range of abusive behaviour, see ‘Chapter 3 –
Recognising Domestic Abuse’ for further detail. It may be facilitated by technology and
without effective intervention it can be ongoing and may escalate. In the year ending
March 2021, 57 women and 10 men were recorded as being victims of homicide by a
current or ex-partner.
16
According to the Femicide Census, 38% of the women killed by
their ex-partner or ex-spouse from 2009 to 2018 were killed within the first month of
separation and 89% in the first year.
17
18
Teenage relationship abuse
22. Young people can experience domestic abuse within their relationships. Teenagers
may not self-identify as victims. They may perceive their relationships to be ‘casual’, for
example engaging in multiple romantic and sexual partners through dating apps. Those
who engage in abusive behaviour may seek to minimise or deny the abuse by stating
that they were not in a relationship.
23. Teenage relationship abuse is not a term that is defined by the 2021 Act, or elsewhere
in law. However, if the victim and perpetrator are at least 16 years old, abuse in their
relationship can fall under the statutory definition of domestic abuse. Whilst young
people under the age of 16 can experience abuse in a relationship, it would be
considered child abuse as a matter of law. Abusive behaviours by one young person
toward another, where each are aged between 16 and 18 could be both child abuse
and domestic abuse as a matter of law. Ultimately, in responding to cases of abuse
involving those under 18, child safeguarding procedures should be followed. See the
15
ONS. Domestic abuse prevalence and victim characteristics - Appendix tables - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk): Data from
year ending March 2020.
16
ONS. Appendix tables: homicide in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk): Data year ending March 2021.
17
Femicide Census: UK Femicides 2009-2018.
18
To note that there is no agreed definition of ’femicide’. For the Femicide Census, ‘femicide’ relates to any killing of women and girls
by men. The Census relies on the media and information that is publicly available and accessible, and therefore may represent an
incomplete picture of all ’femicides’.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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section ‘Multi-agency working to safeguard children’ in ‘Chapter 7 – Multi-Agency
Response to Domestic Abuse’ for further detail.
24. Abusive behaviours within relationships between young people can include similar
incidents or patterns of behaviours as adult relationships. For teenagers in particular,
abuse to harass or control victims can occur through using technology, this includes
social media, or location-based tracking apps, such as Find My Friends. Young
people’s lives are often heavily online-based and perpetrators of abuse may exploit
this, demanding access to passwords and monitoring online activity. Young people
may also experience intimate image abuse within their relationships, including threats
to expose intimate images.
19
25. Teenage relationship abuse often occurs outside of a domestic setting. Victims may
feel that domestic abuse occurs only between adults who are cohabiting or married.
Teenage victims may find it difficult to identify abusive behaviour, for instance,
controlling or jealous behaviour may be misconstrued as love.
26. Domestic abuse in teenage relationships can be just as severe and has the potential to
be as life threatening as abuse in adult relationships. Young people who experience
domestic abuse do so at a particularly vulnerable point in their lives.
20
They may
experience a complex transition from childhood to adulthood which impacts on
behaviour and decision making. It may impact on the way that they respond to abuse
or if and how they engage with services.
27. Due to the stigma attached to LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans) identities,
young people from the LGBT community may lack relevant and accurate information
on healthy relationships, which may inform behaviour and decision making. LGBT
young people may face unique obstacles to seeking help, especially in a context of a
first relationship or when first coming out as they may be unable to confide in their
peers or family, owing to the reaction they might receive due to their sexuality or
gender identity.
21
See ‘Chapter 5 – Different experiences, needs and related
considerations’ for further information. In addition, for more information on responding
see the section ‘Responding to children and young people’.
Abuse by family members
28. Domestic abuse may also be perpetrated by a family member: by children,
grandchildren, parents, those with “parental responsibility”, siblings, or extended
families including in-laws.
22
The definition of “personally connected” at section 2 of the
2021 Act makes reference to relatives and relative has the meaning given by section
63 of the Family Law Act 1996 (‘the 1996 Act’), as explained in the ‘Statutory definition’
19
Threats to disclose private sexual photographs and films, without the consent of the relevant individual, and with the intent to cause
distress, has been made a specific offence under section 69 of the 2021 Act. For further information, see the section ‘
Technology-
facilitated abuse’.
20
SafeLives. Safe Young Lives: Young People and domestic abuse. 2017.
21
Magic, J, Kelly, P. LGBT+ people’s experiences of domestic abuse: a report on Galop’s domestic abuse advocacy service: Galop:
2017.
22
As will be reflected in the updated child-to-parent abuse guidance, while this statutory definition of domestic abuse applies to
perpetrators aged 16 or above, children under 16 can engage in abusive behaviours.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
25
section of this guidance. Abuse may be perpetrated towards a victim by more than one
relative.
29. Abuse within a family set up can encompass a number of different harmful behaviours.
Abuse may be perpetrated as a perceived means to protect or defend the ‘honour’ of
an individual, family or community against alleged or perceived breaches of the family
or community’s code of behaviour. It can therefore include ‘honour’-based abuse,
forced marriage, female genital mutilation, and other harmful practices such as
reproductive coercion (and as part of this, forced abortion). See 'Chapter 3 –
Recognising Domestic Abuse' for further detail on these forms of abuse.
30. Young people may be at an increased risk of abuse perpetrated by family members.
23
Young people may be inherently more vulnerable because it is harder for them to
distinguish between normal and abusive behaviours, and this may especially be the
case where the perpetrator is a trusted family member. A young person may find it
more difficult to report or disclose abuse by an adult. There may be no safe channel for
disclosure, young people may fear the repercussions of disclosure or may not want
other family members to get into trouble. There may be an increased risk of abuse by
family members for young LGBT people. Research by Galop suggests that young
LGBT people (aged 13 to 24) disclose disproportionately higher levels of abuse from
immediate family members compared to other age groups.
24
31. In responding to abuse by family members, services should consider the ways in which
the patterns of abuse may differ from, or in cases relate to, patterns of abuse found in
cases of intimate partner abuse. Services should ensure assessment procedures are
used appropriately to identify risk. For example, professionals should be aware that
family members are not always protective figures for those who experience intimate
partner abuse, as in some circumstances family members may constitute a risk
themselves and be complicit in abuse.
Child-to-parent abuse
32. Abuse within the family includes child-to-parent abuse, also commonly referred to as
Adolescent to Parent Violence/Abuse (APV/A) and Child and Adolescent to Parental
Violence and Abuse (CAPVA). Child-to-parent abuse can involve children of all ages,
including adult children, and abuse toward siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles as well
as other family members such as those acting as kinship carers. If the child is 16 years
of age or over, the abuse falls under the statutory definition of domestic abuse in the
2021 Act.
33. There is no specific legal definition of child-to-parent abuse but it is generally accepted
to involve some of the patterns of behaviour that can be found in other relationship
contexts. Behaviours can encompass, but are not limited to, humiliating and belittling
23
ONS. Domestic abuse prevalence and victim characteristics - Appendix tables - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk): Data from
year ending March 2020.
24
The research is based on analysis of 626 LGBT+ victims who received advocacy support from Galop’s domestic abuse service in
Greater London. Magic, J, Kelly, P
. LGBT+ people’s experiences of domestic abuse: a report on Galop’s domestic abuse advocacy
service: Galop: 2017.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
26
language, violence and threats, jealous and controlling behaviours, damage to
property, stealing and heightened sexualised behaviours. Child-to-parent abuse
appears gendered, with the majority of cases being perpetrated by sons against their
mothers, although men and boys are victims too.
25
34. Like other forms of abuse, child-to-parent abuse is characterised by shame and stigma
which could mean parents are less likely to report the abuse to the police. Parents may
fear being blamed, disbelieved, or conversely having their child taken away from them
or criminalised leaving them reluctant to seek help. Recorded incidents likely represent
only a small number of real cases as families facing crisis point make the difficult
decision to disclose their abuse. Victims of this type of abuse should also receive
appropriate domestic abuse response and support.
35. The Home Office intends to update the guidance on child-to-parent abuse. For more
information on responding to children see ‘Chapter 6 – Agency Response to Domestic
Abuse’.
Box 2.2: Case Study
Case Study
Between 2017-2019, Caroline experienced escalating abusive behaviours from her
adolescent daughter, including physical and verbal attacks, as well as threats to kill.
During this time, Caroline struggled to find help and support from services and statutory
agencies.
When Caroline’s youngest son was assaulted by her daughter, she made the decision that
she could not remain at home safely with the family but was met with the threat of
abandonment prosecution by her local authority. Despite the police also raising concerns,
social care services stated she was to remain at home, leaving the family to deal with high-
risk incidents.
Caroline was forced to home educate her daughter as she had stopped attending school.
Throughout this time, her daughter’s abusive behaviour was increasing and Caroline and
her family were living in constant fear. Caroline had to give uFp her job as she could not
leave her daughter at home alone for fear of further risk to the family. Caroline’s requests
for more support, and for her daughter to be voluntary accommodated by the local
authority under section 20 of the Children Act 1989, were ignored.
Caroline’s daughter’s behaviour was a daily battlefield of physical and verbal attacks. She
could not leave her other children in the same room with her and had to install CCTV.
Eventually provision at a care home was offered to Caroline’s daughter for two nights a
week, giving the family some respite. However, she soon stopped attending when told she
did not have to.
25
Baker, V , Bonnick, H. Understanding CAPVA: A rapid literature review on child and adolescent to parent violence and abuse for the
Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s Office: Respect: 2021.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
27
Events escalated over a five-day period in 2019. Caroline’s daughter’s GP raised urgent
concerns as she had said she had planned to kill her mother. A mental health assessment
suggested no mental health problems, but professionals raised extreme concerns for the
family’s safety and welfare. The police also raised concerns, but support was not offered
from social care services. At one point the family were in a crisis situation for over 12
hours.
Caroline’s daughter was arrested but Caroline was still initially told she had to come home
as she was too high risk to be accommodated and as Caroline had “parental responsibility”
it was up to her to care for her. After a further seven days the local authority agreed to her
daughter becoming a looked after child under a voluntary accommodated section 20
placement. The situation could have been avoided had Caroline and her family been
listened to at the earliest opportunity, support offered, and therapeutic work put into place.
Instead, she was faced with blame, judgement and the seriousness ignored, leaving her
and her family at high risk of harm.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
28
Chapter 3 – Recognising Domestic
Abuse
This chapter covers:
• Descriptions and examples of a range of abusive behaviours to help with identifying
domestic abuse, including physical abuse, violent or threatening behaviour, sexual
abuse, controlling or coercive behaviour, harassment or stalking, economic abuse,
verbal abuse, technology-facilitated abuse, abuse relating to faith, and ‘honour’-based
abuse.
• Different tactics that may be used by perpetrators.
36. Domestic abuse can encompass a wide range of behaviours. It can but does not have
to involve physical acts of violence and can include threatening behaviour, controlling
or coercive behaviour, emotional, psychological, sexual and/or economic abuse.
Domestic abuse can involve abuse facilitated and perpetrated online or offline. It is
widely recognised that the perpetrator’s desire to exercise power and control over the
victim is at the centre of abusive behaviours. Many victims will experience abusive
behaviours simultaneously, perpetrators may demonstrate a wide range and use
different tactics to gain power and control.
Physical abuse, violent or threatening behaviour
37. Physical abuse and violent or threatening behaviour can involve but is not limited to:
• Being, or threatened to be, kicked, punched, pinched, pushed, dragged, shoved,
slapped, scratched, strangled, spat on and bitten;
• Use, or threats of use, of weapons including knives and irons;
• Being, or threatened to be, burned, scalded, poisoned, or drowned;
• Objects being thrown at or in the direction of the victim;
• Violence, or threats of physical abuse or violence, against family members;
• Causing harm by damaging or denying access to medical aids or equipment –
for example a deaf person may be prevented from communicating in sign
language or may have their hearing aids removed; and
• Harming someone whilst performing ‘caring’ duties, which are often performed
by relatives. This is especially relevant for individuals who are heavily dependent
on others, such as disabled and older people and may involve force feeding,
over-medication, withdrawal of medicine or denying access to medical care.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
29
38. Section 70 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (‘the 2021 Act’) amends Part 5 of the
Serious Crime Act 2015 to create an offence of non-fatal strangulation. Non-fatal
strangulation can be used as a form of assault in domestic abuse and a history of
strangulation can increase the risk of an eventual fatality.
26
Visible marks are not
always present; the absence of marks should not undermine an account of non-fatal
strangulation.
39. Non-fatal strangulation is often used to instil fear and exert power and control.
27
Victims
who experience non-fatal strangulation may believe at the time that they will die as a
result.
28
Loss of consciousness, even temporary, can cause brain damage, this
includes long-term neurological damage such as memory loss and facial droop. In
addition, loss of consciousness can create an increased risk of miscarriage and stroke.
40. The occurrence of non-fatal strangulation in a sexual context is also addressed within
the 2021 Act, see the section on ‘Sexual abuse’.
29
Sexual abuse
41. Victims of domestic abuse may experience behaviour that is sexually abusive.
30
This
abuse can involve:
• Rape and sexual assaults;
• Being pressured into sex, or sexual acts, including with other people;
• Being forced to take part in sexual acts because of threats to others, including
children;
• Unwanted sexual contact or demands;
• ‘Corrective’ rape (the practice of raping someone with the aim of ‘curing’ them of
being LGBT);
• Intentional exposure to HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) or sexually
transmitted infections;
• Being pressurised or being tricked into having unsafe sex, including deception
over the use of birth control;
• Forced involvement in making or watching pornography; and
• Hurting a victim during sex including non-fatal strangulation.
26
Glass, N, et al. Non-fatal strangulation is an important risk factor for homicide of women: J Emerg Med: 2008 Oct; 35(3):329-335.
27
See Strangulation and suffocation - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
28
Williams, R, Monkton-Smith, J. Non-fatal Strangulation: A summary report on data collected from SUTDA survey. Stand up to
domestic abuse: 2020.
29
The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 commencement schedule sets out the actual and planned timing for commencement of the provisions
of the Act: Domestic Abuse Act 2021 commencement schedule - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
.
30
The year ending March 2020 Crime Survey shows that, since the age of 16, an estimated 4% of adults aged 16 to 74 had been
victims of domestic abuse related sexual assault since the age of 16. Women were more likely to report being victims; with 7.3% of
women and 0.7% of men reporting domestic abuse related sexual assault in their lifetime. ONS.
Domestic abuse prevalence and
victim characteristics - Office for National Statistics: Data year ending March 2020.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
30
42. Sexual abuse can coexist with sexual exploitation. Forced sex acts may involve
activities such as being forced to perform pornography or to strip in person, via
webcam or live streaming platform. Perpetrators may force or coerce a victim into
exchanging sex for drugs, alcohol, or money, or coerce them into committing a crime,
such as theft, to pay, for example, for the perpetrator’s drugs or alcohol.
43. “Rough sex”, including sadomasochistic activity, can involve the infliction of pain or
violence, simulated or otherwise with the aim of providing sexual gratification for the
parties involved. This type of activity can encompass a wide range of behaviours.
Although it may occur in private and be consensual, section 71 of the 2021 Act, which
states that the infliction of serious harm resulting in actual bodily harm (ABH) or other
more serious injury
31
, means that the person responsible for those injuries will be liable
to a criminal prosecution, irrespective of whether consent had been given by the
person in receipt of the injuries or not. The matter of consent may be challenging, as
victims of domestic abuse may be unable to recognise where they have been coerced
into providing consent.
44. Non-consensual or harmful non-fatal strangulation can arise in a sexual context.
Section 70 of the 2021 Act makes a change to the Serious Crime Act 2015 to provide
that a person commits the offence of strangulation or suffocation if they intentionally
strangle another person or do any other act that affects another person’s ability to
breathe. These actions constitute battery. Whilst it is a defence for the person accused
to show that the other person consented, this does not apply where that other person
suffers serious harm as a result of the strangulation or any other act, and the person
accused intended to cause that other person harm or were reckless as to whether that
other person would suffer serious harm.
45. Victims of domestic abuse can also be the subject of reproductive coercion, which can
involve:
• restricting a partner’s access to birth control;
• refusing to use a birth control method;
• deception regarding the use of birth control including falsely claiming to be using
contraception; and
• forcing a partner to get an abortion, IVF or other related procedure; or denying
access to such procedures.
46. Reproductive coercion can take less overt forms – for instance, a perpetrator may not
actively force the victim to have an abortion, but the general cycle of abuse may leave
her feeling she has no choice. Women from ethnic minority groups may be more likely
to experience reproductive coercion, including forced abortion for ‘honour’-based
31
Causing death is already an offence.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
31
practices, however, there is at present limited research.
32
Further information on
coercion is included in the 'Controlling or coercive behaviour' section.
Controlling or coercive behaviour
47. Controlling or coercive behaviour can amount to an offence under section 76 of the
Serious Crime Act 2015. The offence carries a maximum penalty of five years
imprisonment. It is only applicable where:
• The victim and perpetrator are “personally connected” at the time the behaviour
takes place;
• The behaviour has had a serious effect on the victim, meaning that it has
caused the victim to fear violence will be used against them on two or more
occasions, or it has had a substantial adverse effect on the victim’s usual day to
day activities; and
• The behaviour takes place repeatedly or continuously.
48. The perpetrator must have known that their behaviour would have a serious effect on
the victim, or the behaviour must have been such that he or she ought to have known it
would have that effect. Section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 sets out in full the
offence of controlling or coercive behaviour.
49. Section 68 of the 2021 Act will amend the definition of “personally connected” in
section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015. It will remove the “living together”
requirement. This means that the offence will apply to partners, ex-partners, or family
members, regardless of whether the victim and perpetrator live together. It will
therefore apply in contexts where controlling or coercive behaviour by an intimate
partner takes place post-separation or is perpetrated by a family member who does not
live with the victim.
33
50. Controlling or coercive behaviour also forms part of the definition of domestic abuse at
section 1(3)(c) of the 2021 Act. The following examples are within the range of
behaviours that might be considered controlling or coercive behaviour. This list is not
exhaustive:
• Controlling or monitoring the victim's daily activities and behaviour, including
making them account for their time, dictating what they can wear, what and
when they can eat, when and where they may sleep;
• Controlling a victim’s access to finances, including monitoring their accounts or
coercing them into sharing their passwords to bank accounts in order to facilitate
economic abuse;
32
See The Halo Project. “Definition of Honour Based Violence”.; SafeLives. Spotlight Report #Hidden Victims: Your choice: ‘honour’-
based violence, forced marriage and domestic abuse: 2017.
33
This amendment to the controlling or coercive behaviour offence is planned to come into force later in 2022 and the relevant
guidance and training material for frontline agencies will be updated. Statutory guidance issued by the Government under section 77 of
the 2015 Act, outlining what constitutes controlling or coercive behaviour, will also be updated.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
32
• Isolating the victim from family, friends and professionals who may be trying to
support them, intercepting messages or phone calls;
• Refusing to interpret and/or hindering access to communication;
• Preventing the victim from taking medication, or accessing medical equipment
and assistive aids, over-medicating them, or preventing the victim from
accessing health or social care (especially relevant for disabled victims or those
with long-term health conditions);
• Using substances to control a victim through dependency, or controlling their
access to substances;
• Using children to control the victim, e.g. threatening to take the children away;
• Using animals to control or coerce a victim, e.g. harming or threatening to harm,
or give away, pets or assistance dogs;
• Threats to expose sensitive information (e.g. sexual activity or sexual
orientation) or make false allegations to family members, religious or local
community including via photos or the internet;
• Intimidation and threats of disclosure of sexual orientation and/or gender identity
to family, friends, work colleagues, community and others;
• Intimidation and threats of disclosure of health status or an impairment to family,
friends, work colleagues and wider community – particularly where this may
carry a stigma in the community;
• Preventing the victim from learning a language or making friends outside of their
ethnic or cultural background;
• Threatening precarious immigration status against the victim, withholding
documents, giving false information to a victim about their visa or visa
application, e.g. using immigration law to threaten the victim with potential
deportation;
• Using the victim’s health status to induce fear and restrict their freedom of
movement;
• Threats of institutionalisation (particularly for disabled or elderly victims); and
• Physical violence, violent or threatening behaviour, sexual abuse, emotional or
psychological abuse, economic abuse and verbal abuse (as further detailed in
this chapter).
51. Controlling or coercive behaviour is a pattern of behaviour often perpetrated alongside
other forms of abuse. A victim may not be aware of the abusive behaviours or be
prepared to make a disclosure. In supporting victims to address controlling or coercive
behaviour, agencies should give consideration to the cumulative impact of a
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
33
perpetrator’s behaviours (including those that may seem harmless) and the pattern of
behaviour within the context of the relationship.
52. Controlling or coercive behaviour should be dealt with as part of safeguarding and
public protection procedures. Professionals should be aware of the impact of this
behaviour on victims, including children and young people.
Box 3.1: Case Study
53. Coercive or controlling behaviour is common in domestic abuse and can act as a driver
for many of the other behaviours, as illustrated in the case study below.
Case Study
Susan had been with her partner for almost 20 years and he had been abusive towards
her from early on. She was forced to borrow money from close family as he emptied her
account as soon as her wages went in every month. Her partner was incredibly jealous
whenever she left the house, even to go to work. He would insist on driving her to the front
door of her workplace and picking her up from exactly the same place. “He’d sexually
abused me from early on in our relationship. I think I’d just really become numb to it. He
was always angry and rude with me; he’d often hit or kick me and several times burned me
and tried to strangle me. He thought I was seeing other people at work. Because of my job
I had to take time off if he’d beaten me up really bad. I didn’t want anyone to know. But
sometimes I would use the old lines that I’d accidentally fallen down the stairs or walked
into a door. Silly things. Maybe they all knew. But no one ever said.”
Because she was dependent on her partner to get to work this often meant he refused to
take her or she was late and, coupled with the time off she had when she’d been
physically assaulted, this caused problems with her employer. Eventually they said that
she had to leave as she was too unreliable to be part of the team. “This was my life, what
I’d always wanted to do. And a break from everything back home. I was completely floored
when I lost it all. Plus, it meant we couldn’t pay for the house or anything. My ex
completely lost it when he realised what this meant.”
Following a further attack where Susan was stabbed with a kitchen knife and feared for her
life, she called the police. She then moved to a refuge.
54. The statutory guidance on controlling or coercive behaviour, once updated, will provide
greater detail on recognising this form of abuse.
Harassment or Stalking
55. Where harassment or stalking occurs, and the perpetrator and victim are 16 or over
and “personally connected”, this behaviour falls within the scope of the statutory
definition of domestic abuse in the 2021 Act. For example, it may constitute physical
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
34
abuse, threatening behaviour, controlling or coercive behaviour, or emotional or
psychological abuse.
56. There is no statutory definition of harassment but it includes repeated attempts to
impose unwanted communications and contact upon a victim, in a manner that could
be expected to cause distress or fear. It is generally acknowledged that harassment
involves behaviour that is intended to cause a person alarm or distress or to cause
them to fear violence when the perpetrator knows or ought to know that their conduct
amounts to harassment. Where there is evidence to show that such conduct has
occurred on more than one occasion, the perpetrator could be prosecuted under the
Protection from Harassment Act 1997 (‘the 1997 Act’).
57. The perpetrator’s behaviour may follow a pattern, such as sending messages which the
recipient finds alarming or distressing, or which causes them to fear violence.
Alternatively, the perpetrator’s behaviour may differ on each occasion, for example they
could use a variety of means to harass the victim such as sending threatening
messages (for example via text or social media) or emails, making abusive phone calls,
damaging property or falsely reporting a person to the police when they have done
nothing wrong.
58. Similarly, there is no statutory definition of stalking. Examples of the type of behaviour
considered in particular circumstances to be acts, or omissions, associated with
stalking are set out in section 2A of the 1997 Act. This list is not exhaustive, nor does
the offence require a personal connection, which means it is wider than, and differs
from, domestic abuse:
• Following a person;
• Contacting, or attempting to contact, a person by any means;
• Publishing any statement or other material —
i. relating or purporting to relate to a person, or
ii. purporting to originate from a person;
• Monitoring the use by a person of the internet, email or any other form of
electronic communication;
• Loitering in any place (whether public or private);
• Interfering with any property in the possession of a person; and
• Watching or spying on a person.
59. The police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) have also adopted the following
description, which appears in the statutory guidance on Stalking Protection Orders,
issued under the Stalking Protection Act 2019: stalking is a pattern of unwanted, fixated
and obsessive behaviour which is intrusive. It can include harassment that amounts to
stalking or stalking that causes fear of violence or serious alarm or distress to the
victim.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
35
60. Stalking behaviours may vary but are often motivated by obsession and their
behaviour shares a consistent set of characteristics involving Fixated, Obsessive,
Unwanted and/or Repeated (FOUR) behaviours, online and/or offline. Victims of
domestic abuse may be vulnerable to stalkers, particularly when a relationship has
ended.
61. There is no ‘typical’ stalking perpetrator or stalking victim. This crime disproportionately
affects women and girls, but it is important to recognise that men and boys are victims
too, and that both men and women can be perpetrators. CSEW data for the year
ending March 2020 found that since the age of 16, 9% of women and 3% of men aged
16 to 74 had experienced domestic stalking.
34
Stalking affects people of all ages, and
victims come from a wide range of backgrounds – it is not restricted to public figures
and celebrities.
62. More information on stalking can be found in Annex A of the statutory guidance on
Stalking Protection Orders. Stalking behaviour may on the surface appear ‘harmless’,
particularly if it is considered in isolation rather than as part of a wider pattern of
potentially abusive and harmful behaviour. The context of the behaviour, including the
motivations behind the behaviour and the impact on the victims should be considered.
Economic abuse
63. Economic abuse refers to behaviour that has a substantial adverse effect
35
on an
individual’s ability to acquire, use or maintain money or other property, or to obtain
goods or services.
36
This can include an individual’s ability to acquire food or clothes,
or access transportation or utilities. These behaviours can include an attempt to control
through restriction, exploitation and/or sabotage.
64. Economic abuse can also amount to the offence of controlling or coercive behaviour,
under section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015, where it takes place repeatedly or
continuously, the victim and the perpetrator are “personally connected” and the
behaviour has a serious effect on the victim. This means that the behaviour causes the
victim to fear violence will be used against them on two or more occasions, or it has a
substantial adverse effect on the victim’s usual day to day activities and the perpetrator
knows, or ought to know, that it will have a serious effect on the victim.
34
ONS. Domestic abuse prevalence and victim characteristics - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk): Data year ending March
2020.
35
Economic abuse can be prosecuted under the offence of controlling or coercive behaviour in section 76 of the Serious Crime Act
2015 (‘the 2015 Act’). As defined in the 2015 Act, the offence of controlling or coercive behaviour states that:
An offence is committed by ‘A’ if:
• A repeatedly or continuously engages in behaviour towards another person, ‘B’, that is controlling or coercive;
• At the time of the behaviour, A and B are “personally connected”;
• The behaviour has a serious effect on B; and
• A knows or ought to know that the behaviour will have a serious effect on B.
Once in force, section 68 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 will amend the definition of “personally connected’’ in section 76 of the 2015
Act to remove the “living together’’ requirement, which means that the offence of controlling or coercive behaviour will apply to partners,
ex-partners or family members, regardless of whether the victim and perpetrator live together.
36
See Adams, AE, Sullivan, CM, Bybee, D, Greeson, MR. Development of the Scale of Economic Abuse: Violence Against Women:
2008: 14(5):563-588.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
36
65. Examples of economic abuse might include the following:
• Controlling the family income;
• Not allowing a victim to earn or spend any money unless ‘permitted’;
• Denying the victim food or only allowing them to eat a particular type of food;
• Running up bills and debts such as credit or store cards in a victim’s name,
including without them knowing;
• Refusing to contribute to household income or costs;
• Deliberately forcing a victim to go to the family courts so they incur additional
legal fees;
• Interfering with or preventing a victim from regularising their immigration status
so that they are economically dependent on the perpetrator;
• Preventing a victim from claiming welfare benefits, or forcing someone to
commit benefit fraud or misappropriating such benefits;
• Interfering with a victim’s education, training, employment and career so that
they are economically dependent on the perpetrator;
• Not allowing a victim access to mobile phone/car/utilities;
• Damaging the victim’s property;
• Not allowing a victim to buy pet food or access veterinary care for their pet;
• Coercing the victim into signing over property or assets;
• Refusing to make agreed or required payments, for example mortgage
repayments or child maintenance payments; and
• Deliberately frustrating the sale of shared assets, or the closure of joint accounts
or mortgages.
66. Economic abuse can make a victim economically dependent on the perpetrator, and/or
create economic instability, thereby limiting their ability to escape and access safety.
This can result in a victim staying with a perpetrator and experiencing more abuse and
harm as a result.
Some forms of economic abuse may take place or persist after the
victim has separated from the perpetrator. Children can experience the effects of
economic abuse; this includes where it creates an environment where they lack
essentials, and which may in cases escalate to severe forms of deprivation or child
poverty.
67. A nationally representative survey on the impact of economic abuse highlighted that
57% of victims of economic abuse were in or had been in debt, 26% had a negatively
impacted credit score, and 25% had experienced abuse related to spending and credit,
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
37
such as having debt put in their name without their knowledge, or due to coercion.
37
The organisation Surviving Economic Abuse, in partnership with Money Advice Plus,
has created a guide to understanding economic abuse for victims.
Emotional or psychological abuse
68. Domestic abuse often involves emotional or psychological abuse. Some of these
behaviours will also be controlling or coercive behaviour. Emotional or psychological
abuse can include:
• Manipulating a person’s anxieties or beliefs or abusing a position of trust;
• Hostile behaviours or silent treatment as part of a pattern of behaviour to make
the victim feel fearful;
• Being insulted, including in front of others. This includes insulting someone
about their race, sex or gender identity, gender reassignment, sexual
orientation, disability, age, faith or belief or undermining an individual’s ability to
parent or ability to work;
• Repeatedly being belittled;
• Keeping a victim awake/preventing them from sleeping;
• Using violence or threats towards assistance dogs and pets to intimidate the
victim and cause distress, including threatening to harm the animal as well as
controlling how the owner is able to care for the animal;
• Threatening to harm third parties (for example family, friends or colleagues);
• Using social media sites to intimidate the victim; and
• Persuading a victim to doubt their own sanity or mind (including ‘gaslighting’).
Verbal abuse
69. Verbal abuse may amount to emotional or psychological abuse, threatening behaviour,
or controlling or coercive behaviour. Examples include:
• Repeated yelling and shouting;
• Abusive, insulting, threatening or degrading language;
• Verbal humiliation either in private or in company;
• Being laughed at and being made fun of; and
• Discriminating against someone or mocking them about their disability, sex or
gender identity, gender reassignment, religion or faith belief, sexual orientation,
age, physical appearance etc.
37
Butt, E. Know economic abuse: 2020 Report: Refuge: 2020.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
38
Technology-facilitated abuse
70. Perpetrators can use technology, including social media to abuse victims. This can
happen during and after the relationship. A representative survey conducted by Refuge
found that one in six women experiencing at least one behaviour suggestive of online
abuse or harassment, reported that the abusive behaviour was perpetrated by a
current or ex-partner.
38
Some examples of technology-facilitated abuse include:
• Placing false or malicious information about a victim on their or others’ social
media;
• Setting up false social media accounts in the name of the victim;
• 'Trolling’ with abusive, offensive or deliberately provocative messages via social
media platforms or online forums;
• Image-based abuse – for example, the creation of false/digitally altered images
and the non-consensual distribution, or threat thereof, of private sexual
photographs and films with the intent to cause the person depicted distress
(‘revenge porn’);
• ‘Upskirting’ which involves someone taking a picture under another person’s
clothing without their knowledge;
• Hacking into, monitoring or controlling email accounts, social media profiles and
phone calls;
• Blocking the victim from using their online accounts, responding in the victim’s
place or creating false online accounts;
• Use of spyware or GPS locators on items such as phones, computers, wearable
technology, cars, motorbikes and pets;
• Hacking internet enabled devices such as PlayStations or iPads to gain access
to accounts or trace information such as a person’s location;
• Using personal devices such as smart watches or smart home devices (such as
Amazon Alexa, Google Home Hubs, etc) to monitor, control or frighten; and
• Use of hidden cameras.
71. Section 69 of the 2021 Act, amended the offence under section 33 of the Criminal
Justice and Courts Act 2015, of disclosing a private sexual photograph or film with
intent to cause distress to an individual who appears in the photograph or film, so as to
include threats to disclose such photographs and films. This means it is a criminal
offence for an individual to threaten to share intimate images without the consent of the
individual depicted, with the intent to cause distress.
72. Threats to share intimate or sexual images and films may be used as a part of a
pattern of behaviour to control, coerce or distress the victim during a relationship with a
38
Refuge. 2021. Unsocial Spaces: Make online spaces safer for women and girls.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
39
perpetrator and following separation. A survey undertaken by Refuge
39
found that one
in 14 adults in England and Wales have experienced threats to share intimate images
or videos – equivalent to 4.4 million people.
73. The same survey found that threats to share intimate images are most prevalent
amongst young people (aged 18 to 34), with one in seven young women, and one in
nine young men experiencing such threats. ‘Revenge porn’ and forms of abuse carried
out online can have a significant and long-term impact on a victim. This includes re-
traumatisation and is in part due to long-lasting privacy violations. Victims may need to
be supported in taking action to report and remove material published online.
74. Whilst technology can be used as a means of perpetuating abuse, it can also be used
by victims when reporting it. There are several live chat functions run by service
providers to facilitate reporting and discrete online tools and live sessions for victims to
receive advice anonymously, should they choose to.
75. The Government is taking steps to further protect victims of abuse facilitated by
technology through the Online Safety Bill.
40
This legislation will put in place
strengthened measures for technology firms to safeguard online service users.
76. Refuge provide guidance on technology facilitated abuse and technology safety
resources to support victims of abuse and professionals working with victims.
Abuse relating to faith
77. Whilst an individual’s faith can be a source of support and comfort to victims, domestic
abuse can occur in relation to it, and through using, manipulating, or exploiting it. This
abuse can have a deeply damaging impact on victims, and might include, but is not
limited to, the following examples:
• Manipulation and exploitation through the influence of religion;
• Requirements for secrecy and silence;
• Marital rape and the use of religious scripture to justify that;
• Coercion to conform or control through the use of sacred or religious
texts/teaching e.g. theological justifications for sexual coercion or abuse;
• Causing harm, isolation and/or neglect to get rid of an ‘evil force’ or ‘spirit’
that is believed to have possessed the victim; and
• Requirement of obedience to the perpetrator of domestic abuse, owing to
religion or faith, or their ‘divine’ position.
39
Refuge. The Naked Threat: It’s time to change the law to protect survivors from image-based abuse: 2020.
40
See Online Safety Bill: factsheet - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
40
78. Domestic abuse can also involve preventing a victim from practising their faith or
religious obligations. This may include the perpetrator:
• Forcing the victim to act or behave in ways which contradict religious beliefs
and or spiritual rituals and practice (e.g. forcing the victim to transgress
religious dietary observations);
• Preventing the victim from performing acts of worship, prayers and/or
attending communal worship;
• Forcing sexual acts which contradict religious observance and or religious
law (e.g. during and after menstruation or pre-marital sex); and
• Forcing or limiting access to abortion, birth control or sterilisation when this
will contravene religious observance.
Religious marriage and divorce
79. Religious-only marriages, being unregistered marriages that are conducted in
accordance with the rites of a particular religion but without legal status, can be used
by perpetrators to:
• Actively discourage or prevent the marriage being registered in English and
Welsh law ensuring that victims are denied their legal rights and protection
in the event of a breakdown in the marriage. Many women are unaware that
their marriage does not have legal status because they are coerced or
deceived into thinking their marriage is legal. This along with an insecure
immigration status of the victim can act as a powerful tool for coercion and
control.
• Coerce or trick women into being part of a polygamous marriage where the
husband believes he can have more than one wife at the same time.
80. A perpetrator may coerce a victim to enter into a marriage, through the use of faith or in
the context of values held within a religious community, and young people can be at
increased risk of pressure to marry. Although this may be on the grounds of purported
religious motivations, no major faith condones forced marriage. Some beliefs or
practices within traditions may be misappropriated or exploited. For further information
see the 'Forced Marriage' section.
81. A form of domestic abuse may include the withholding of a religious divorce, as a
means to control and intimidate victims. This can be present in different forms under
different faiths. In some cases, it will be accompanied by other manifestations of abuse
within the marriage. Abuse relating to faith can amount to psychological or emotional
abuse and to coercive or controlling behaviour.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
41
82. In Judaism this concerns the Get
41
and instances whereby a recalcitrant husband may
refuse to give his wife a Jewish bill of divorce (or a wife may unreasonably refuse to
accept a Jewish bill of divorce).
83. The ability to refuse to give a Get has been recognised as a specific issue providing
abusive husbands with power and control and will sometimes be used to exert leverage
in relation to other aspects of the divorce. The refusal will have a significant impact on
the wife’s wider living conditions: she will often be severely restricted in her social and
personal life.
42
It affects her ability to re-marry and directly affects the status of any
children she may have in the future. In such cases, women are able to consult at the
earliest opportunity their Beth Din on the matter of issuing the Get. Batei Din, as
religious court authorities, are able to advise couples on the position in Jewish law for
dissolution of the religious marriage.
84. In Islam this can involve a husband refusing to grant his wife a religious divorce,
talaq,
43
which is the annulment of a nikkah,
44
as a way of prolonging the process of
divorce. The threat of talaq being uttered and the arbitrary use of this by perpetrators
may also be cited by some victims. Whilst Islamic law enables women to obtain a
religious divorce of their own accord, they may find that they are prevented from doing
so, and victims may fear the repercussions of seeking to do so or fear being disowned
by family or community members.
85. In some Christian traditions, divorce is either highly discouraged or not recognised at
all. In some traditions, separating from an abuser may be tolerated, but divorce is not
recognised and therefore any consequent remarriage is not recognised by the Church.
In some cases, without the community’s acceptance of the divorce, a victim may be left
to remain in the marriage or be isolated by the community and prevented from
participating in the Church.
86. Safeguarding remains the highest priority in all cases. Victims of all faiths should be
encouraged by professionals and services they engage with to take steps to protect
themselves from harm.
41
‘Get’ – a Jewish bill of divorce. Without such a document, a couple remain married religiously, even if they have been divorced in the
civil courts. Jewish couples have their marriages registered civilly at the time of their religious marriage. However, divorce is a twin
track process, involving a civil divorce and a religious one (a ‘Get’). In Orthodox Judaism, a Get must be given and received with
consent. If the husband does not consent, the wife is unable to remarry under Orthodox Jewish auspices and any children she has
in a future relationship will face severe restrictions as to whom they are able to marry.
42
‘Aguna’ - a woman denied a Get is known as an ‘Aguna’ (chained woman). She is prohibited from having intimate relations with a
man other than her husband and cannot remarry under Orthodox Jewish auspices. Any children of a future relationship she may
have are affected with a status in Jewish law known as ‘Mamzer’, meaning that they face severe restrictions as to whom they can
marry. This situation can continue indefinitely through subsequent generations.
43
‘Talaq’ translated as "repudiation" or simply "divorce". Under Islamic law it refers to the husband's right to dissolve the marriage by
simply announcing to his wife that he repudiates her.
44
‘Nikkah’ – under Islamic law, a contract of marriage between a man and woman.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
42
‘Honour’-based abuse
87. ‘Honour’-based abuse
45
is a crime or incident which has or may have been committed
to protect or defend the perceived honour of the family and/or community, or in
response to individuals trying to break away from constraining ‘norms’ of behaviour that
their family or community is trying to impose.
88. ‘Honour’-based abuse can include physical, emotional or psychological abuse and
occur in specific contexts, not all of which represent domestic abuse under the 2021
Act, for example in cases where the victim and perpetrator are not “personally
connected”. However, ‘honour’-based abuse is typically carried out by a member or
members of the family or extended family and is likely to involve behaviours specified
in the statutory definition of domestic abuse in the 2021 Act. Perpetrators may use a
range of tactics against the victim, this can include restrictions to their freedom,
isolation, physical abuse, and threats to kill. For more information on abuse carried out
by a family member(s), please see the ‘Abuse by family members’ section in ‘Chapter 2
– Understanding Domestic Abuse’.
89. There is currently no reliable measure of the prevalence of ‘honour’-based abuse;
police recorded crime data shows that in the year ending March 2021 there were 2,383
‘honour’-based abuse related offences in England and Wales (excluding Greater
Manchester Police).
46
This represents an increase of 18% compared to the year ending
March 2020. However, this increase could in part reflect wider factors such as general
improvements in crime recording and identification of ‘honour’-based abuse. Of the
2,725 offences recorded by the police in the year ending March 2021, there were 78
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) offences and 125 forced marriage offences.
47
90. This type of abuse can happen to anyone. It has in cases been identified with close-knit
or closed communities with a strong culture of ‘honour’ and ‘shame’, such as some
minority groups, or closed ethnic/religious groups and other particularly isolated social
groups.
48
Victims from such groups and communities may face additional barriers in
reporting the abuse or accessing support services. ‘Honour’-based abuse has been
identified to stem from traditional notions of patriarchy and gender roles.
49
However,
victims may be female or male and those at risk can include individuals who are LGBT.
Conversion therapy and the so-called corrective rape of LGBT victims may be a form of
‘honour’-based abuse.
50
45
The term ‘honour’-based abuse is used here, as is a widely recognised term, and in order to delineate this type of abuse, with the
unique issues which arise with it, to enable an effective response from statutory agencies. It is important here to emphasise that
there is no honour in abuse and that is why the term ‘so-called ‘honour’-based abuse’ is also often used.
46
Greater Manchester Police were unable to provide data for year ending March 2020 following the implementation of a new IT system
in July 2019.
47
ONS. Statistics on so called ‘honour-based’ abuse offences, England and Wales, 2020 to 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk): Data year
ending March 2021.
48
SafeLives. Spotlight Report #Hidden Victims: Your choice: ‘honour’-based violence, forced marriage and domestic abuse: 2017.
49
Mayeda, D, Vijaykumar, R. A Review of the Literature on Honor‐based Violence. Sociology Compass: 2016: 10(5): 353– 363.
50
The Government will be introducing a ban on conversion therapy in law. The detail of the legislative provisions will be set out in the
draft Bill when it is published.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
43
91. Forced marriage and FGM are potential forms of 'honour'-based abuse. More
information about forced marriage and FGM can be found in the multi-agency statutory
guidance and practice guidelines on forced marriage and the multi-agency statutory
guidance on FGM.
Forced Marriage
92. Forced marriage is an offence under section 121 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime
and Policing Act 2014 (‘the 2014 Act’). Forced marriage typically occurs in the context
of ‘honour’-based abuse, and involves the use of violence, threats or any other form of
coercion against a person with the intention or belief that the conduct may cause a
person to enter into a marriage without consent. This includes non-binding traditional,
or unofficial marriages. Forced marriage is recognised as a form of domestic abuse - if
carried out by someone with a personal connection to the victim and where both parties
are at least 16 years old.
93. Usually someone must use violence, threats or another form of coercion to carry out
the offence of forced marriage. However, if a person is unable to consent to marry,
under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, any conduct aimed at causing them to marry may
be forced marriage, even if it is not violence, threats or another form of coercion. In all
cases, forcing someone into marriage could include making arrangements; the offence
could be considered to have occurred even where the marriage does not end up taking
place.
94. Victims of forced marriage can be of any age, and many are under 18. Young victims
may for example be coerced to marry under the threat of physical violence or the fear
of dishonouring their families.
95. In addition, once the provisions of the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age)
Act 2022 are brought into force, it will be deemed a forced marriage, and thus illegal,
for someone to cause a child under the age of 18 to enter into a marriage in any
circumstance, even if the person does not use violence, threats or another form of
coercion to do so.
96. The Government’s Forced Marriage Unit can provide advice and support to individuals
who are at risk of, or who have experienced, forced marriage, and to the professionals
and others seeking to help them. Guidance on forced marriage is published on
GOV.UK.
97. On forced marriage, the multi-agency practice guidelines have specific sections for
children’s social care and education professionals and teachers, providing clear advice
to practitioners to help inform an effective response to safeguard children who may be
at risk of forced marriage. This guidance is referenced in Keeping Children Safe in
Education.
51
The multi-agency practice guidelines make clear throughout the
51
In Wales, guidance for local authorities and governing bodies on arrangements for safeguarding children is under Keeping Learners
Safe.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
44
importance of the ‘one chance rule’: that someone may only have one opportunity to
speak to a victim or potential victim and may possibly only have one chance to save a
life.
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
98. FGM is a form of violence against women and girls which is both a cause and
consequence of gender inequality.
52
It typically occurs within the context of ‘honour’-
based abuse. As FGM is generally inflicted upon children, the Government considers it
to be a type of child abuse.
53
However, it is also carried out on women for a variety of
reasons such as giving a woman social acceptance before marriage or ensuring her
chastity. Whilst FGM may be an isolated incident of abuse within a family, it can be
associated with other behaviours that discriminate against, limit or harm women and
girls. These may include other forms of ‘honour’-based abuse and domestic abuse. A
Female Genital Mutilation Protection Order (FGMPO)
54
is a civil order which may be
made for the purposes of protecting a girl or woman against the commission of an FGM
offence – that is, protecting against the risk of FGM or providing protection where an
FGM offence has been committed. Further information can be found in the statutory
guidance on FGM and in the FGM resource pack.
Perpetrator tactics
99. There is never any justification for perpetrating domestic abuse and although the
perpetrator and others may blame the victim for causing their behaviour, it is never the
victim’s fault. Some perpetrators do not recognise that their behaviour constitutes
domestic abuse, however, all perpetrators are responsible for their behaviour and
should be held accountable for it.
100. A desire to exert power and control is commonly recognised as the key motive for
perpetrators. Younger males are more likely to be perpetrators and there are multiple
complex risk factors that can influence whether someone may perpetrate domestic
abuse.
55
Research highlights individual, interpersonal and community level risk factors,
such as experience of child abuse, exposure to violence at home, neighbourhood
deprivation and societal or cultural norms that condone violence and gender
inequality.
56
It is important to acknowledge that simply because an individual is
exposed to any one of these risk factors, it does not necessarily mean they will
experience or carry out domestic abuse.
52
World Health Organisation. Female genital mutilation: 2020.
53
NHS Digital. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Annual Report – April 2020 to March 2021 (experimental statistics report): 2021. To
note that only 40% of individual women and girls have a known age when FGM was undertaken.
54
Get a female genital mutilation protection order - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
55
ONS. Crime in England and Wales: Appendix tables - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk).
56
See Home Office. 2022. Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan – CP 639 (publishing.service.gov.uk) for a breakdown of risk factors.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
45
101. An evaluation of a programme focusing on high-risk, high-harm perpetrators,
Drive
57
, shows that 22% of service users at intake reported housing needs. Just under
one fifth of service users had employment difficulties or misused alcohol. Around one in
seven reported having mental health difficulties, with some service users having needs
across multiple categories.
58
In many cases it cannot be fully determined what has
caused an individual to choose to engage in abusive behaviours. Therefore, there
remains a limited understanding of perpetrators, and their motivation should not be
considered to be limited to the reasons listed although these factors, amongst others,
can be relevant in regard to identifying the interventions that may be required.
102. Perpetrators may manipulate victims and/or those around them to hide or normalise
abusive behaviours. Domestic abuse perpetrators can be particularly adept at
manipulating professionals, agencies and systems and may use a range of tactics to
perpetuate contact with, and exert control over, the victim. Perpetrators may seek to
minimise allegations, normalise the behaviour and discredit reports of abuse.
103. Mixed methods research published by the National Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) and Refuge suggests that perpetrators of domestic abuse
may also target and undermine parents’ relationships with their children, using power
and control dynamics, for example using vexatious applications to the family court to
prolong proceedings.
59
Perpetrators can also use contact with children as a form of
abuse.
104. Perpetrators may also seek to take advantage of, or manipulate, victims because of
their protected characteristics or personal circumstances to prevent them from
speaking out or accessing support. For more information, see ‘Chapter 5 – Different
experiences, needs and related considerations’.
105. Perpetrator behaviours can potentially include:
• Disguised compliance, missing or cancelling appointments, non-attendance,
playing different professionals off against one another;
• Making false or vexatious allegations against victims and convincing
professionals that their controlling tactics are for the victim’s own safety and/or
for the safety of their children;
• Using the courts to continue abuse, for example not turning up to court dates,
sending unnecessary and repeated legal letters and making threats around
contact;
• Making counter-allegations against the victim;
57
Drive Project developed, by Respect, SafeLives and Social Finance, out of a need to address perpetrators repeatedly offending with
either the same or new victims.
58
Hester, M, et al. Evaluation of the Drive Project – A Three-year Pilot to Address High-Risk, High-harm Perpetrators of Domestic
Abuse: University of Bristol: 2020.
59
Radford, L, et al. Meeting the needs of children living with domestic violence in London: London: NSPCC/Refuge/City Bridge Trust:
2011.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
46
• Exploiting interpretations of religion or faith to maintain control of victims and
perpetuate harm;
• Using children as a form of control – e.g. access visits, seeking to manipulate
children’s feelings towards ex-partner (the victim);
• Attempting to frustrate or interfere with a police investigation, including
attempting to undermine the victim’s statements by claiming they are mentally ill;
• Use of family members, new partners, or others to indirectly communicate with
or threaten the victim, especially in cases where the perpetrator is under
investigation, subject to a protection order or detained;
• Use of false profiles on social media or other technology platforms;
• Telling the victim that they will not be believed because they have mental health
issues, learning difficulties or disabilities, or issues with substance abuse;
• Threatening to ‘out’ the victim as a form of coercive control, telling the victim that
they will not be believed because they identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or
trans, or manipulating the victim’s knowledge of what support is available for
LGBT people and using myths and stereotypes around LGBT domestic abuse to
make professionals believe that abuse between same-sex couples does not
exist
60
;
• Threatening to remove care or not undertake caring responsibilities where the
victim is reliant on this, threatening the victim around the withdrawal of
medicines;
• Exploiting the communication support needs of the victim or manipulating the
victim’s knowledge of what support is available and making professionals
believe that the victim does not have capacity to report accurately or that reports
are not credible due to communication difficulty;
• Using threats to manipulate the victim, for example, by telling the victim they will
not be believed by the police or other agencies, that they will inform social
services, that their children will be taken away;
• Seeking to control the victim’s finances, ability to access funds or obtain an
income; and
• Manipulating the victim’s immigration status as a form of coercive control,
including withholding ID, passports and visas from the victim, lying about their
status, purposely letting a victim’s visa lapse or failing to act on sponsorship
duties for immigration purposes.
106. Factors such as alcohol and drugs misuse can increase the likelihood and severity
of domestic abuse.
61
However, there is not a causal relationship between substance
60
Galop. Myths and Stereotypes About Partner Abuse Among LGBT People: 2019.
61
See Guedes, A., Bott, S., Garcia-Moreno, C., Colombini, M., 2016. Bridging the gaps: a global review of intersections of violence
against women and violence against children. Global Health Action, 9(1); Capaldi, D. Knoble, N. Shortt, J. Hyon, K., 2012. A systematic
review of risk factors for intimate partner violence. Partner Abuse. Volume 2, Issue 3, pp 231-280.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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misuse and domestic abuse. Substances can act to disinhibit, rather than act as a
cause of violence and abuse. Many people believe that alcohol and/or drugs increase
aggression and physical violence and therefore perpetrators are likely to use this as an
excuse for their abusive behaviour.
107. Given the frequent coexistence of domestic abuse, drugs and alcohol, it is important
that responding agencies understand the subtle ways in which a perpetrator may use
the victim’s substance use as an explanation or a moral justification for their abuse.
62
Some of the ways in which a perpetrator may use reliance on or abuse of substances
include:
• Perpetrators may use the disinhibiting effects of substances as an excuse for
their violence and abuse, e.g. ‘I’m not usually like that, but I was off my head’;
• Alcohol in particular can act as a pre-emptive justification for violence towards a
victim. A perpetrator may drink when already frustrated or angry at their victim
and then use the alcohol to wind themselves up towards violence – should they
then act violently they will have a ready-made excuse for their behaviour;
• A victim’s substance use can be presented as an excuse for violence by the
perpetrator or to undermine a victim’s credibility;
• Perpetrators may also –
o control or withhold substances as a means of abuse;
o force victims to use substances against their will, or by administering
them without their knowledge;
o sabotage victims undergoing treatment for substance use; and
o force or coerce a victim into exchanging sex for drugs, alcohol, or money,
or committing a crime, such as theft, to pay for the perpetrator’s drugs or
alcohol.
108. Addressing a perpetrator’s drug or alcohol use alone is unlikely to reduce or solve
the problem of their abusive behaviour. It is important that alongside any alcohol or
drugs treatment programmes for perpetrators, addressing the causes of the substance
abuse, interventions also address the complex dynamics of power and control which
underpin domestic abuse, for example, through domestic abuse perpetrator
programmes. For more information, see the section on ‘Addressing the behaviour of
the perpetrator’ in ‘Chapter 7 – Multi-Agency Response to Domestic Abuse’.
62
Against Violence and Abuse (AVA). Stella Project Toolkit: Domestic Abuse and Substance Use: 2007.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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Chapter 4 – Impact of Domestic Abuse
This chapter covers:
• The impact of domestic abuse on victims - including on physical and mental health,
stability and livelihood, which can be interlinked and cumulative.
• The impact of domestic abuse on children, highlighting different aspects of the
experience of young people and how the statutory definition of domestic abuse is to
operate alongside measures that address the safeguarding of children.
Impact on Victims
Physical
109. Domestic abuse can cause serious and devastating long and short term physical
and mental, emotional, and psychological health impacts on adults and children.
110. For victims who suffer physical health issues, injuries can include bruises and welts,
lacerations and abrasions, abdominal or thoracic injuries; fractures and broken bones
or teeth; sight and hearing damage and head injuries.
63
Victims can be seriously
physically injured as a result of domestic abuse and experience long-term injuries.
111. Victims may suffer from functional disorders or stress-related conditions such as
irritable bowel syndrome, gastrointestinal symptoms, fibromyalgia, chronic pain
syndromes and exacerbation of asthma. Psychological harms can be associated with
poorer physical health and this can include psychosomatic symptoms such as
numbness and thrombosis, shaking and nervous twitching, cramps and paralysis.
64
Psychological
112. Not all domestic abuse begins with or results in physical abuse. Domestic abuse
and associated trauma can have a significant impact on a victim’s emotional,
psychological and mental wellbeing. This may involve feelings of isolation,
worthlessness and dependency on the perpetrator. It can also include depression,
anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder
65
,
and sleeping and eating disorders.
66
63
World Health Organisation (WHO). Intimate Partner Violence: 2012; ONS. Partner abuse in detail – Appendix tables - Office for
National Statistics (ons.gov.uk); data year ending March 2018.
64
Stöckl, H., & Penhale, B. (2015). Intimate partner violence and its association with physical and mental health symptoms among older
women in Germany. Journal of interpersonal violence, 30(17), 3089-3111.
65
Bacchus, L., Ranganathan, M., Watts, C., Devries, K. Recent intimate partner violence against women and health: a systematic review
and meta-analysis of cohort studies. BMJ: 2018: 8.
66
Bundock, L., Howard, L. M., Trevillion, K., Malcolm, E., Feder, G., & Oram, S. Prevalence and risk of experiences of intimate partner
violence among people with eating disorders: a systematic review. Journal of psychiatric research, 2013: 47(9), 1134–1142; McGarry,
J., Simpson, C., Hinchliff-Smith, K. The impact of domestic abuse for older women: a review of the literature. Health & Social Care in the
Community: 2010:19(1), pp.3-14; Wood, S., Sommers, M.. Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence on Child Witnesses: A
Systematic Review of the Literature. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing: 2011 24(4), pp. 223-236.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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113. A victim’s day to day life can be affected by trying to manage the abuse, leading to
increased anxiety and a focus on adapting their behaviour to appease the perpetrator.
This can subsequently lead to a victim adopting the perspective of the perpetrator and
starting to blame themselves for the abuse
67
and may result in the victim questioning or
doubting their own experiences and developing low self-esteem.
68
See also the ‘Mental
health’ section in ‘Chapter 5 – Different experiences, needs and related
considerations’.
Suicide
114. The psychological impact of domestic abuse can be so severe that it leads to
suicide ideation and attempt. The severity and time span of the abuse, and existing
mental health needs of the victim, may be specific risk factors.
115. For the year ending March 2018, 11% of male and 7% of female victims of partner
abuse attempted suicide in the previous year.
69
The Domestic Homicide Project found
that there were 39 suspected victim suicides following domestic abuse in the year to 31
March 2021. The majority (35) were female, with four cases involving male victims.
This is likely an underestimate of all victim suicides with a history of domestic abuse, as
it excludes suicides where a prior history of domestic abuse was not known to police.
70
Refuge gathered data on over 3,500 of its service users and found that 24% had felt
suicidal at one time or another, 18% had made plans to end their life and 3% had made
at least one suicide attempt.
71
There is increasing awareness of the links between
domestic abuse and suicide and the need for early intervention.
116. Long-term trauma may not always be recognised in victims, who may be facing
multiple disadvantages, such as, but not limited to, disabled victims, those with
cognitive issues, mental ill health and/or issues with substance misuse. The impact of
trauma may similarly be overlooked in children and young people. Prior experiences of
physical or psychological trauma, because of bullying, discrimination and hate crime,
may make victims of domestic abuse less likely to seek help. Adopting a trauma-
informed approach to responding to domestic abuse is therefore essential, recognising
the signs and symptoms of trauma and, in acknowledging this, providing appropriate
support seeking not to re-traumatise.
67
Kelly. L (1999). Domestic Violence Matters: an evaluation of a development project, pp.35-37
68
See Women’s Aid. Women’s Aid responds to Prime Minister’s commitment to toughen laws on gaslighting: 2018.
69
ONS. Domestic abuse: findings from the Crime Survey for England and Wales - Appendix tables - Office for National Statistics
(ons.gov.uk): Data year ending March 2018.
70
Domestic Homicides and Suspected Victim Suicides During the Covid-19 Pandemic 2020-2021 (publishing.service.gov.uk).
71
Aitken, R, Munro, V. Domestic abuse and suicide: exploring the links with refuge’s client Base and work force. London; University of
Warwick, School of Law: Refuge: 2018.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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Addiction
117. Some victims develop addictions, for example, they may begin smoking or using
drugs or alcohol to help cope with abuse and this dependency may progress.
118. Perpetrators can try to exploit a victim’s addictions. With drugs or alcohol, a
perpetrator may try to sustain a victim’s dependency or threaten to expose this to
professionals. This can be particularly threatening to victims with children, or those
from cultural backgrounds where drinking alcohol or misusing substances may be
particularly condemned. Case research on perpetrators has shown that first responders
can find it difficult to correctly identify perpetrators of abuse due to a tendency to see
the perpetrator as the individual who is abusing alcohol.
72
Alcohol use by women has in
other studies been found to be a response to experience of abuse from partners.
Alcohol is also used by male victims as a coping mechanism.
73
See also the section on
'Alcohol and substance misuse'.
Offending
119. There are links between women’s experience of domestic abuse and offending and
reoffending. Data from the Ministry of Justice suggests that 57% of female offenders
and 6% of male offenders have suffered domestic violence.
74
Women can be coerced
or pressured into criminal activity by perpetrators, increasing their vulnerability and the
risk of further abuse. This situation is often worsened by poverty, substance
dependency or poor mental health. Women in prison are more than twice as likely as
men to say they have committed offences to support someone else’s drug use as well
as their own.
75
120. More than half (53%) of female and a quarter (27%) of male prisoners responding
to the Surveying Prisoner Crime Reduction Survey (SPCR) reported experiencing
emotional, physical, or sexual abuse during childhood.
76
Some victims may come into
contact with the criminal justice system where they have used violent resistance in self-
defence. Data has shown that many women who kill their partners were themselves
victims of often sustained and violent, domestic abuse by those partners.
77
Consideration of what age-appropriate, gender and trauma-informed responses to girls
and young women at risk of domestic abuse whilst in contact with the criminal justice
system entails (including examples of good practice) is included in the Young Women’s
Justice Project Literature Review. The link between domestic abuse and a woman’s
offending should be recognised at the earliest opportunity to divert women from the
criminal justice system, where this is appropriate.
72
Hester, M. Who Does What to Whom? Gender and Domestic Violence Perpetrators, Bristol: University of Bristol in association with
the Northern Rock Foundation: 2009.
73
Humphreys, C, Regan, L, River, D, & Thiara RK. Domestic Violence and Substance Use: Tackling Complexity, British Journal of
Social Work: 2005: 35, 1303-1320.
74
Ministry of Justice. Supporting data tables: Female Offender Strategy: Data from 2013 to 2018. 2018.
75
Light, M., Grant, E., & Hopkins, K. Gender differences in substance misuse and mental health amongst prisoners: Results from the
Surveying Prisoner Crime Reduction (SPCR) longitudinal cohort study of prisoners. Ministry of Justice.
76
Williams, K, Papadopoulou, V, Booth, N. Prisoners’ childhood and family backgrounds: Results from the Surveying Prisoner Crime
Reduction (SPCR) longitudinal cohort study of prisoners: Ministry of Justice: 2012.
77
Centre for Women’s Justice. Women Who Kill: How the State Criminalises Women We Might Otherwise Be Burying: 2021.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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121. Experience of abuse is a mitigating factor in sentencing and the Ministry of Justice
is taking steps to ensure that Pre-Sentence Reports highlight such factors.
Livelihood
122. Many victims can be made homeless by domestic abuse. Annual statutory
homelessness statistics for 2020 to 2021 show that 12% of households in England
recorded ‘domestic abuse’ as their main reason for being homeless or threatened with
homelessness.
78
123. Victims who are homeless are vulnerable to being further targeted by perpetrators
of both physical and sexual abuse. Survey research conducted across England
reported that some homeless women had formed an unwanted sexual partnership to
get a roof over their heads or by engaging in sex work to raise money for
accommodation.
79
Evidence based on 500 interviews with homeless people found that
61% of homeless women and 13% of homeless men have experienced domestic
abuse from a partner.
80
124. The risk of homelessness can prevent a victim from leaving a home shared with a
perpetrator, a victim may remain living with the perpetrator to avoid homelessness for
them and their children. See the 'Housing' section in ‘Chapter 6 – Agency Response to
Domestic Abuse’ for further information on homelessness, housing response and safe
accommodation.
125. Victims may suffer from the effects of economic abuse resulting in unemployment,
diminished employment prospects, debt or coerced debt, or poverty. The impact can
lead to devastating and long-term consequences and can severely limit access to
finance and financial independence,
81
see the section on ‘Economic abuse’.
126. As set out throughout this guidance, victims with multiple and/or complex needs can
face additional barriers to identifying abuse, seeking help, or accessing support
services.
127. Victims may not recognise the abuse they face as domestic abuse or underrate
their experience or the experience of forms of abuse that are not physical. They may
be unclear on how to seek help, therefore continued efforts are required to help ensure
that resources and services are accessible and that communications about what help is
available give consideration to how to reach people within local areas including minority
groups and communities.
78
DLUHC. Statutory homelessness in England: financial year 2020-21 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). 2021.
79
Reeve, K., Casey, R., Goudie, R. Homeless Women: Still being failed yet striving to survive. Crisis: 2006.
80
Mackie, P, Thomas, I. Nations Apart? Experiences of single homeless people across England and Wales. University of Wales, Crisis:
2014.
81
Surviving Economic Abuse. ’Economic abuse is your past, present and future’: A report on the practical barriers women face in
rebuilding their lives after domestic abuse: 2018.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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Impact on child victims
128. Domestic abuse has a significant impact on children and young people of all ages
(up to 18 years old). Section 3 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (‘the 2021 Act’)
recognises children as victims of domestic abuse for the purposes of the Act if the child
sees, hears, or experiences the effects of the abuse, and is related to, or falls under
“parental responsibility” of, the victim and/or perpetrator of the domestic abuse. A child
might therefore be considered a victim of domestic abuse under the 2021 Act where
one parent is abusing another parent, or where a parent is abusing, or being abused
by, a partner or relative.
129. There is limited data on the prevalence of children and young people experiencing
domestic abuse being perpetrated by or directed towards a relative. Estimates suggest
that between March 2017 to 2019, 7% of children aged ten to 15 years old were living
in households where an adult reported experiencing domestic abuse in the previous
year.
82
For the year ending March 2018, victims of partner abuse were asked whether
any children in the house heard or saw what happened during the most recent
victimisation. In 41% of cases where adults aged 16 to 59 reported having experienced
partner abuse, there was at least one child under the age of 16 living in the household.
Where children were living in the household, one in five were reported to have either
seen or heard what had happened.
83
The presence of domestic abuse has been
identified as a risk factor for child physical abuse, with children who were exposed to
domestic violence being more likely to be physically abused and neglected.
84
130. In their 2020 annual report, the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel found
that domestic abuse was featured in 43% of incidents involving serious harm and 41%
of fatal incidents.
85
For the most high-risk cases of domestic abuse that are referred
locally to Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARAC), there were an
estimated 13 children for every ten cases (2019 to 2020), further highlighting the
prevalence of children and young people affected by domestic abuse.
86
It should be
noted that evidence suggests many children who experience domestic abuse are not
identified and may therefore miss out on support.
131. Children are not a homogenous group, and there is a range of factors that may
determine the nature of their experience - including age, sex, disability, race and socio-
economic context. Professionals should develop an individual response for every child
and young person affected, including for siblings.
87
82
ONS. Childhood vulnerability to victimisation in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk): data year ending
March 2017 to year ending March 2019.
83
ONS. Partner abuse in detail, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk): Data year ending March 2018.
84
Holt, S., Buckley, H., Whelan, S., 2008. The impact of exposure to domestic violence on children and young people: A review of the
literature. Child Abuse & Neglect, 32(8), pp. 97-810.
85
Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel. Annual Report 2020: Patterns in practice, key messages and 2021 work programme:
2021.
86
SafeLives. Q3 2019 Focus on Children in the Household.pdf (safelives.org.uk): 2019.
87
The Young People’s Family Justice Board have produced some top tips for professionals working with children and young people
who have experience of and been affected by domestic abuse.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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132. A review of 877 child abuse cases between February 2011 to September 2013
showed that the majority (97%) of children living with domestic abuse are exposed to
that abuse. Of the children exposed to the abuse, two thirds were directly harmed,
most often physically or emotionally abused, or neglected. When looking at all children
that were exposed to domestic abuse, over half had behavioural problems, or felt
responsible or to blame for negative events. Difficulties adjusting at school were found
in over a third of cases.
88
133. Non-physical forms of domestic abuse like coercive control have a significant
impact on children
89
and professionals focused on physical acts of violence may fail to
understand the daily experience of victims and children, how it is affecting them, and
the level of risk posed by perpetrators.
134. Experiencing domestic abuse perpetrated by or directed towards a relative can
have devastating consequences for children. Experience of domestic abuse is
recognised as an Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE). Other ACEs include physical,
psychological, and sexual abuse, or household dysfunction such as having
incarcerated relatives or relatives experiencing substance abuse or mental illness.
Research suggests that ACEs can often overlap, occurring in clusters.
90
A child’s
relationship with a trusted adult who has capacity to support them, wider family
networks, friendship groups, and the type and frequency of the abuse are important
factors.
135. Broadly, some of the impacts that domestic abuse can have on children can
include
91
:
• Feeling anxious or depressed;
• Low self-esteem and difficulties with forming healthy relationships;
• Hypervigilance in reading body language or changes in mood and atmosphere;
• Having difficulty sleeping, nightmares;
• Physical symptoms such as stomach aches or bed wetting;
• Delayed development or deterioration in speech, language and communication;
• Reduction in school attainment, truancy, risk of exclusion from school;
• Increased application to activities outside the home, including academia or
sports, as a distraction;
88
Co-ordinated Action Against Domestic Abuse (CAADA). Insights into domestic abuse 2: In plain sight: The evidence from children
exposed to domestic abuse: 2014.
89
The multi-agency response to children living with domestic abuse September 2017 Gov.uk; Department for Education. Pathways to
harm, pathways to protection: a triennial analysis of serious case reviews 2011 to 2014: University of Warwick and University of
East Anglia: 2016.
90
Asmussen, K, Fischer, F, Drayton, E, McBride, T. Adverse childhood experiences: What we know, what we don't know, and what
should happen next: Early Intervention Foundation: 2020.
91
NSPCC. Signs that a child has witnessed domestic abuse: 2022.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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• Inconsistent regulation of emotions, including becoming distressed, upset or
angry;
• Becoming aggressive or internalising their distress and becoming withdrawn;
• Managing their space within the home so they are not visible; and
• Using alcohol or drugs, or self-harming.
136. Children who are cared for by family members other than their parents and looked
after children may also have additional needs that professionals should consider.
137. Children and young people of different ages may respond in different ways to
domestic abuse, depending on their stage of development. Babies and young children
may be particularly vulnerable when living with domestic abuse, with protective factors
often minimal for this age group (unable to seek help or remove themselves from
danger, often ‘out of sight’ of regular contact with professionals, dependent on others
and may not be able to recognise abusive behaviour). Babies experiencing the effects
of domestic abuse may be more likely to have difficulty sleeping, have higher levels of
excess crying and disrupted attachment. Children of pre-school age tend to show the
most behavioural disturbance such as bed wetting, sleep disturbances and eating
difficulties and are particularly vulnerable to blaming themselves for the adult violence.
Older children may be more likely to show the effects of the disruption in their lives
through under performance at school, poorly developed social networks, self-harm,
running away and engagement in anti-social behaviour.
92
138. Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) may find it difficult
to express their feelings or may express them in different ways.
93
Particularly if the
child is autistic, has a sensory impairment, a learning disability or has complex or
profound difficulties and are, for example, non-verbal. Distress can be presented in
different ways, including through challenging behaviour, becoming more withdrawn,
difficulties concentrating or other changes to their usual behaviours or ways of
communicating. Professionals must take the individual needs of the child into
consideration to support them to communicate in a way they feel comfortable. This may
include drawing on multi-agency approaches, working with educational psychologists
and drawing on the knowledge of those who know the child best, such as their teacher
or any therapists currently involved in their support. It is important that children and
young people have the communication tools appropriate to report abuse and engage
with professionals trained to aid their communication where needed.
139. Experiencing domestic abuse in childhood or adolescence has been shown in some
research papers to increase the likelihood of experiencing or perpetrating domestic
abuse later in life.
94
However, it is important to acknowledge that many victims do not
92
Cafcass Cymru. Impact on Children of Experiencing Domestic Abuse: Welsh Government: 2019.
93
See information on support for Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) published on GOV.UK.
94
Costa, B. M, et al. Longitudinal predictors of domestic violence perpetration and victimization: A systematic review: Aggression and
Violent Behavior: 2015; 24, 261-272; Guedes, D et al. Experiences of violence across life course and its effects on mobility among
participants in the international mobility in aging study. British Medical Journal Open; 2016; (6)10.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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go on to perpetrate abuse and individual experiences, and how these can present
differently, should be recognised. Children’s Insights England and Wales data from
2015 to 2018 suggests that 60% of the children accessing domestic abuse related
services experienced behavioural problems and around half (52%) experienced
problems with social development and relationships. Over a third were undertaking risk
taking behaviour.
95
140. The Children’s Insights England and Wales report shows that a trauma-informed
approach, including receiving help from specialist children’s services reduces the
impact of domestic abuse on these children and young people and improves their
safety and health outcomes. A trauma-informed approach recognises that people who
have survived significant childhood adversity may experience a triad of entwined social,
physical, and psychological injuries. While these injuries are typically studied
independently, they are better understood as interlocking and interdependent, shaping
people’s subjective experiences in complex ways across their lifespan. The result can
be ‘harm building upon harm’, reducing the ‘shock absorbers’ available to cope at times
of stress.
141. For children of separated parents where domestic abuse is a factor, the impact of
the abuse may intensify after separation. Therefore, providing support to both children
and the non-abusive parent is essential and the child’s voice, their safety and the
safety of the non-abusive parent should always be considered. There should be a
focus on the importance of joint and parallel work for victims, including children and a
range of services to sensitively address and overcome the harm domestic abuse has
caused to the non-abusive parent-child relationship. This should also include
appropriate access to relevant services for the perpetrator alongside clear
accountability that the perpetrator is responsible for the harm caused.
142. The Ministry of Justice published the report ‘Assessing Risk of Harm to Children
and Parents in Private Law Children’s cases’ which considers how the family courts
identify and respond to allegations of domestic abuse and other serious offences in
cases involving disputes between parents about the arrangements for their children.
The findings included identifying the need to ensure that children’s needs and wishes
are at the centre of private law children proceedings and that procedures are designed
to include domestic abuse as one of the central considerations where relevant (for
further information, see the section ‘Family courts and special measures in the family
courts’).
143. Young people can also experience abuse in their own relationships (see the
‘Teenage relationship abuse’ section). Experiencing abuse in their own intimate
relationships can be hugely damaging for young people and abuse in teenage
relationships should be taken just as seriously as in adult relationships.
144. The way children are treated by first responders and other professionals can have
a significant impact on the extent to which they trust them and whether they feel safe
95
SafeLives. Children’s Insights England and Wales dataset 2015-18: Specialist children’s domestic abuse services: 2019.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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disclosing future experiences of abuse (see the ‘Responding to children and young
people’ section in ‘Chapter 6 – Agency Response to Domestic Abuse’ for more
information).
Box 4.1: Case Study
Case Study
Carrie was supported by a specialist therapeutic counselling service aimed at children and
young people, after experiencing her father abusing her mother, who are now separated.
Carrie had been present when her father was abusive towards her mother and had also
been directly affected by her father’s coercive and controlling behaviours. Carrie has
contact with her father, and wanted this, but she was struggling to make sense of her
feelings. It was felt that independent counselling would help her to understand her
emotions and manage how she was feeling.
Carrie was offered over ten counselling sessions which took place at her school. Her
counsellor used creative interventions like mindfulness, therapeutic play, and metaphoric
image work (which can help people to step outside of themselves and process feelings at
a safe distance).
Through these interventions, Carrie and her counsellor explored her fears and anxieties;
her relationships at home and at school; things within and beyond her sphere of control;
and feeling and staying safe.
By the end of the counselling sessions, Carrie had an improved sense of what is and what
is not within her control, and better able to identify abusive behaviours. She became less
anxious and fearful at home, and more able to manage difficult and complicated emotions.
She also felt more confident communicating her own wants and needs.
145. Further information about responding to domestic abuse, supporting and
safeguarding victims, including children as victims, is set out in ‘Chapter 6 – Agency
Response to Domestic Abuse’ and ‘Chapter 7 – Multi-Agency response to Domestic
Abuse’.
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Chapter 5 – Different experiences, needs
and related considerations
This chapter covers:
• Giving consideration to personal characteristics (including protected characteristics)
and situational characteristics in domestic abuse cases.
146. As outlined in ‘Chapter 3 – Recognising Domestic Abuse’, individuals can be the
victims of multiple and different abusive behaviours. It is important to consider the
different protected characteristics and related experiences of victims, and how these
may intersect and overlap particularly in relation to accessing services and support if
they are not adequately designed to meet specific needs. Age, disability, gender
reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion
or belief, sex and sexual orientation are protected characteristics under the Equality Act
2010. Other factors, such as an individual’s immigration status or socio-economic
position can also impact access to services. The impacts of abuse can be
compounded, for example, where victims face multiple disadvantages.
147. Commissioners, service providers and statutory agencies should consider different
experiences, needs and voices when developing their responses to both adult and
child victims, to fully identify the experiences of all victims, vis-à-vis the abusive
behaviour they are subject to and ensure that services are provided to victims without
discrimination. Under the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (‘the Victims’ Code') all
victims have the right to be offered support when they report a crime to the police and
to be referred to services that support victims. The offer of support should be based on
the victim’s needs and all services should be offered without discrimination of any kind.
For further information on the Victims Code see ‘Chapter 6 – Agency Response to
Domestic Abuse’.
148. As outlined in ‘Chapter 4 – Impact of Domestic Abuse’, there are many practical and
psychological barriers that victims may face when accessing support, including for
example: feelings of shame or guilt, fear of what the perpetrator will do to them, or a
belief that the situation might get better.
149. Other factors that can create additional barriers to a victim accessing support are
listed below:
• Impact of coercive control and trauma – the abuse may make the victim feel
isolated, worthless, to feel they are to blame for the abuse and/or be convinced
they cannot look after themselves;
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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• Shame and stigma – including fear of not being believed, feeling shame around
disclosing abuse and/or being able to access support;
• Economic dependence/instability – the victim may not have access to resources
they need to be able to support themselves or their children independently, or
may not be able to afford legal representation;
• Living in a rural community – a victim may face increased isolation from support
networks and lack of access to services if they are living in a rural community
compared to an urban setting or if they have not been allowed to mix freely with
wider society. Victims living in rural communities may also find it difficult to
access support or report abuse online due to poor digital connectivity. Victims
may also lack privacy to make disclosures in close knit communities and may
fear others knowing that they have sought support;
• Language and communication – the victim may face specific challenges in
communicating the abuse which may hinder them from accessing or seeking
assistance;
• Connections to local area – the victim may fear leaving their local area where
they have a network of support (friends/family) and where their children are
settled in schooling, as well as worrying about the upheaval to their children’s
lives;
• Religious/community/family pressures – the victim may be under pressure from
religious or community figures, or members of their extended family, not to
leave, or to return if they have left;
• Immigration status – if the victim has insecure immigration status, they may be
fearful of seeking help from statutory agencies due to fear of being detained in
immigration centres and being deported and/or having their children removed
from their care;
• Impact of alcohol, drugs, substance misuse and mental health problems –
domestic abuse can lead to or exacerbate a number of health-related issues for
the victim, including the development of mental health issues; and
• Other considerations – or protected characteristics discussed below.
150. ‘By and for’ services are specialist services that are led, designed, and delivered by
and for the users and communities they aim to serve (for example victims and survivors
from ethnic minority backgrounds, deaf and disabled victims and survivors, male
victims, and LGBT victims and survivors). The involvement of specialist 'by and for'
services is key to ensuring a local area can meet the needs of victims with different
protected characteristics or situational characteristics. A list of organisations providing
support to victims is available in Annex A.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
59
Age
151. The definition of domestic abuse in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (‘the 2021 Act’)
includes a minimum age for the victim and the perpetrator of 16 years old. In addition,
for the purposes of the Act, section 3 of the 2021 Act recognises children (up to 18
years old) as victims of domestic abuse if they see, hear, or experience the effects of
the abuse and are related to one or both of the victim and perpetrator or the victim
and/or perpetrator have “parental responsibility” of the child.
152. CPS guidance, however, applies to all cases of domestic abuse irrespective of the
age of the perpetrator or victim (including those under 16). This approach means it is
possible for protective orders such as Restraining Orders to benefit victims under 16
and where the behaviour of a perpetrator, including perpetrators under 16 years of age,
is abusive they may be prosecuted or diverted to appropriate interventions.
153. Children and young people can face different types of abuse. See the 'Types of
domestic abuse' section for further detail. Young people may face barriers, relating to
their age or another protected characteristic, in disclosing abuse or accessing services.
They may also be inherently more vulnerable to abuse because it is harder for them to
distinguish between normal and abusive behaviours. For further information relating to
children, see the sections ‘Impact on children’, ‘Responding to children and young
people’ and ‘Multi-agency working to safeguard children’.
154. Older people can be victims of intimate partner abuse, or abuse by family members
including adult children. This abuse may include controlling or coercive behaviour,
economic, emotional, psychological, sexual or physical abuse or neglect and can affect
both men and women. SafeLives’ Insights data indicates that victims aged 60 and over
were less likely to attempt to leave the relationship in the year before getting help and
are more likely to be living with the perpetrator after getting support.
96
155. The CSEW does not currently collect data on adults over 74, therefore does not
present estimates for the prevalence of domestic abuse amongst this age group.
97
The
CSEW year ending March 2020 suggests that prevalence reduces by ages, with 3.2%
of respondents aged 60 to 74 having experienced abuse in the previous year.
98
This
compares to 4.6% of 55 to 59-year-olds and is around a third of the prevalence for
those aged 16 to 19 (9.5%). However, combined data from year ending March 2018 to
2020 shows that nearly 1 in 5 (18%) domestic homicide victims were 70 years or
older.
99
156. Support services should avoid making assumptions about a victim’s condition or
health based on their age. For instance, injuries or mental health issues may be viewed
96
SafeLives. Spotlights Report #HiddenVictims: Save Later Lives: Older people and domestic abuse: 2016.
97
Once it is possible to return to the face-to-face mode of delivery for the CSEW, ONS will immediately remove the current upper age
limit for respondents to the self-completion modules.
98
ONS. Domestic abuse victim characteristics, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk): Data year ending March
2020.
99
ONS. Domestic abuse prevalence and victim characteristics - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk): data year ending March
2018 to 2020.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
60
as the result of a victim’s health and social care needs, without enquiries being made
around domestic abuse.
157. A Women’s Aid survey of 134 domestic abuse service organisations suggests that
older victims are not being seen by specialist support services in the numbers that we
would expect and can face significant barriers when asking for help or when trying to
leave a relationship with a perpetrator.
100
Barriers can include that victims:
• have experienced years of prolonged abuse;
• are isolated within a particular community through language or culture;
• have experienced long term health impacts or disabilities; or
• are reliant on the perpetrator for their care or money.
158. Evidence also indicates that older people with protected characteristics such as
being LGBT, from an ethnic minority background, or having a disability may be at
greater risk of abuse, or face additional barriers that may prevent them from accessing
support.
101
159. It is crucial that older victims can get the support they need, and that their
experiences are supported. Research by the Centre for Age, Gender and Social
Justice emphasises the importance of enabling access and supporting older people to
make safe and informed choices when seeking help.
102
Dewis Choice provides
practitioner guidance on supporting older victims and responding to domestic abuse in
later life.
Box 5.1: Case Study
Case Study
David aged 79 years, experienced abuse by his wife for over 30 years. Early on in the
marriage the abuse had been verbal and emotional. However, since his diagnosis with a
degenerative disease eight years ago, the abuse had also become physical and increased
in severity and frequency as his illness progressed.
Paramedics attended David’s home when he experienced breathing difficulties. A referral
was made to social services after the paramedics observed David’s wife shouting and
screaming at him.
100
Women’s Aid. The Domestic Abuse Report 2019: The Annual Audit: Bristol: 2019.
101
See Older People’s Commissioner for Wales. 2021. Support Services for Older People Experiencing Abuse in Wales.
102
The Centre for Age, Gender and Social Justice. Transforming the response to domestic abuse in later life: Practitioner Guidance:
2020.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
61
David had difficulty with his coordination and mobility and his wife purposefully left items
positioned to cause him to trip or fall, sustaining bruises to his arms and face. She would
also shout and ‘humiliate’ him, telling him he was useless as he could no longer carry out
jobs around the home. David was fearful about the future. Particularly, that he would
become more isolated and dependent on his wife as he developed care needs and was no
longer able to leave his home without support. He wanted to be able to spend time with his
adult children, who were discouraged from visiting by his wife. David had become
increasingly depressed and wanted to leave his wife but he didn’t know how to access
support.
The social worker recognised that David was experiencing domestic abuse and explained
that she felt he would benefit from support from a specialist service for older victims of
abuse. David agreed, so she contacted the organisation to discuss a referral. As David
had communication difficulties, the social worker assisted with arranging safe face-to-face
contact with a support worker.
The support worker explained David’s options and rights and went with him to apply for
housing, helping him to explain that he was a victim of abuse and ensuring that he was
assessed correctly as eligible for assistance. It took time to locate housing suitable for
David’s long-term needs. Whilst still living with his wife, he was supported with safety
planning, advice and support to access health benefits and services and to help manage
the move safely.
After David was re-housed the specialist service provided support for a further six months,
which included long-term safety, recovery, and wellbeing, and help to re-engage with the
community.
Disability
160. Disabled victims (this may include, but is not limited to victims with physical or
sensory impairments, mental health issues, learning disabilities, cognitive impairments,
long-term health conditions and neuro diverse victims
103
) can face additional forms of
abuse where the perpetrator is exploiting the victim’s particular vulnerabilities to abuse
them.
161. CSEW data from the year ending March 2020 shows that those with a disability
were more likely to have been victims of domestic abuse in the previous year (11.8%)
than those without (4.6%).
104
Disabled victims may also be more likely to continue
living with the perpetrator.
105
Deaths involving disabled victims may be recorded as
103
Section 6 of the Equality Act 2010 defines a person as having a disability if he or she has a physical or mental impairment and the
impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. This is for
the purposes of this Act and the legislative framework it creates to advance equality of opportunity.
104
ONS. Domestic abuse victim characteristics, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk): Data year ending
March 2020.
105
SafeLives. Spotlight Report #HiddenVictims: Disabled Survivors Too: Disabled people and domestic abuse: 2017.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
62
‘due to neglect’, rather than being captured as a domestic homicide, or without
acknowledgment as a domestic abuse case.
162. Disabled victims may be at increased risk in relation to particular examples of
abusive behaviour, either from an intimate partner, family member, or carer (who is
“personally connected” to them),
106
or face specific risks relating to their disability and
related circumstances including: control of medication; refusal to interpret; denial of
access to health services or equipment; actions which makes the person’s health
condition worse; and otherwise using the person’s disability to control them.
163. For example, blind victims and partially sighted individuals may be at greater risk of
harm than a sighted person would be in some circumstances. They may be more at
risk of physical abuse in terms of awareness of the threat of harm and the extent of
harm caused. Where information and services are not accessible, they may need to
rely on others, such as a partner or family member, to read information for them.
Disabled victims, particularly disabled young people, may experience coercive or
controlling behaviours involving infantilisation and denying their independence, which
may go unnoticed. Unequal power relations and a relationship of dependency are
recognised as common factors in such cases.
164. Disabled victims face multiple barriers to seeking and receiving help to escape
domestic abuse, for example, accessible accommodation and transport, the need for
assistance with personal care, access to mobility support, and possibly, for specialised
emotional support, and fear of losing their children. These factors could impact an
individual’s decision and ability to leave a relationship with a perpetrator or to seek
help. Disabled victims can be more isolated and/or have smaller support networks and
may be more vulnerable to domestic abuse as a result.
107
165. Disabled victims may be unable to leave or access a refuge because of poor
access to safe accommodation, or because they rely on a perpetrator for care or
support. Like any victim who is a parent, they may not want to move because they do
not want to move their children away from school and friends, or because the school
understands their needs as a disabled parent.
166. Disabled victims may have had negative experiences with services in the past
which can create a feeling of distrust or impact their perception of the help that can be
provided. Professionals and services should be aware of these factors and other
barriers and proactively explore issues in coordination with other services to ensure the
right support is offered. They should seek to engage with the victim privately, without a
carer or other family member, as this may prevent or hinder disclosure, and have good
knowledge of how to meet access, communication, and support needs. Sharing details
of these needs with partner agencies, where this is possible, can avoid the same
barriers being repeated and deterring the victim from accessing support.
106
The relationship between carers and the cared is not covered by the definition of domestic abuse in the 2021 Act unless there is
also a personal connection between them.
107
Public Health England. Disability and domestic abuse: Risk, impacts and response: 2015.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
63
167. The experiences of disabled victims will be individual and may be specific to their
disability, disabled victims should never be seen only in light of their disability. Risk
assessments should be holistic and consider the whole person, including any
intersecting needs.
108
Deaf victims
168. It is helpful to highlight the experiences of deaf victims who as a community are a
linguistic minority based on their language and many deaf people experience personal
and structural barriers in accessing help and reporting abuse. Deaf people may
encounter specific barriers to accessing support when experiencing controlling or
coercive behaviour as they might not be aware of the available support and/or
professionals may not know to use appropriate communication methods.
169. There is likely to be underreporting of abuse by deaf victims due to communication
and information barriers. Professionals and service providers should be aware that
deaf victims need specialist support services who can understand their cultural and
linguistic needs. Where possible, professionals working with deaf victims should be
expected to have some personal experience of deafness, as having to relive their
trauma time and again with new people (e.g. sign language interpreters) can be
disruptive to their healing and may result in them disengaging from much needed
support. This may also be relevant for those with a learning disability who may use an
advocate or carer to support their process of talking about their experience.
170. Following best practice, deaf individuals should be signposted or referred on to a
domestic abuse service specialised in supporting deaf people or a deaf-led specialist
service in the first instance. To achieve optimum outcomes, professionals working with
deaf victims should be able to communicate fluently using sign language, without the
need for third party communication support. Organisations and agencies should also
consider collaborative working relationships with other specialist services, so that they
are able to jointly meet the needs of their clients through the sharing of resources,
knowledge, and complementary skillsets.
Speech, language, and communication
171. People with speech, language, and communication needs may be actively targeted
by perpetrators or experience abuse for longer periods of time because of difficulties
they face in explaining what has happened to them, asking for help, and accessing the
support available. Services, including local authorities should ensure that good practice
includes the identification of, and appropriate support for, communication needs,
including:
108
For example, Stay Safe East provide a Disability and Domestic Abuse risk assessment to be used alongside the Domestic Abuse,
Stalking, Harassment and ‘Honour’-Based Violence (DASH) risk assessment.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
64
• the links between domestic abuse and speech, language and communication
needs;
• the impact of witnessing domestic abuse on children’s speech, language and
communication; and
• the services available to support people with those needs, including children (this
may involve ensuring the availability of independent interpreters).
172. Many speech and language difficulties are unidentified and undiagnosed. Services
should seek to understand the needs of people with these difficulties, including the risk
that they may not be, or have been, taken seriously in their reports because of the way
that they communicated them.
173. Speech, language, and communication needs can be a risk factor and are often
hidden. They can result from lifelong or acquired conditions and for children and young
people they may be part of a special educational need or disability.
174. Speech, language, and communication services for children and young people with
special educational needs and disabilities are covered by joint commissioning
arrangements set out in the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Code of
Practice,
109
which brings education, health and local authorities, and Youth Offending
Teams together to assess needs and agree a local offer. Joint commissioning gives
agencies the opportunity to consider the wider factors and interdependencies, such as
domestic abuse, and design services accordingly. For more information on special
education needs and disabilities, and the impact on children expressing their feelings
see the ‘Impact on children’ section of the guidance.
175. Organisations and agencies should give consideration to communication in its
broadest sense. There is a need to understand the communication environment and
the various barriers which may prevent information, thoughts and ideas from being put
across, received and understood successfully.
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
176. LGBT victims can have a similar experience of domestic abuse to heterosexual
victims. CSEW data for the year ending March 2020 suggests that LGBT victims were
more likely to report being victims of domestic abuse. 8.4% of gay men and lesbian
women were victims of domestic abuse in the previous year, as were 15.2% of
bisexuals.
110
This compares to 5.2% of heterosexual respondents.
111
109
The code, which applies to England, is for: headteachers and principals, governing bodies, school and college staff, special
educational needs and disability (SEND) co-ordinators, early years providers, other education settings, local authorities and health
and social services staff.
110
There is currently no nationally representative data on prevalence of domestic abuse for trans victims.
111
ONS. Domestic abuse victim characteristics, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk): Data from year ending
March 2020.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
65
177. Whilst there are many similarities between heterosexual and LGBT people’s
experiences of domestic abuse, LGBT victims may also experience abuse of power
and control closely associated with having their sexuality, gender identity or gender
reassignment used against them. This may include the following abusive behaviours:
• Threats of disclosure of sexual orientation and gender reassignment to family,
friends, work colleagues, community and others;
• Disclosing gender identity history, sexual orientation or HIV status without consent;
• Limiting or controlling access to LGBT spaces or resources;
• Using immigration law to threaten with deportation to the country of origin, which
might be unsafe, due to, for example, anti-gay legislation; and
• Violent physical or sexual acts motivated by beliefs about an individual’s sexual
orientation or gender identity.
178. As with all victims, it is important that LGBT people are not viewed as a
homogenous group. Abuse disclosed by lesbian women may be different to that of
bisexual and trans women. Equally, gay men’s experiences may be different to that of
bisexual or trans men. Trans specific abuse may include coercing a person into not
pursuing gender transition including denying or withholding access to medical
treatment or hormones, ridiculing, or exotifying their body or assaulting medically
altered body parts or forcing exposure.
179. LGBT people experience distinct personal and structural barriers in accessing help
and reporting abuse. This may include services lacking quality referral pathways with
LGBT specialist sector and low visibility and representation of LGBT issues within
services. It can also include lack of understanding and awareness by professionals
around unique forms of coercive control targeted at sexual orientation, gender identity
or gender reassignment, and professionals minimising the risk experienced by LGBT
people.
Sex
180. The statutory definition of domestic abuse is not specific to sex.
Female victims
181. We recognise that more women than men are affected by domestic abuse.
Statistics from the last ONS bulletin showed that in the previous year, women were
around twice as likely to have experienced domestic abuse than men.
112
112
ONS. 2020. Domestic abuse prevalence and victim characteristics - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk).
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
66
182. Child-to-parent abuse appears gendered, with the majority of cases being
perpetrated by sons against their mothers, although men and boys are victims too. See
the 'Types of domestic abuse’ section in ‘Chapter 2 – Understanding Domestic Abuse’.
183. In the CSEW data for the year ending March 2020, women were significantly more
likely than men to be victims of each type of abuse asked about
113
, with the exception
of sexual assault by a family member where, although higher, the difference between
males and females was not significant.
114
From the year ending March 2018 to the year
ending March 2020, the majority of victims aged 16 and over of domestic homicides
were female (76%). This contrasts with non-domestic homicides where the majority of
victims were male (86%). When looking at perpetrators of female domestic homicide,
78% were a partner or ex-partner, 16% a parent and 7% a child or other family relative,
such as a brother or sister.
115
Male victims
184. Men and boys who are victims of domestic abuse may face specific fears of
stigmatisation, concerns about being believed, not recognising that they are victims of
domestic abuse and lack of promotion of services to support them. The CSEW for year
ending March 2018 shows that only half (50.8%) of male victims of partner abuse told
anyone that they were a victim of partner abuse, compared to 81.3% of female
victims.
116
185. Different systemic, environmental and cultural barriers can impact groups of victims,
including men and boys, and taking into account their other characteristics. Therefore,
it is important that men and boys are not viewed as a homogenous group as their
experiences will be unique and cannot be defined in terms of sex alone. The
Supporting Male Victims document sets out more detailed information on potential
impacts on male victims of crimes considered in the Government’s Tackling VAWG
Strategy and Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan and highlights actions the Government is
taking to support male victims more effectively.
113
Types of abuse asked about were non-sexual domestic abuse which includes non-sexual partner abuse and non-sexual family
abuse, domestic stalking which includes stalking by a partner and stalking by a family member and domestic sexual assault which
includes sexual assault by a partner and sexual assault by a family member.
114
ONS. Domestic abuse victim characteristics, England and Wales: Data year ending March 2020.
115
ONS. Domestic abuse victim characteristics, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk): data year ending
March 2021.
116
ONS. Domestic abuse: findings from the Crime Survey for England and Wales - Appendix tables - Office for National Statistics
(ons.gov.uk): Data year ending March 2020.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
67
Box 5.2: Case Study
Case Study
Sam’s former wife abused him, both physically and mentally, for over a decade. Their
relationship began like any other. They were both teachers working at the same school,
and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. At first, she was caring but then things started to
change.
She began to lock him out of their home or leave him on the side of the road, miles from
home with no money. He was locked out of the house around 60 times over the course of
almost ten years. She sometimes would take his wallet and keys, so he had no way of
getting home. He found himself walking on eggshells, being coerced into situations he did
not want to be in. He was often told he would never see his daughter again if he didn’t do
what she wanted. He felt he could not leave the family home for the sake of their daughter.
Sam realised he had to take action after he suffered serious injury when his wife attacked
him with a hair dryer. Colleagues at the school he worked at came to know about the
issues he was facing, and they were supportive towards him. After the attack, the school
offered him paid time off to recover and paid for him to receive counselling. The school
also provided him with further time off so that he could appear in court. This meant that he
was able to give vital evidence of the abuse he had been subject to for nearly a decade.
Sam feels that his situation shows that in coming forward male victims will be taken
seriously and given the right support.
Pregnancy
186. Being pregnant may put women at increased risk of abuse, although the data
available on prevalence of domestic abuse amongst pregnant individuals is limited.
Some studies suggest prevalence as high as 40% to 60% of pregnant women
experiencing abuse during pregnancy
117
, while others suggest it is much lower, ranging
between 1% and 20%.
118
Whilst data is mixed, other evidence suggests unplanned
pregnancy to be one of only two predictors of domestic abuse that were both
statistically and clinically significant.
119
187. Domestic abuse experienced during pregnancy in utero and in the earliest years is
harmful to birth outcomes and babies’ early development. Whilst pregnancy may
increase risk of abuse, it should also be recognised that the interaction with health
professionals may provide an opportunity for women to seek support, as well as for
professionals to reach out to women who may be experiencing domestic abuse. Health
and social care professionals should also be alert to the need to offer support and
safeguarding to the child post-birth if necessary.
117
SafeLives, A cry for health: Why we must invest on domestic abuse services in hospitals. 2016.
118
Depending on the country and how prevalence is calculated.
119
Yakubovich, A, et al. Risk and protective factors for intimate partner violence against women: Systematic review and meta-analyses
of prospective-longitudinal studies. American Public Health Association: 2018.108(7): 1-11.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
68
188. Access to trauma-informed support during pregnancy, post-birth and into childhood
can be of benefit to adult and child victims. For further information on the impact of
domestic abuse on children see the ‘Impact on children’ section.
189. Evidence linking intimate partner violence to abortion varies, does not offer clear
evidence of predictors or causes, and is often conducted in countries other than the
UK. Evidence from a research review does indicate that intimate partner violence is
associated with early termination of pregnancy. The association between intimate
partner violence and repeat abortion indicates that there is sometimes a repetitive cycle
of abuse and pregnancy.
120
Experience of intimate partner violence and loss of
pregnancy can have further compounding impacts on the victim’s emotional state and
has been linked with negative mental health outcomes such as depression and suicidal
ideation.
121
190. Health and social care professionals should be aware of these factors and ensure
that specialised mental health support, including post-abortive counselling, is in place
for victims who have experienced abortion or other perinatal loss. Guidelines from the
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists recommend that healthcare
services should identify issues such as domestic abuse among women seeking
abortion and refer them to appropriate support services. See the ‘Health’ section for
further information about the role of health professionals including in exercising their
professional curiosity and reaching out to pregnant women to offer support in relation to
domestic abuse.
Religion or belief
191. Victims who follow a religion or are from faith backgrounds may experience
additional barriers to receiving help or reporting abuse due to issues with accessing
support related to their religious identity and their faith group. They might fear their faith
being misunderstood or have concerns around whether they will be believed.
192. For the year ending March 2020, those reporting their religion as Buddhist, or an
‘Other’ religion not listed (9.6% and 9.1% respectively) were more likely to report
domestic abuse within the last year. This compares to 6.4% of those with no religion,
4.8% of Christians, 3.7% of Muslims, and 3.2% of Hindus.
122
193. Specialist services should seek to understand the varying manifestations of
domestic abuse relating to faith and how a mix of culture, religious tradition and holy
scripture can be used as tools of abuse by perpetrators.
123
120
Hall M, Chappell, LC, Parnell. BL, Seed, PT, Bewley, S. Associations between intimate partner violence and termination of
pregnancy: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLOS Medicine: 2014;11(1):e1001581.
121
Gulliver, P, Fanslow, J. Exploring risk factors for suicidal ideation in a population-based sample of New Zealand women who have
experienced intimate partner violence. Aust NZ J Public Health 37: 2013; (6):527-33.
122
ONS. Domestic abuse prevalence and victim characteristics - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk): Data year ending March
2020.
123
An example of such practice includes the Faith and VAWG coalition, a partnership of organisations across the VAG sector and faith
communities, centering the experiences of victims of faith in their work: Home - Faith and VAWG Coalition
.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
69
194. It is important that specialist services communicate their understanding of a victim’s
religion to ensure they feel emotionally safe and supported. Support services should be
aware that a lack of understanding of different experiences and needs can lead to
silencing victims from faith backgrounds and reinforce barriers to receiving support
from agencies such as the police, courts, social care, and housing. See the 'Abuse
relating to faith' section for further detail in ‘Chapter 3 – Recognising Domestic Abuse’.
Race and ethnicity
195. Victims from ethnic minority backgrounds may experience additional barriers to
identifying, disclosing, seeking help or reporting abuse. This may include:
• A distrust of the police and other statutory agencies;
• Suspicion towards the police due to lack of perceived or real support for their
community historically and/or currently;
• Concerns about racism and fear of racial stereotyping;
• Fears about immigration and/or asylum status and risk of deportation;
• Language and cultural barriers;
• Being disproportionately impacted by certain forms of VAWG, including forced
marriage, staying in a marriage with a perpetrator, ‘honour’-based abuse and
FGM) (see also the section ‘'Honour’-based abuse’);
• Feeling ashamed and/or concerned about family finding out; and
• Fear of rejection by the wider community.
196. Domestic abuse is often under-reported within minority communities. Stereotypes
and assumptions can be made about the victim’s culture and in some cases,
experiences of domestic abuse have been treated as housing or immigration cases by
public authorities.
124
Professionals working with minority communities should be aware
of barriers and actively seek to ensure the right support is made available to overcome
them, including appropriate interpretation and translation support where this may be
needed. There are distinct structural barriers that minority communities face in
accessing support.
197. CSEW data for the year ending March 2020 suggests that those from a Mixed
ethnic background were more likely to have experienced domestic abuse within the
previous year (7.6%) than those from white (5.7%), black (3.7%), or Asian (3.6%)
ethnic backgrounds. However, the presence and impact of additional barriers across all
groups, and particularly within ethnic minority communities, may lead to underreporting
of abuse.
124
Thiara, RK, Roy, S, Ng, P. Between the lines: Service responses to Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Women and Girls experiencing
Sexual Violence: University of Warwick and Imkaan: 2015.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
70
198. There is a growing understanding amongst wider society about domestic abuse
within Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities and barriers faced by people within
these communities in accessing help.
125
Services should consider their particular
support needs, including language or literacy support arising from disadvantages in
relation to education, access to refuge spaces, and helping victims in building other
support networks outside the community.
Immigration status and migrant victims
199. Victims who have entered the UK from overseas may face barriers when attempting
to escape domestic abuse relating to their immigration status or lack thereof.
126
Some
victims may have the no recourse to public funds (NRPF) condition imposed due to the
type of leave they have been granted. This can lead to greater dependence on the
partner or family if they have supported their being in the UK. They may also face
greater economic impact of leaving a perpetrator if they are unable to claim benefits or
access housing, or if they lose their immigration status by leaving their partner,
including destitution and homelessness. This may be exploited by partners or family
members to exert control over victims. Examples of how perpetrators can exert control
over migrant victims include:
• Threatening to no longer provide support for their stay in the UK;
• Falsifying a victim’s immigration status and/or purposefully bringing a victim
into the UK with an incorrect visa to ensure they remain vulnerable to
immigration enforcement, and without options for regularisation;
• Withholding key immigration documents from a victim, including their
passport, so they are unable to ascertain what rights they may have;
• Withholding accurate information from a dependent, for example, when their
visa lapses;
• Purposefully mismanaging a victim’s immigration status and/or application,
so they become overstayers and/or without valid status. This might involve
purposefully missing a deadline to renew a dependent’s visa;
• Deliberately using the immigration system to control and threaten a victim.
For example, actually and/or threatening to report their insecure status to
the Home Office;
125
The Traveller Movement have published a good practice guidance on improving service provision for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller
domestic abuse survivors: 20220225-da-good-practice-guide_0.pdf (travellerstimes.org.uk)
.
126
Domestic Abuse Commissioner. Safety Before Status: Improving pathways to support for migrant victims of domestic abuse: 2021.
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• Providing misinformation or mistruths to a victim about their rights or to
multi-agency professionals involved in working with the victim. For example,
falsely stating that the victim has NRPF when this is not the case; and
• Subjecting a victim to so called ‘honour’-based violence or abuse within a
transnational context. For example, ensuring that a victim is at high risk of
‘honour’-based violence or abuse in their country of origin, and subsequently
using the threat of deportation and the likelihood of additional harm as a tool
to control them.
200. There are support mechanisms in place for migrant victims of domestic abuse,
including specific support for asylum seekers, local authority support, a change of
NRPF conditions, fee waivers or support for victims of modern slavery (which
encompasses human trafficking and slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory
labour) through the National Referral Mechanism.
201. Migrant victims on some partner visas are eligible for the Destitution Domestic
Violence concession (DDVC). This concession enables these victims to apply for leave
to remain without the NRPF condition when their relationship has broken down
because of domestic abuse, they are destitute, and where they are eligible for, and
intend to subsequently make, an application for indefinite leave to remain as a victim of
domestic abuse. Under this concession, leave is granted for three months. These
victims can then apply to claim public funds (benefits) for up to three months while they
make an application to settle in the UK. This helps migrant victims on certain partner
visas to fund a refuge space with the housing element of the benefits they can claim
because their leave will not be subject to a NRPF condition. These victims can then
apply for settlement (Indefinite Leave to Remain) under the Domestic Violence
Indefinite Leave to Remain Rules.
202. Victims may be reluctant to report abuse due to the fear of information sharing by
the police and other statutory and non-statutory services with the Home Office for the
purpose of immigration control. The Home Office has undertaken a review into the
data-sharing arrangements between the police and Immigration Enforcement when
encountering migrant victims of crime, in response to the super-complaint submitted by
Liberty and Southall Black Sisters. The review concluded that the Home Office will not
be establishing a firewall but will seek to implement an Immigration Enforcement
Migrant Victims Protocol which puts safeguarding needs first. See also the ‘Victims with
insecure immigration status’ section.
203. A key barrier to migrant victims of domestic abuse accessing support is the difficulty
organisations face in funding bed spaces and ancillary services in a refuge for victims
with NRPF. That is why the Government launched the Support for Migrant Victims
Scheme in April 2021. The Support for Migrant Victims scheme is designed to provide
support to those individuals who may be unable to access other support mechanisms,
such as the DDVC. It provides a safety net of support through provision of
accommodation in a refuge or other relevant accommodation. Additionally, the scheme
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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can offer wrap around provisions, including emotional support, and more practical
support in forms such as immigration advice to aid victims in their recovery and
navigation of advice and the options available to them to move on from that support.
The support provided can be tailored to the needs of individual victims. An evaluation
of the scheme is in progress, and its findings will inform future policy decisions.
Box 5.3: Case Study
Case Study
Ms K reached out to the police, and a specialist ‘by and for’ service providing support to
migrant victims, for help after experiencing domestic abuse upon relocating to the UK. She
was able to access emergency accommodation, counselling, and legal advice.
Ms K was born in Amritsar and moved to the UK to study when a family friend she viewed
as her ‘uncle’ offered to pay for her studies. She obtained a student visa and arrived in the
UK and went to stay with her ‘uncle’. During her stay, her ‘uncle’ arranged her marriage by
advertising on a matrimonial website.
Within three weeks of her marriage, Ms K was subjected to physical, verbal, and emotional
abuse and forced into domestic servitude. Her mother-in-law continuously verbally
harassed her; she called her names and encouraged her husband to use her as a slave.
Ms K was often forced to cook all the family’s meals, do all the laundry, and clean the
entire house. She fell pregnant but was forced to continue to do all the housework late into
her pregnancy.
Ms K’s husband, who had previously been jailed for murder, was physically abusive in a
manner that intensified during the course of their marriage. The abuse towards Ms K
escalated during her pregnancy. Her ‘uncle’ visited her occasionally to intervene and to
beg them to stop the abuse.
When she was around seven months pregnant, Ms K’s husband assaulted her because
she was sitting down on the sofa. She attempted to leave, but her mother-in-law forced her
to sit down again, telling her she had to stay until she gave birth and then give the baby to
them. Ms K managed to leave the room and called her ‘uncle’ to collect her. When her
‘uncle’ arrived, her husband stood in the doorway to prevent her from leaving the house.
He became extremely angry and threw her belongings onto the driveway and told her not
to return. Ms K’s ‘uncle’ took her to the hospital for a check-up and she also gave a report
at a local police station. The police referred her to SBS, but later, she reconciled with her
husband following coercion from her in-laws and retracted her complaint.
However, soon after reconciling, her husband began to abuse her again. To ensure that
she had no opportunity to disclose the abuse to anyone outside the family, her mother in-
law accompanied her to her GP appointments. However, the domestic abuse had a
significant impact on Ms K’s mental health, causing her to become depressed and
anxious. She lived in constant fear for her life and that of her child.
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Ms K gave birth to her son but following this the abuse towards her escalated. Ms K’s in-
laws threatened to take her son away and have her deported, especially if she dared to
disclose her experiences to anyone outside the home. All of this led to her feeling isolated
and trapped in her marital home. Her mother in-law often told Ms K that the baby belonged
to her, and they were capable of killing Ms K and keeping the baby.
Following a number of death threats to Ms K and her family, and the relentless physical
and verbal abuse to which she was subjected, Ms K finally decided to leave the marital
home. She made a complaint to the local police and contacted SBS for assistance.
The specialist ‘by and for’ service was able to assist Ms K with making a complaint to the
police and draw up a safety plan. They liaised with social services to help secure
emergency accommodation for her and her son, referred Ms K to support and counselling
services and helped her to obtain legal advice regarding her immigration status.
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Asylum Seekers
204. Asylum seekers and their dependants who would otherwise be destitute are
provided with accommodation and a weekly cash allowance to meet their essential
living needs under the arrangements, as set out in section 95 of the Immigration and
Asylum Act 1999 (‘the 1999 Act’). This includes asylum seekers who are victims of
domestic abuse. An asylum seeker is destitute if they lack adequate accommodation or
the means of obtaining it. The Asylum Support Regulations 2000 make clear that
accommodation is not adequate if remaining in it exposes the individual to risk of
domestic violence.
205. Arrangements are now in place to use the asylum support budget to close a gap
which prevented asylum seekers and their dependants supported under section 95 of
the 1999 Act from accessing a refuge. The policy is designed to ensure asylum seekers
who are victims of domestic abuse receive the specialist support they need. This
statutory guidance applies to asylum seekers who are entitled to asylum support, which
will be provided whether in supported accommodation or a specialist refuge.
206. Those granted refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK have access to
support provisions in the same way as anyone else residing in the UK with recourse to
public funds. Asylum seekers can remain supported by the Home Office while their
claim is being processed and recognised refugees have the right to work, access to
benefits and can apply for housing.
207. Local authorities may also provide basic safety net support, regardless of
immigration status, if it is established that there is a genuine care need that does not
arise solely from destitution, for example, where there are community care needs,
migrants with serious health problems or family cases where the wellbeing of a child is
in question. If a victim of domestic abuse has children, local authorities have a duty to
provide financial support and/or accommodation under section 17 of the Children Act
1989 to safeguard the welfare of those in need, regardless of their immigration status
or that of their parents.
No recourse to public funds (NRPF) - change of conditions
208. An application to lift the NRPF status is available for migrants on certain specified
human rights routes to settlement, such as the five-year parent route or ten-year
partner, parent, or private life route. An applicant who has encountered a change in
their circumstances and due to this will be destitute or at imminent risk of destitution,
has a child whose particular additional and essential needs will not be met without
access to public funds, or is encountering exceptional financial circumstances, may
qualify for their NRPF status to be lifted.
Fee Waivers
209. Fee waivers are available for certain specified human rights applications where a
migrant is applying for the right to remain in the UK based on family or private life but
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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cannot afford the fee. These include applicants under the five-year parent route and the
ten-year partner, parent, or private life route.
Alcohol and substance misuse
210. Despite limited evidence, some studies have found a significant relationship
between alcohol and drug use and intimate partner violence.
127
CSEW data for the
year ending March 2018 found 16.6% of partner abuse victims highlighted that the
offender was under the influence of alcohol, and 10.6% under the influence of drugs.
Around one in five (21%) of victims said they did not know or did not want to answer
whether the perpetrator was under the influence of alcohol.
128
A 2022 Home Office
report summarising 127 Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs) found that alcohol and
drug use was noted as a perpetrator vulnerability in around a third of cases.
129
211. Some victims may use alcohol and drugs as a coping mechanism in response to
abuse. Alcohol can also be embedded in a relationship with perpetrators of domestic
abuse with perpetrators using alcohol to control victims.
130
212. Of the 120 support services that responded to Women’s Aid’s annual survey, 7%
said supporting victims with multiple or complex needs was their most challenging
issue faced between 2018 to 2019. Additionally, there were only three organisations
(with 21 bed spaces) dedicated for women with substance use support needs or
complex needs.
131
Similarly, alcohol treatment services may not be sufficiently well-
equipped to treat women who have experienced domestic abuse. A mapping exercise
led by Against Violence and Abuse (AVA) found that women-only provisions of
substance use services are available in less than half of local authorities in England
and Wales.
132
Furthermore, services typically address single issues, such as
substance use or mental health which can see women being passed around services
or unable to access holistic support. There can also be variations and gaps in service
provision for certain groups.
213. Professionals should be aware that victims, with alcohol or drug dependencies, who
have children may be wary of the involvement of children’s social care as they may be
concerned that their children may be removed from their care. This may create a
barrier to victims seeking or accepting help. ‘Chapter 6 – Agency Response to
Domestic Abuse’ provides further information on the children’s social care response
and emphasises the importance of professionals building trusting relationships with the
127
Costa, BM, et al. Longitudinal predictors of domestic violence perpetration and victimization: A systematic review. Aggression and
Violent Behaviour: 2015; 24, 261-271; Schumacher JA, Feldbau-Kohn S, Smith Slep AM, Heyman RE. Risk factors for male-to-
female partner physical abuse. Aggression and Violent Behaviour: 2001;6(2-3):281-352.
128
ONS. Partner abuse in detail – Appendix tables - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk): Data year ending March 2018.
129
Home Office. Domestic Homicide Reviews: Key findings from analysis of domestic homicide reviews: 2022.
130
The draft statutory guidance gives examples of ways substance use can exist within an abuse relationship, stating that responding
agencies should understand these issues p.28.
131
Women’s Aid. The Domestic Abuse Report 2020: The Annual Audit. Bristol: Women’s Aid: 2020.
132
Holly, J. (2017). Mapping the Maze: Services for women experiencing multiple disadvantage in England and Wales. London:
Agenda & AVA.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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parent who is victim to domestic abuse to seek to overcome this fear and ensure the
right support is offered for both adult and child victims. See also further resources for
practitioners working with families affected by domestic abuse.
214. Professionals should also recognise the consequence that alcohol-related abuse
may have on children. Parental alcohol and drug use were documented in 37% and
38% of cases where a child was seriously hurt or killed between 2011 and 2014,
respectfully.
133
215. The prevalence of alcohol-related domestic violence is five times higher among the
most disadvantaged groups compared to the least disadvantaged.
134
However, both
alcohol and substance misuse and domestic abuse can be hidden and data may be
impacted by differences in disclosure or detection within different socio-economic
groups.
216. The co-occurrence of drug and alcohol use, homelessness, criminal justice system
involvement and mental health will often mean that victims will face huge challenges
when seeking support. It is paramount that statutory services take into consideration
the multiple barriers, needs and potential for discrimination that can be faced by these
groups, when planning and delivering services. See also the section ‘Impact on
Victims’.
Mental health
217. Mental health problems are not a cause of domestic abuse; however, it can be a
risk factor for perpetration and victimisation. Depression has been linked with
perpetrating abuse
135
, and mental health issues can lead to an increased risk of being
a victim of domestic abuse.
136
218. Domestic abuse can have a long-lasting effect on victims. It can lead to the
development of long-lasting mental health problems and eating disorders. The CSEW
for year ending March 2018 found that just under half of partner abuse victims aged 16
to 59 (48.9%) reported mental or emotional problems and around a quarter (25.5%)
had stopped trusting people and experienced difficulty in other relationships. Over a
third (36%) received specialist mental health or psychiatric services as a result of their
abuse.
137
133
Department of Education. Pathways to harm, pathways to protection: a triennial analysis of serious case reviews 2011 to 2014:
University of East Anglia and University of Warwick: 2016.
134
Institute of Alcohol Studies. Inequalities in victimisation: alcohol, violence, and anti-social behaviour: 2020.
135
See Guedes, A., Bott, S., Garcia-Moreno, C., Colombini, M., 2016. Bridging the gaps: a global review of intersections of violence
against women and violence against children. Global Health Action, 9(1); Schumacher, J., Feldbau-Kohn, S., Smith Slep, A.,
Heyman, R., 2001. Risk factors for male-to-female partner physical abuse. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 6(2–3), pp. 281-352.
136
Bacchus, L., Ranganathan, M., Watts, C., Devries, K., 2018. Recent intimate partner violence against women and health: a
systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. BMJ Open, 8(7), pp. 1-20.
137
ONS. 2018. Partner abuse in detail – Appendix tables - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk).
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219. Victims with mental health needs might not attend a service specialising in domestic
abuse, so it is important for all mental health support services and providers to be
aware of indicators of possible domestic abuse, to ask about the individual’s
experiences in private discussion and to be appropriately trained to respond. Mental
health services may need to tailor their support and work with other support services to
provide this support. For further information, see the section on ‘Psychological’
impacts.
Socio-economic background
220. Individuals may be victims of domestic abuse regardless of their socio-economic
position and background. However, socio-economic status has been identified as a risk
factor for many types of crime and violence, including domestic abuse.
138
See also the
‘Livelihood’ section in ‘Chapter 4 – Impact of Domestic Abuse’.
221. An evidence review suggests that there may be particular risks associated with
having low income, economic strain and benefit receipt, for example, in exacerbating
interpersonal dependency and/or compounding wider patterns of vulnerability relating
to lack of employment or poor access to social support.
139
Consideration should be
given to these circumstances and its relation to any abusive behaviours present, and
the specific needs of victims and potential barriers to accessing services.
222. As emphasised throughout this guidance, it is important to highlight that simply
because an individual is exposed to any one of these factors, it does not necessarily
mean they will experience or carry out domestic abuse.
138
Capaldi, D. Knoble, N. Shortt, J. Hyon, K., 2012. A systematic review of risk factors for intimate partner violence. Partner Abuse.
Volume 2, Issue 3, pp 231-280.
139
Fahmy, E, Williamson E, Pantazis, C. Evidence and policy review: Domestic violence and poverty: A research report for the Joseph
Rowntree Foundation: University of Bristol: 2016.
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Chapter 6 – Agency Response to
Domestic Abuse
This chapter covers:
• The role of individual agencies in identifying and responding to domestic abuse,
including assessing risk.
• The context of existing guidance and strategies and some of the tools available to
organisations.
Identifying and responding
223. This chapter outlines the role of individual agencies in responding to domestic
abuse. It often takes victims of domestic abuse a significant period of time to seek
effective help from agencies.
140
Further to this, victims of domestic abuse with
protected characteristics (as defined by section 4 of the Equality Act 2010) may face
additional barriers to accessing support.
141
Children and young people may also face
different or additional barriers to disclosing their abuse.
142
See ‘Chapter 4 – Impact of
Domestic Abuse’ and ‘Chapter 5 – Different experiences, needs and related
considerations’.
224. Given that less than 1 in 5 victims report their abuse to the police
143
, many victims
of domestic abuse do not come into contact with the criminal justice system. It is
therefore important that a wide range of agencies and bodies are able to identify
victims and know how to provide the right response. Early intervention by the voluntary
sector and statutory agencies working together can help to protect adults and children
from further harm, as well as preventing escalation and recurrence of abuse.
225. Public agencies should invest in awareness raising, specialist training and systems
change within their services to ensure that victims receive effective and safe responses
and that information about their services reach the range of different communities and
protected groups in their areas.
226. Where a criminal offence is being investigated, victims of domestic abuse will be
treated as victims of crime under the Victims’ Code in England and Wales. The Victims’
Code sets out the services, and the standard for these services, that must be provided
140
SafeLives. Getting it right first time: 2015.
141
See the Different experiences, needs and related considerations section for further information.
142
See the Impact on children section.
143
ONS. Partner abuse in detail – Appendix tables - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk): Data year ending March 2018: Table
4.12.
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to victims of crime by relevant organisations. The rights extend to a parent or guardian
of the victim if the victim is under 18 years of age, or a nominated family spokesperson
if the victim has a mental impairment or has communication needs including where this
has arisen as a result of the offence. Which rights apply is circumstance dependent
(such as reporting to the police or identifying a suspect who is subsequently charged)
however all victims are entitled ‘to be able to understand and to be understood’, ‘to be
referred to services that support victims and have services and support tailored to their
needs’ and ‘to make a complaint about their rights not being met’. Further information
can be found in the Victims’ Code published by the Ministry of Justice. Government
intends to place the key principles of the Victims’ Code into law in the Victims Bill.
227. Annex A presents a non-exhaustive list of agencies that victims of domestic abuse
and their families may come into contact with. The information sections below are to
assist those organisations exercising public protection duties and frontline
professionals so they can identify all the victims of the abuse, including children and
young people, and ensure that they receive support and protection tailored to their
particular needs.
228. It is essential that agencies identify and respond to all forms of abuse and all
victims. Given the complex nature of domestic abuse, a multi-agency response is
critical to identifying victims and their families at an early stage and before abuse
reaches a crisis point. This is in addition to understanding the necessary precautions
and response for crisis and risk management including cohesive understandings of
safeguarding needs by all relevant professionals. For details see ‘Chapter 7 – Multi-
Agency Response to Domestic Abuse’.
Risk assessment
229. Professionals who are trained to do so can use tools such as the Domestic Abuse,
Stalking and Harassment (DASH) risk assessment to help identify the level of risk an
individual is facing and to tailor their support accordingly.
144
The DASH risk tool is not a
definitive assessment of risk but provides for the identification and assessment of risk
based on structured professional judgment. Professionals using this, or other risk
assessment tools, should be alert to the risk to children as well as adults. It is essential
to identify changes, such as escalation in severity and/or frequency of abuse.
230. Risk assessments should holistically encompass specialist professional judgement,
survivor perceptions of risk, along with additional indicators relevant to minority
groups.
145
144
Police forces are in the process of adopting the Domestic Abuse Risk Assessor (DARA).
145
For example, ROAR LGBT risk assessment tool; Stay Safe East Disabled victims risk assessment; and SafeLives Young People’s
DASH risk checklist with guidance.
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Responding to children and young people
231. In responding to cases of abuse involving those under 18, child safeguarding
procedures should be followed as set out in the statutory guidance document, Working
Together to Safeguard Children (2018). Children and young people can experience
different forms of abuse, see ‘Chapter 2 – Understanding Domestic Abuse’.
Professionals should be mindful that young people may be reluctant to discuss
relationships or their concerns around abuse with adults. Additionally, young people
may be particularly ill-equipped to deal with certain practical challenges, such as
moving home to escape the abuse or managing their own finances.
232. Young people experiencing or perpetrating abuse in their own relationships need to
be supported in a way that is tailored to their needs, although they may often have to
rely on specialist services designed for adult victims
146
that are not always appropriate.
It is vital that young people who experience domestic abuse within their own
relationships are referred through a multi-agency risk assessment.
233. Children and young people should be offered support based on their individual
needs, with a range of interventions, so that each child is able to access the
specialised help they require. This could include access to psychoeducational support,
therapeutic services (for example, counselling) or specialist children’s victim support
workers or an Independent Domestic Violence Adviser (IDVA) who is able to work with
children and young people. A strengths-based approach to recovery, building on ‘the
resilient blocks in the child’s life’, has been shown to be effective in interventions for
children.
147
234. Professionals should be equipped to identify and respond to children and young
people experiencing domestic abuse, drawing on the range of support available, from
early intervention to crisis stage. Best practice responses involve an integrated
response which combines child safeguarding and high-risk domestic abuse expertise,
particularly in relation to risk assessment and safety planning. Further details on
responding to young people experiencing abuse can be found in the SafeLives Practice
Briefing, Respect Guidance ‘Work with young people’s violence and abuse’ and
Women’s Aid Good Practice Guidance for specialist services for children and young
people.
235. Professionals should recognise the dynamics, impact, and risk when responding to
cases of child-to-parent abuse. This may include, commissioning specialised local
child-to-parent abuse services or embedding staff, within a multi-agency ‘front door’
referral system, who are trained to identify and respond appropriately to both the child
and the parent victim. It is important that a young person using abusive behaviour
against a parent or family member receives a safeguarding response, which should
include referral to a Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub or local equivalent in the first
146
See Donovan, C., Magic, J., West, S. 2021. LGBT+ Domestic Abuse Service Provision Mapping Study. Galop, Domestic Abuse
Commissioner, Durham University.
147
Holt, S. et al. 2008. ‘The impact of exposure to domestic abuse on children and young people; A review of the literature’. Child
Abuse & Neglect 32:8.
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instance where a parent advocate may attend, followed by referral to Multi-Agency Risk
Assessment Conference if necessary, regardless of whether any police action is taken.
236. The Home Office intends to publish later this year updated guidance on child-to-
parent abuse. This guidance will include the recommended responses by police, health
professionals and social workers.
237. A trauma-informed response requires service providers to recognise the signs and
impact of trauma and to view people’s difficulties through a ‘trauma lens’, recognise the
increased likelihood of disengagement from standard services and the need for
trauma-specific services that take into account the need for relational trust and
collaboration to be at the centre of intervention.
148
Trauma-informed practice seeks to
address the barriers that those affected by trauma can experience when accessing
care and services and the role of such practice in early intervention and prevention can
be crucial.
238. For information on working across agencies to respond to children experiencing
domestic abuse see the section ‘Multi-agency working to safeguard children’.
Education
239. Education (including early years, childcare, schools and higher education) is not a
reserved matter and is within the legislative competence of the Senedd, therefore
information in this section only applies to England.
Early Years and Childcare
240. Early years providers can play a key role in preventing and detecting domestic
abuse. Early years providers have a duty under section 40 of the Childcare Act 2006 to
comply with the welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
statutory framework.
241. Early years providers must have regard to ‘Working Together to Safeguard
Children’ which requires them to ensure that they are alert to any issues of concern in
the child’s life and that they have, and implement, a policy and set of procedures to
safeguard children. This must include an explanation of the action to be taken when
there are safeguarding concerns about a child and in the event of an allegation being
made against a member of staff. The policy must also cover the use of mobile phones
and cameras in the setting, that staff complete safeguarding training that enables them
to understand their safeguarding policy and procedures, have up-to-date knowledge of
safeguarding issues, and recognise signs of potential abuse and neglect.
242. Early years providers must ensure that they have a practitioner who is designated
to take lead responsibility for safeguarding children within each early years setting and
148
Taggart, D. Trauma Informed Care for Young People, Research in Practice: Darlington: 2018.
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who must liaise with local statutory children’s services as appropriate. This lead must
also complete child protection training.
Schools and colleges
243. School and college staff are particularly important as they are in a unique position to
identify concerns early, provide help for children and prevent concerns from escalating.
School settings can also increase opportunities for sexual abuse and other harmful
relationships and behaviours to develop between peers.
149
244. Schools and colleges must have regard to Keeping Children Safe in Education
(KCSIE) statutory guidance.
150
This guidance provides that if a child has been harmed
or is at risk of harm, a referral should be made to children’s social care immediately,
and, if appropriate, to the police. The guidance includes an annex providing additional
information for staff on specific types of harm and abuse, including identifying and
responding to domestic abuse.
245. KCSIE is clear that schools and colleges should ensure that all staff receive
regularly updated safeguarding training so they can take appropriate steps to identify,
protect and support children. Training could include an exploration of domestic abuse,
including the dynamics of inequality, power, and control, which underpin domestic
abuse; the different forms domestic abuse may take and the impact of domestic abuse
on children and young people. This could cover both domestic abuse within family
settings as well as abuse perpetrated between children and young people either in their
own intimate relationships or towards their family.
246. Every school and college should have a designated safeguarding lead who
provides support to staff members to carry out their safeguarding duties and who will
liaise closely with other services, such as children’s social care and the police. The
lead should be a senior member of staff, full details of the role is set out in Keeping
Children Safe in Education. When considering the needs of children affected by
domestic abuse, schools and colleges may also want to consider their duties in regard
to children with special educational needs, including those with behavioural problems,
and refer to the SEND Code of Practice.
247. There is also guidance available on child-on-child sexual violence and sexual
harassment in schools and colleges in England.
248. The organisation Operation Encompass has created an information sharing protocol
between police forces and schools so that police can alert designated safeguarding
leads of domestic abuse incidents involving a child. Police notify schools about all
domestic abuse incidents before the start of the next school day so that appropriate
149
Brown, S., Redmond, T., Rees, D., Ford, S. & King, S. (2020). Truth Project Thematic Report: Child sexual abuse in the context of
schools. London: Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. [Online]. Available at:
https://www.iicsa.org.uk/publications/research/csa-schools.
150
In Wales, guidance for local authorities and governing bodies on arrangements for safeguarding children is under Keeping Learners
Safe.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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and trained school staff are made aware of incidents and can support the child
accordingly when they come into school. Whereas children’s social services only
intervene in the most serious cases, Operation Encompass enables every child to
receive support, regardless of whether the incident has been recorded as a crime. It
does not replace statutory safeguarding procedures. Where appropriate, the police
and/or schools should make a referral to children’s social care if they are concerned
about a child’s welfare. The Keeping Children Safe in Education statutory guidance
makes it clear that where there are safeguarding concerns about a child or young
person, the designated safeguarding lead and any deputies should liaise with the three
safeguarding partners and work with other agencies, in line with ‘Working Together to
Safeguard Children’.
249. More information on Operation Encompass is provided through the case study at
Box 6.1. All police forces in England and Wales now use Operation Encompass and all
schools are encouraged to sign up to the scheme.
250. Concerns about obtaining a school placement for their children may be a barrier to
victims escaping domestic abuse mid-way through the school year and seeking refuge
or safe accommodation, particularly if it means leaving the area or creating difficulty for
children to continue to attend a faith school. However, parents can apply for a place for
their child at any school at any time; and where there are places available, the child
must be admitted. In 2020, the Department for Education consulted on a package of
changes to the School Admissions Code to improve the in-year admissions process
and to minimise gaps in children’s education. This included specific proposals to
support the in-year admission of children of victims of domestic abuse. The new
School Admissions Code containing these provisions came into force in September
2021. The changes introduced new categories of children who must be placed vialocal
Fair Access Protocols (FAP) - the mechanism to ensure that unplaced and vulnerable
children are allocated a school place as quickly as possible to now include “children
living in refuge or other Relevant Accommodation” and children “subject to a Child in
Need Plan or a Child Protection Plan” (or have had one within the last 12 months). All
admission authorities are required to participate in their local FAP. This includes
admitting children referred to their school via the FAP. Other changes were also made
to improve the general operation of FAPs, including a requirement that children must
be allocated a place within 20 school days of being referred to the FAP. Together,
these changes will benefit all children who need to move schools in the middle of a
school year, but will be particularly beneficial to the most vulnerable, including those
who need to move schools as a consequence of domestic abuse.
251. Understanding healthy relationships is at the centre of a child’s compulsory
Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RHSE) in school. The topic ‘Being Safe’
supports children to recognise and report feelings of being unsafe and covers the
concepts of, and laws relating to, sexual consent, sexual exploitation, abuse, grooming,
coercion, harassment, rape, domestic abuse, forced marriage, ‘honour’-based abuse
and FGM, and how these can affect current and future relationships. Schools must
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have regard to the RSHE statutory guidance, and where their practices depart from
parts of the guidance which state that they should or should not do something, they will
need to have good reason for doing so. Government is supporting teachers to deliver
high quality, age-appropriate teaching on the subject and build an awareness of all
forms of abuse through teacher training modules available on GOV.UK.
252. There is no right to withdraw from RSHE, in which the topic of Being Safe is taught,
at primary or secondary school. The content of this subject is essential in supporting
pupils’ wellbeing and attainment and helping young people to become successful and
happy adults who make a meaningful contribution to society.
253. If a primary school chooses to teach sex education and a parent wishes to withdraw
their child, the head teacher must comply with their wish. For pupils at secondary
school the RSHE statutory guidance sets out that unless there are exceptional
circumstances, the parents’ request to withdraw their child from sex education should
be granted until three terms before the pupil turns 16. At that point, if the child wishes
to take part in sex education lessons, the head teacher should ensure they receive it in
one of those terms.
Box 6.1: Case Study – Operation Encompass
Case Study
A school’s Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) received an Operation Encompass call
related to one of their pupils. There had been an incident between the child’s mother and
her partner the previous evening.
The DSL spoke to the child’s class teacher who was then prepared for the young reception
child to behave differently from his usual self and was ready to offer support, whether
silent or overt, according to the child’s wishes.
The child arrived at the classroom with his mother and his teddy bear. His class teacher
would normally have either asked him to put the teddy in a safe place in the classroom or
asked him if he wanted mum to take teddy home so that he would be safe. She did
neither, recognising that his teddy had been brought for a reason. The child hugged his
teddy all day and even brought him to his speech therapy in school. His class teacher
quietly supported him all day, working next to him and letting him know she was there.
In being informed at the earliest opportunity about the child’s experience of domestic
abuse, the teacher and the school had been ready to react and support the child’s
individual needs.
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Higher education
254. Higher Education (HE) providers have clear responsibilities, including under the
Equality Act 2010, and should have robust policies and procedures in place to comply
with the law, and to investigate and swiftly address reports of violence.
255. The Government continues to work closely with Universities UK (UUK) on
implementing its Changing the Culture framework, which seeks to tackle violence
against women, harassment and hate crime. Underreporting of abuse and
domestic violence is common and it is important that providers break down barriers to
reporting and that students feel safe and able to report incidents of all
abuse, harassment, and violence.
256. All HE providers should discharge their responsibilities fully and have robust
policies and procedures in place to address harassment, making sure that HE is a
genuinely fulfilling and welcoming experience for everyone. Government would expect
providers to ensure that students continue to have access to support services, and
complaints processes, to ensure they are able to report any issues. The HARM
network (University of Lancaster) has developed and published its own policy guidance
for UK Universities, encouraging universities to have in place specific policies and
procedures to address domestic abuse to protect students and staff.
257. Any student who feels that their complaint has not been dealt with appropriately or
satisfactorily can escalate their complaint to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator
(OIA).
Social Care
258. Social care is not a reserved matter and is within the legislative competence of the
Senedd, therefore information in this section only applies to England.
259. In Wales, statutory guidance for local authorities and social care professionals is
provided under the Social Services and Well Being (Wales) Act 2014. This Act provides
the legal framework for improving the wellbeing of people who need care and support,
and carers who need support, and for transforming social services in Wales. Social
Workers in Wales must meet the Social Care Wales professional standards and Code
of Practice for Social Care Workers. Social Care Wales regulates and sets standards
for social work education training in Wales.
Children’s Social Care
260. Domestic abuse is the most common risk factor identified by social workers in
assessments and is a key driver of need for children’s social care.
151
Children’s social
151
In the year ending 31 March 2021, domestic abuse (concerns about a parent) remained the most common factor identified at the
end of assessment, recorded in 168,960 episodes of children in need (34% of all episodes where assessment factor information
was recorded).. ONS. Characteristics of children in need: 2020 to 2021
: Data year ending March 2021.
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workers are therefore an important partner both in the identification of domestic abuse
and the service response – whether by engaging families to keep children safe from
harm, supporting a safeguarding response to teenage victims or perpetrators of
intimate partner abuse, finding the best possible care when children cannot live at
home, or creating the conditions that enable children to thrive and achieve. Children’s
social workers play a crucial role within the wider multi-agency response, alongside
other safeguarding partners, statutory and non-statutory, such as the police, schools,
and health, to help protect children.
261. All social workers must meet Social Work England’s (SWE) professional standards
for registration (and initial training must prepare new social workers to meet these
standards). Professional Standards Guidance that social workers must use social work
theories, models, and research, alongside the evidence from assessments, in making
their professional judgements. In responding to domestic abuse, this might include
taking into account known risk factors associated with domestic abuse such as
pregnancy,
152
as well as co-occurrence with other factors, including adult mental ill-
health and substance use.
153
It is important that social workers continue to develop
their knowledge and skills through continuing professional development; this should
include an understanding of the different forms of domestic abuse. All social workers
are required to undertake development and training and upload a record of this to
maintain their registration with SWE. Training should be bespoke and specifically
address experiences and needs of children and young people with diverse identities
and backgrounds.
262. Once children and family social workers are qualified there are clear expectations in
Post Qualifying Standards (PQS) under the Children and Social Work Act 2017. The
‘Post-Qualifying Standard: Knowledge and Skills Statement for Children and Family
Practitioners’ sets out, for example, the expectation that child and family social workers
have the knowledge and skills to identify the impact of domestic abuse and work with
other professionals to ensure vulnerable adults are safeguarded and children are
protected.
263. Given the insidious and often hidden nature of domestic abuse, it is critical that
social workers employ professional curiosity to recognise patterns of behaviour over
time. Social workers should understand the stigma and fear that victims may have
when disclosing domestic abuse, including the fear by the non-abusive parent of the
possibility of having their children removed, should they disclose abuse. They should
also be alive to the ways in which perpetrators might seek to manipulate them or other
professionals. This stigma may be compounded by intersecting factors which may
create further barriers in disclosure. Social workers should have the ability to build
empathic and trusting relationships to seek to overcome this, understanding the
nuances of each situation and working with the victim’s wishes where possible.
152
Yakubovich, A, et al. Risk and protective factors for intimate partner violence against women: Systematic review and meta-analyses
of prospective-longitudinal studies: American Public Health Association: 2018: 108(7).
153
Humphreys, C, Regan, L, River, D, & Thiara, RK. Domestic Violence and Substance Use: Tackling Complexity: The British Journal
of Social Work: 2005: 35(8), 1303–1320.
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264. The statutory guidance ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ is clear that
practitioners should always take a child-centred approach, keeping the child in focus
when making decisions about their lives and working in partnership with them and their
families. Practitioners should see and speak to children, listen to them, and take their
views seriously, working with them and their families in deciding how to support their
needs. Special provision should be put in place to support dialogue with children who
have communication difficulties and/or language barriers.
265. Practitioners work most effectively when they are able to combine practical,
theoretical, therapeutic and systemic knowledge. Within the statutory system, social
workers must look to understand and consider the wishes of the child where possible.
266. Effective social work practice will build on an understanding that a full disclosure –
from an adult or child victim – can take time and trust. Practitioners should not focus
wholly on disclosure and recognise that its absence does not necessarily mean that
abuse is not occurring. This includes understanding the different effects domestic
abuse can have on children and how these effects present in their behaviour (set out in
the ‘Impact on child victims’ section in ‘Chapter 4 – Impact of Domestic Abuse’).
267. Efforts should be made to provide support for children to maintain and sustain
relationships with the non-abusive parent, and to direct the professional focus on
working with the whole family, including any children living outside the home, to help
them to be safe and recover. Social workers should view every family member as one
part of a complex picture. Practitioners should seek to understand the parent-child
relationships taking place, identifying the harmful impacts of the domestic abuse, and
recognising the links between a perpetrator’s abuse and their parenting, holding them
to account accordingly. However, careful consideration should be given to the safety of
the victim and non-abusive parent, and it may not always be appropriate or safe for
services to engage the perpetrator at the same time. Services should also ensure an
appropriate balance of responsibility on protecting the child involved and should be
clear that accountability for the harm caused lies with the perpetrator. It is important
that there are multiple channels of engagement to challenge perpetrators to identify,
understand and change behaviour. This should not sit solely within the criminal justice
system.
154
268. Social workers should also be aware of the ways in which perpetrators may attempt
to use the relationship between the non-abusive parent and child as a tool of coercive
control. They may also seek to manipulate the relationship between the child and the
non-abusive parent.
269. If children and families are to receive help at the right time, practitioners who come
into contact with them have a role to play in identifying concerns, sharing information
and taking prompt action. Detail on multi-agency working to safeguard children is
included in ‘Chapter 7 - Multi-Agency Response to Domestic Abuse’.
154
Department for Education. Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme, Whole Family Approaches to Tackling Domestic Abuse:
2017.
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270. The local authority and its social workers have specific roles and responsibilities to
lead the statutory assessment of children in need and to lead child protection enquiries,
including for children in families with no recourse to public funds.
271. Within one working day of a referral being received, a local authority social worker
should acknowledge receipt to the referrer and make a decision about next steps and
the type of response required. This will include determining whether:
• the child requires immediate protection and urgent action is required;
• the child is in need and should be accessed under section 17 of the Children Act
1989;
• there is reasonable cause to suspect the child is suffering or likely to suffer
significant harm, and whether enquiries should be made and the child assessed
under section 47 of the Children Act 1989;
• any services are required by the child and family and what type of services;
• further specialist assessments are required to help the local authority to decide
what further action to take;
• to see the child as soon as possible, if the decision is taken that the referral requires
further assessment.
Every assessment should draw relevant information gathered from the child and their
family and for relevant practitioners including teachers, school staff, early years workers,
health practitioners, the police, and adult social care.
272. The 2017 joint targeted area inspection (JTAI) on The multi-agency response to
children living with domestic abuse-agency response to children living with domestic
abuse, conducted by Ofsted, Care Quality Commission (CQC), Her Majesty’s
Inspectorate Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), and Her Majesty’s
Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP), advises on good practice in this area. The report
highlights to the importance of striking a balance between responding to immediate
individual crises, and developing long-term solutions for the family, including attending
to the overall needs of children. Understanding the emotional and psychological impact
of domestic abuse is extremely challenging, and social workers will draw on a wide
range of skills in assessing and responding effectively.
273. The JTAI also highlighted the need to:
• develop age-appropriate tools to understand the range of risks that children
face;
• adopt a systematic focus on the perpetrator’s behaviour rather than just focusing
on the victim as the sole solution; and
• help schools support victims and families, particularly given the protective role
education can play when the impact of domestic abuse is fully understood and
taken into account.
274. It is important for social workers to work in partnership with children, families and
professionals, being both authoritative and empathic and recognising the shame, fear
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and resistance that can surround domestic abuse. In doing so, they can draw on the
key features of effective practice, including using a strengths-based and systemic
approach, doing skilled direct work and reflective supervision and practice within their
organisation, such as group case discussions.
275. Successful whole family approaches utilise multi-disciplinary teams that can tackle
issues on multiple fronts and share responsibility and risk across professionals. It is
vital that social workers work effectively across all safeguarding agencies, including
health and police professionals, in response to domestic abuse, including joint visits
and approaches where appropriate, and adopt a timely flow of information to ensure
plans and interventions are aligned. This includes children’s and adults’ specialists and,
where available, local specialist domestic abuse services should be involved. A focus
on underlying issues including mental health and substance misuse is important in
order to break cycles of disengagement and reoffending.
276. The co-location of specialists can help facilitate multi-disciplinary working
particularly in places where families already know and feel comfortable. There should
be data-sharing within, and between, teams, including qualitative recording of families’
experiences of working with professionals. Separate workers for victims and
perpetrators and for adults and children, operating within the same team, can be crucial
to building families’ trust and ensuring safety.
155
Box 6.2: Case Study – Whole-system approach to safeguarding children
Case Study
Hertfordshire Family Safeguarding is an innovative whole-system approach to
safeguarding children and young people. It was developed in 2014 by Hertfordshire
County Council using Department for Education Innovation Programme funding. It is
currently being rolled out as part of the Department for Education’s Strengthening
Families, Protecting Children programme.
The approach places specialist mental health practitioners, domestic abuse workers,
probation officers and children’s social workers together in a Family Safeguarding team to
give direct help to parents. Hertfordshire started to adopt this practice model in 2015 and
have seen significant improved outcomes for children and their families.
Adopting a whole family approach makes it easy for parents to access all the support they
need from within one team, to help them deal with the complex issues of domestic abuse,
mental health and drug/alcohol abuse that harm their lives and those of their children. Staff
are also trained in Motivational Interviewing, a technique used to support behaviour
change, tapping into the strengths and resources within the family and wider support
network to ensure vulnerable children and families are safeguarded.
155
Department for Education. Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme: 2017.
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As a result, Hertfordshire saw the number of children on child protection plans reduce by
55% in just 30 months. Children’s exposure to harmful parental behaviours drastically
reduced, and at the same time their school attendance and life chances improved. It also
achieved a 39% reduction in the number of days children spent in care, for cases allocated
to the safeguarding team, a 53% drop in hospital admissions for adults in that family, and a
66% reduction in contact with the police.
This approach is one of three models that is being rolled out to 17 local authorities as part
of the Strengthening Families, Protecting Children Programme.
Adult Social Care
277. Victims of domestic abuse may also have care and support needs and already have
involvement with safeguarding agencies. Individuals, who have care and support needs,
may be particularly vulnerable to domestic abuse from intimate partners or family
members, who may use the fact that they have caring responsibilities as a cover for their
abuse. See sections on ‘Controlling or coercive behaviour’ and ‘Economic abuse’ in
‘Chapter 3 – Recognising Domestic abuse’.
278. The Care Act 2014
156
specifies that freedom from abuse and neglect is a key
aspect of a person’s wellbeing – this includes domestic abuse. The adult safeguarding
provisions in the Care Act 2014 apply to an adult who appears to have needs for care
and support (whether or not the local authority is meeting those needs), is experiencing
or is at risk of abuse or neglect, and, as a result of those care and support needs, is
unable to protect themselves from the risk of, or the experience of, that abuse or
neglect.
157
279. Under the Care Act 2014, a local authority has duties to:
• Make, or cause to be made, enquiries if it has reasonable cause to suspect that
the adult is experiencing or is at risk of abuse or neglect;
• Determine whether any action should be taken, if so by whom, and what that
action should be. All local authorities have safeguarding adult procedures to
support such enquiries and coordinate action with partner organisations;
• Arrange for independent advocacy to be available to adults who have difficulty in
taking part in the process, and where there is no other appropriate adult to
assist;
• Co-operate with other agencies;
• Establish a Safeguarding Adults Board for its area to provide assurance that
local safeguarding arrangements and partners are acting to help and protect
adults that are at risk of abuse of neglect. Safeguarding Adult Boards also have
156
In Wales, refer to the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014.
157
See paragraph 14.2 of the Care and Support Statutory Guidance.
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the authority to carry out Safeguarding Adult Reviews where an adult with care
and support needs has suffered serious harm, neglect, or death; and
• Establish and maintain a service for providing people in its area with information
and advice, including on how to raise concerns about the safety or wellbeing of
an adult who has needs for care and support.
280. As well as the specific statutory duties to safeguard adults with care and support
needs, local authorities have a number of general duties under Part 1 of the Care Act
2014. These include a duty to promote individual wellbeing and prevent needs for care
and support developing, by promoting individuals’ personal dignity; emotional, social
and economic wellbeing; participation in society; and control over their day-to-day lives.
In addition, there are specific duties to undertake a needs (and where applicable)
carer’s needs assessment. Both local domestic abuse and safeguarding adults’
protocols will apply to situations where a person, who has care and support needs that
prevent them from safeguarding themselves, is experiencing domestic abuse.
Safeguarding work should ensure that the person experiencing abuse has support to
access a choice of specialist domestic abuse services and that there is partnership
working with health and social care providers, housing and criminal justice agencies, as
well as specialist domestic abuse and advocacy services.
281. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (‘the 2005 Act’) also offers protections against
abuse, including domestic abuse, by creating the criminal offences of ill treatment and
wilful neglect of a person who lacks capacity under section 44 of the 2005 Act. The
offences may apply to anyone who has the care of the person, an attorney acting under
a lasting power of attorney or an enduring power of attorney, and deputies appointed
by the court. The offences carry a penalty of a fine, a maximum of five years
imprisonment, or both. The 2005 Act also created the Office of the Public Guardian
(OPG) which registers Lasting Powers of Attorney and supervises deputies appointed
by the Court of Protection. If finance or health and welfare concerns are raised with the
OPG about an attorney or deputy, it can investigate, working with other organisations
(such as local authorities or the NHS, where appropriate).
282. Potential indicators which may indicate that closer review and possible
investigation might be needed include a change in living conditions, inability to pay
bills, unexplained shortage of money, the unexplained loss or misplacement of financial
documents and sudden or unexpected changes in a will or other financial documents.
See also the ‘Economic abuse’ section. The Care and support statutory guidance acts
as key supporting guidance to the Care Act 2014, including setting out the role of the
Principal Social Worker and local authorities, and covering adult safeguarding
procedures. It is crucial that adult social workers receive regular, updated domestic
abuse training.
Health
283. Health is not a reserved matter and it is within the legislative competence of the
Senedd, therefore information in this section only applies to England. It is relevant to
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health professionals in England whether working within NHS commissioned services or
local authority commissioned health services such as 0 to 19 services, sexual health and
drug and alcohol treatment services.
Role and structures
284. Health professionals not only interact with victims of abuse regularly, but they may
also interact regularly with every member of the household including children. They are
trusted professionals who can often have access to patients on their own during times of
increased vulnerability, including during pregnancy for women. This access can result in
high volumes of disclosures of abuse. As a result, health professionals are ideally placed
to identify and respond to the needs of victims, perpetrators and children and must be
supported appropriately to do so.
285. Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs) frequently cite health professionals as those
with the best chance of taking action, and analysis of Domestic Homicide Reviews has
shown the significant role that health professionals play. Some victims may be long-
term patients which reinforces the importance of the relationship with health
professionals.
286. The Health and Care Act 2022 builds upon the work of voluntary Integrated Care
Systems, by establishing 42 Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), and requiring the creation
of Integrated Care Partnerships (ICPs) in each system area across England. This will
empower local health and care leaders to join up planning and provision of services,
both within the NHS and with local authorities, and help deliver more person-centred
and preventative care. The ICB will take on the commissioning functions of the CCG as
well as some of NHS England’s commissioning functions. It will also be jointly
accountable for NHS spend and performance within the system. This will put more
power and autonomy in the hands of local systems, to plan and deliver seamless
health and social care services. The ICP will be tasked with promoting partnership
arrangements, and developing a plan to address the health, social care and public
health needs of their population. The ICB and local authorities will have to have regard
to that plan when making decisions. Responding to and preventing domestic abuse
should be a strategic priority for both ICBs and ICPs and should be the responsibility of
all healthcare professionals working within a system. An ICS is expected to have a
joined up, collaborative response to domestic abuse across its geographical footprint.
287. In relation to roles and responsibilities:
• ICB senior leadership – will have statutory safeguarding responsibilities and be
subject to a statutory requirement to contribute to needs assessment for safe
accommodation. The Health and Care Act 2022 amended the NHS Act 2006 to
require ICBs and their partner NHS Trusts and Foundation Trusts to set out any
steps they propose to take to address the particular needs of victims of abuse
(including domestic abuse) when developing their 5-year Joint Forward Plans.
• ICPs – will have a statutory responsibility to develop a strategy addressing how
the health, public health, and social care needs, identified in Joint Strategic
Needs Assessments will be met by commissioners. Health and Wellbeing
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Boards should ensure that the health and care needs of those impacted by
domestic abuse, are reflected in their Joint Strategic Needs Assessments, so
that these needs can be addressed in local and system-wide decision making.
Enquiries
288. There is a need for all frontline staff in public services to be trained to make
enquiries into domestic abuse to ensure they are Making Every Contact Count.
158
To
provide the best support to victims of domestic abuse, it is essential that healthcare
staff have the tools and confidence required to identify potential victims, sensitively,
intervene at an early stage where possible, and refer on as appropriate. It is critical that
all health professionals understand the need to enquire about domestic abuse, and
how to do this safely, if they are concerned that a patient may be experiencing or
perpetrating it.
289. All staff working in the NHS must undertake level 1 safeguarding training as a
minimum, and this training includes domestic abuse as a module. Further training is
required for different occupational groups (Levels 2-3) and specific roles (Levels 4-5).
The intercollegiate documents for safeguarding children and adults provide clear
frameworks to identify the role and competencies required for all healthcare staff. The
frameworks also include specific detail for chief executives, chairs, board members
(including executives non-executives and lay members). Each level will have an
assigned minimum training requirement.
290. There is a range of guidance available and relevant to different healthcare settings
aimed at helping staff make relevant and appropriate enquiries in a sensitive manner
and at the right time. Department of Health and Social care (DHSC) provides online
domestic abuse resource for health professionals, a Quality Standard for Domestic
Abuse has been published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
(NICE) and the Institute of Health Professionals working in conjunction with the Royal
Colleges of Nursing and General Practitioners have developed a series of e-learning
and training modules. It is recommended that healthcare professionals follow the
specific guidance required for their practice and at the requisite level.
291. NICE guidelines state that being trained to respond to disclosure (Level 1) and how
to ask about domestic abuse (Level 2) is essential for safe enquiry about experiences
of domestic abuse and a consistent and appropriate response. Staff should understand
the epidemiology of domestic violence and abuse, how it affects people’s lives and
their own role, and that of other professionals, in intervening safely. Staff should be
adequately trained in recognising domestic abuse and how to respond in practice. They
should also be updated on local policy, protocols for identifying and assessing risk,
information sharing, and pathways to and from specialist domestic abuse services.
158
Agenda. Ask and Take Action: why public services must ask about domestic abuse: 2019.
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292. Health and social care service managers and professionals should ensure trained
staff in antenatal, postnatal, reproductive care, sexual health, alcohol or drug misuse,
mental health, children's, and vulnerable adults' services ask service users whether
they have experienced domestic abuse. This should be a routine part of good clinical
practice, even where there are no indicators of such abuse.
293. Findings from the Pathfinder Project
159
highlighted that health professionals feel
better able to enquire about domestic abuse if their Integrated Care System and
primary care networks supported the placement of Independent Domestic Violence
Advisors (IDVAs) or other accredited domestic abuse peer advocacy programme.
These specialised trauma-informed services might then be best placed to follow up
with any disclosures of abuse; a greater understanding of local referral pathways;
specialist recovery and peer advocacy services to which they can refer or signpost
victims, survivors or perpetrators dependent upon their unique situation.
294. Healthcare professionals should seek to create opportunities to speak to patients
without the presence of others to facilitate the opportunity for abuse to be disclosed.
Appropriately qualified professional interpreters should be used where needed to
mitigate the risk of reliance on those who may be attending with the victim. Health
professionals should not be relying on family members or partners for interpretation
services when enquiring about domestic abuse. There is a significant risk that people
experiencing domestic abuse may be less likely to disclose abuse with someone they
know in the room. It may increase the risk to the victim if they disclose abuse in front of
the perpetrator or someone who could share that information with the perpetrator.
Health professionals are often the only professionals with an optimal opportunity to
speak privately and safely with victims of domestic abuse and therefore should ensure
that where possible, only professional, and independent interpreters are used.
Speaking with victims alone can be difficult. For example, speaking with women alone
can be difficult within maternity services. Pregnant women may be accompanied by
their partners, family members or friends in attending antenatal appointments or
making ultrasound scan visits. Whilst this is challenging, considering domestic abuse
can start or exacerbate during pregnancy seeking to create opportunities for private
discussion can be crucial. See ‘Pregnancy’ section in ‘Chapter 5 – Different
experiences, needs and related considerations’.
295. Recognising the increase in remote healthcare assessments, guidance has been
developed on routine enquiry within ‘virtual’ health settings. This guidance sets out
steps to help health professionals identify and respond to those who may be at risk,
and it can be applied to many areas where routine enquiries occur, for example
maternity services as well as general practice.
Integrated response
296. To ensure joint local Health and Wellbeing Strategies, and the commissioning of
relevant health and public health services, meet the needs of the local population, local
159
See Pathfinder Tooklit. 2020.
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health and public health partners should work together. This can be achieved through
the Health and Wellbeing Board, to produce a needs assessment and this should
include consideration of domestic abuse victims. The CSEW for the year ending March
2018, found that 33% of victims experiencing partner abuse received medical attention
as a result of physical injuries and other effects. Around one in five partner abuse
victims reported telling healthcare professionals about this abuse.
160
Therefore, it is
vital health professionals are supported, via specialist training and partnership working,
to respond effectively and ensure victims have an effective non-criminal justice-based
support option available to them.
297. For different bodies with the Health and Care System, working together is crucial.
Care in the health service can be fragmented and patients may not have continuity of
care. In England, the Health and Care Act 2022 will increase integration between
health and social care and embed more power and autonomy in the hands of local
systems, to deliver seamless health and social care services.
298. Poor information recording and inadequate information sharing within the health
service and between health and other organisations are recurring themes in multi-
agency reviews of death and/or serious harm in domestic abuse cases.
161
A multitude
of factors hinder good recording and sharing - such as lack of training, lack of time, and
concerns about perpetrators seeing the information. Health professionals should record
and share information about suspected and actual abuse accurately to better support
victims of domestic abuse. ICBs may seek to adopt and embed the good practice
recommendations for recording and sharing information about domestic abuse in
health services from the Pathfinder consortium commissioned report on recording and
sharing information, where these are applicable.
299. Health services should be encouraged and supported to set up robust partnerships
with local domestic abuse specialist services and build referral pathways that are clear
and easily accessible, to ensure staff feel confident to respond to victims. The NHS has
a key role in providing care and support to victims of domestic abuse, including
children, and babies through a wide range of health care services, including services
for physical and mental health. Staff working in the NHS can help to identify victims and
potential victims and perpetrators of domestic abuse and provide, signpost or refer
them to appropriate support, for example to local safeguarding arrangements,
specialist domestic abuse services, and/or the local Sexual Assault and Abuse
Services Pathway for cases where domestic abuse has included sexual violence.
300. In line with the NHS key principle that care should be based on clinical priority,
health services should ensure that any and all victims of domestic abuse and their
children are not unduly disadvantaged in accessing physical and mental health
services when they are forced to move to new accommodation in a different area.
160
ONS. 2018. Partner abuse in detail – Appendix tables - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk).
161
Home Office. Domestic Homicide Reviews, Key findings from analysis of domestic homicide reviews: 2016.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
96
301. Working together across agencies helps to provide support for victims. This may
include attending local domestic abuse or violence against women and girls strategic
group meetings, Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARACs) and engaging
with Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA). For more information on
these see ‘Chapter 7 – Multi-Agency Response to Domestic Abuse’.
302. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published its Quality
Standard for Domestic Abuse in March 2016.
162
This includes identifying and
supporting people experiencing domestic abuse, as well as referring to specialist
services for those perpetrating domestic abuse. It also covers children and young
people (under 16) who are living with/experiencing domestic abuse.
303. Health professionals can refer to the Pathfinder toolkit as good practice, taking an
integrated healthcare response to domestic abuse, and a systematic approach to
transforming the health sector’s response to domestic abuse. The toolkit combines all
elements of evidence-based good practice, this includes:
• partnership working across health and specialist services;
• specialist interventions such as the IRIS programme in general practices;
• Domestic Abuse Coordinators and IDVAs in acute and mental health settings;
• sustainable specialist training, policies and procedures; and
• accurate data collection and information sharing.
304. The model works across acute, mental health and general practice settings, so that
all victims have access to the support they need and further harm can be prevented.
Early qualitative findings from the independent evaluation of Pathfinder
163
underscored
the value of the whole-health model in creating the opportunities and pathways needed
so that victims could find safety.
305. A whole-health model response to domestic abuse goes beyond training and stand-
alone interventions. It requires a change in the culture of health services and
partnership working with specialist domestic abuse services. Key to implementing
these changes is monitoring and accountability. A coordinated and systemic approach
lies at the heart of this work and is critical in ensuring sustainability and a safer and
more effective response to domestic abuse.
306. The Inter-Collegiate and Agency Domestic Violence Abuse (INCADVA) forum is a
policy forum which brings together the expertise and knowledge of national health and
social care bodies, medical royal colleges and the domestic abuse sector. INCADVA
162
NICE also covers Wales,however, in this context NICE is interacting with a devolved health service that is under differing legislative
duties, and this needs to be considered by professionals.
163
Pathfinder was a 3-year fixed-term pilot project that brought together expertise and funding for specialist domestic abuse
interventions to embed a ‘Whole Health’ approach to domestic abuse in 8 sites across England. The project ended in March 2020
and was led by Standing Together in partnership with four expert partners Against Violence and Abuse (AVA), Imkaan, IRISi and
SafeLives.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
97
have recommended a list of actions to highlight the vital role of the healthcare system
in responding to domestic abuse, including:
• Implementing the IRIS
164
(Identification and Referral to Improve Safety)
Programme. IRIS is an evidence-based intervention to improve the general
practice response to domestic abuse through training, support to practice teams
and having a DA specialist embedded in practices. It is nationally recognised as
best practice and has informed NICE guidance.
• The co-location of specialist Health IDVAs (Independent Domestic Violence
Advisors) within health settings. A SafeLives report A Cry for Health
165
provides
extensive evidence around the benefits of this intervention in acute hospitals
and other studies find similar results when specialists are located in mental
health settings.
• The establishment of a Domestic Abuse Coordinator and the implementation of
a Domestic Abuse Champions Network. These have been core elements of the
good practice that has emerged as part of the Pathfinder project.
• Ensuring that victims have priority and timely access to specialist mental health
support services, which are adequately and consistently funded, and available
across the country to all victims, regardless of their immigration status.
166
• Long-term public health messaging to challenge public attitudes to domestic
abuse.
• Representation from mental health services on advisory panels, in addition to
the wider health service representation.
307. In December 2021, the Department of Health and Social Care published the Vision
for the Women’s Health Strategy for England, to be followed with the publication of the
strategy. The Vision set out the overarching ambition of improving the health and
wellbeing of women and girls in England based on the life course approach. The
Strategy will set out actions both on issues that only affect women and girls, and on
issues that affect everyone but which have sex-based differences in prevalence,
experience or outcomes. It will detail delivery plans against the themes (women’s
voices, healthcare policies and services, information and education, health in the
workplace, research evidence and data) and against specific health needs and
conditions.
308. Pharmacies also play a role in providing community based support to victims of
domestic abuse, for example, the Home Office funds the Ask for ANI ‘Action Needed
164
See About the IRIS programme - IRISi.
165
SafeLives, A cry for health: Why we must invest on domestic abuse services in hospitals. 2016.
166
Charges for people who are not ordinarily resident in the UK in respect of relevant NHS services in England is set out in the National
Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations. Treatment for physical or mental condition caused by domestic abuse is
free of charge to everyone.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
98
Immediately’ codeword scheme which allows victims of domestic abuse to ask for ‘ANI’
and access emergency support from the safety of their local pharmacy.
Housing
309. Housing is not a reserved matter and is within the legislative competence of the
Senedd, therefore information in this section only applies to England.
Role and approach
310. Alternative housing options, whether refuges, social housing, or private
accommodation
167
, are key to ensuring victims are able to escape domestic abuse,
and factor strongly in a victim’s decision making about whether they stay or leave a
perpetrator. As the majority of domestic abuse is perpetrated at home
168
, housing
providers can play a unique role in supporting victims of abuse who are their tenants
and reporting perpetrators where appropriate. Some local authorities offer sanctuary
schemes and support for victims to stay in their own home where it is safe to do so.
Housing services may consider re-housing the perpetrator in certain circumstances
rather than the victim.
311. It is vital that housing providers are able to recognise and respond to the signs of
domestic abuse. A report by SafeLives identified the risk of misdiagnosing the effects
of domestic abuse as Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB).
169
Housing providers should
employ professional curiosity when faced with all cases, even if domestic abuse is not
immediately suspected. Abuse may manifest as multiple moves in quick succession; a
refusal to let housing officers into the property; neighbour complaints or damage to
property. Housing officers should recognise the impact of wrongly criminalising victims
in such instances and consider safety planning and specialist support for the victim if
action is taken against the perpetrator.
312. The Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance (DAHA) is a partnership that has established
the first domestic abuse accreditation for housing providers. It aims to improve the
housing sector’s response to domestic abuse through the introduction and adoption of
an established set of standards and an accreditation process. The DAHA has produced
a toolkit which sets out the steps that housing providers should take to become
accredited.
313. In addition, the DAHA has led the introduction of a Whole Housing Approach to
domestic abuse in partnership with groups that include Surviving Economic Abuse and
Safer London. The programme is being piloted in three local areas (London ‘three
boroughs’, Cambridgeshire and Stockton). The programme aims to raise awareness of
domestic abuse within all housing sectors and improve outcomes for victims so they
167
This is a non-exhaustive list, depending on an individual’s circumstances different options may be available.
168
HMICFRS. Increasingly everyone’s business: A progress report on the police response to domestic abuse: 2015.
169
SafeLives. Safe at Home: The case for a response to domestic abuse by housing providers: 2018.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
99
can achieve stable housing and live safely. It recognises the diversity in both the
housing needs of victims and the approaches required across different tenures,
including social and private renting, and privately owned, to identify how they can be
part of an effective response.
Homelessness and domestic abuse victims’ priority need for accommodation
314. Many victims of domestic abuse must leave their homes and the area where they
live to escape abuse.
315. Victims who are homeless as a result of domestic abuse have priority need for
accommodation. This means local housing authorities have a duty to secure
accommodation for victims of domestic abuse if they are homeless through no fault of
their own and eligible for assistance. The accommodation provided must be suitable in
relation to the applicant and to all members of their household who normally reside with
them, or who might reasonably be expected to reside with them.
316. The Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities
170
states that in
formulating their homelessness strategies, housing authorities should consider the
particular needs that victims of domestic abuse have for safe accommodation, this
could include implementing a reciprocal agreement with other housing authorities and
providers to facilitate out of area moves for victims of domestic abuse. There are a
number of potential accommodation options for victims of domestic abuse, and housing
authorities will need to consider which are most appropriate for each person on a case-
by-case basis, taking into account their circumstances and needs.
317. Housing authorities should consider whether mixed sex accommodation is
appropriate and seek to provide single sex accommodation where this is required.
Some women may feel safer in single sex accommodation. The Equality Act 2010
allows for the provision of separate or single sex services in certain circumstances.
Limiting a service on the basis of sex (and in certain circumstances gender
reassignment) must be a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. The
Equality and Human Rights Commission acknowledges that a legitimate aim could be
for reasons of privacy, decency, to ensure health and safety or to prevent trauma. An
example of this could include imposing such limitations on access by males, or by a
transgender person whether or not they have a Gender Recognition Certificate, to a
domestic abuse refuge offering emergency accommodation to female victims. For full
details see the guidance Separate and single-sex service providers: a guide on the
Equality Act sex and gender reassignment provisions.
318. It is important that victims have spaces where they feel safe and can be provided
with trauma-informed support. Safe accommodation settings such as domestic abuse
170
In Wales, refer to Part 2 of the Housing (Wales) Act 2014.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
100
refuges should be single sex
171
, secure and dedicated to supporting victims of
domestic abuse. The approach to the services and support commissioned should
consider the particular needs of all victims in the area and authorities must consider
their Public Sector Equality Duty under the Equality Act 2010. All support within safe
accommodation should be delivered by knowledgeable and/or experienced specialist
providers, charities, and other voluntary organisations whose purpose is to provide
support to victims of domestic abuse. This support should meet the Department for
Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) Quality Standards, Women’s Aid
National Quality Standards, Imkaan Accredited Quality Standards, Male Domestic
Abuse Network Service Standards or DAHA Accreditation Framework for Housing
Providers.
319. Local authorities have a duty under Part 4 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (‘the
2021 Act’) to provide safe accommodation. This duty requires that tier one authorities
assess the need for accommodation-based support for victims of domestic abuse in
their area and use the funding provided through Part 4 of the 2021 Act to supply this.
Tier one and tier two local authorities need to work together to establish what support is
needed at safe accommodation in the local authority area.
320. The duty under Part 4 of the 2021 Act is a strategic duty rather than a duty owed to
individuals. Where an eligible applicant approaches their local authority as homeless as
a result of being a victim of domestic abuse, the local authority has a duty to treat the
household as priority need for homeless assistance, and provide suitable
accommodation as set out under Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 and in the
Homelessness Code of Guidance, rather than a duty to secure safe accommodation
that meets the Part 4 requirements. Housing authorities must consider all of a
household’s circumstances and needs when determining the suitability of
accommodation, including personal safety, and local authorities may review
placements on request. The regulations and statutory guidance on relevant
accommodation provides information for housing authorities securing suitable
accommodation for victims who are homeless as a result of domestic abuse. There is
further information on Part 4 of the 2021 Act below.
321. Housing authorities should also consider the needs of people who are rough
sleeping or hidden homeless in formulating their approach to housing domestic abuse
victims. Annual statutory homelessness statistics for 2020 to 2021 show that 31,180
households (12%) recorded ‘domestic abuse’ as their main reason for being homeless
or threatened with homelessness.
172
Where victims are rough sleeping, the risk of
further abuse on the streets is significant.
171
It is permitted to provide single sex accommodation and services in safe accommodation. See the statutory guidance on
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/domestic-abuse-support-within-safe-accommodation/delivery-of-support-to-victims-of-
domestic-abuse-in-domestic-abuse-safe-accommodation-services.
172
Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (now the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities).
Statutory Homelessness Annual Report, 2020-21, England
: 2020.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
101
Housing response
322. Housing providers should have policies in place to identify and respond to domestic
abuse. The White Paper on Social Housing sets out that the Regulator of Social
Housing will make clear that landlords should have a policy setting out how they tackle
issues surrounding domestic abuse, working with other agencies as appropriate.
173
323. Victims can experience many incidents of abuse before calling the police or
reporting it to another agency. Housing providers may be able to identify abuse at
earlier stages and should consider how they can best provide support to their
residents. By understanding the indicators of domestic abuse through training and
professional development, housing officers can increase their confidence to speak to
people experiencing abuse, risk assess and safety plan alongside them.
324. Housing providers should carefully consider the nature and effects of domestic
abuse with regards to the needs of victims, including tactics used by a perpetrator
which have financial and safety implications for victims. For example, research
identified impacts related to the fact that where a victim and perpetrator have a joint
tenancy or mortgage they will be jointly and severally responsible for any liabilities. This
may result in victims being liable for arrears or repairs when the perpetrator refuses to
pay – a form of economic abuse - or fearing for their safety if unable to change locks
without prior agreement from a landlord, letting agent or mortgage provider.
174
See
section on ‘Economic abuse’ for more information.
325. Safety should be at the core of the housing response to domestic abuse. Housing
authorities and housing providers should also be alert to the wider role they play in
ensuring victim safety. Procedures should be in place to keep all information on victims
safe and secure. In many cases, particularly where extended family members or
multiple perpetrators may be involved, perpetrators go to great lengths to seek
information on victims. The housing authority and providers should be alert to the
possibility of employees being, or having links to, perpetrators. Housing authorities
should not disclose information about an applicant to anybody outside the organisation
without consent. Authorities should consider safety when sharing information and
ensure information sharing is relevant, necessary and proportionate for the purpose for
which it is being shared, and that the lawful basis for sharing information is clear. In
some circumstances, it may be necessary to restrict access to cases where abuse is
disclosed to only named members of staff.
326. Housing authorities should work co-operatively with other local authorities and
commissioners to provide services to tackle domestic abuse. Local authorities should
173
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities will undertake a consultation on the impacts of joint tenancy law on
domestic abuse victims. This is in recognition of the fact that the current rules on joint tenancies mean that periodic and social
housing tenancies can be ended by either tenant, without the consent of the other. Victims who are in a periodic joint tenancy with a
perpetrator can therefore be vulnerable to the threat of being made homeless by perpetrators. The consultation aims to consider
ways to support victims and reduce the risk of homelessness.
174
Walker, SJ, Hester, M. Policy Evidence Summary 4: Justice, housing and domestic abuse, the experiences of homeowners and
private renters. Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance: 2019.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
102
assess the accommodation-based support needs of all domestic abuse victims,
including children as stated in section 57 of the 2021 Act. This includes ensuring there
is support specifically for victims with unique and/or complex needs, such as mental
health advice and support, drug and alcohol advice and support, as well as signposting
accordingly. Local authorities should also ensure that the appropriate and adequate
support within safe accommodation meets the needs of all victims including those with
multiple and complex needs and whose support needs may not be able to be met
within generic domestic abuse safe accommodation, such as victims with mental health
and/or substance misuse needs. See ‘Chapter 5 – Different experiences, needs and
related considerations’ for further information.
327. Housing officers and homelessness commissioners should be involved in multi-
agency working, including by being part of local safeguarding arrangements such as
Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hubs (MASH) or MARACs.
Safe Accommodation
328. Part 4 of the 2021 Act introduces a statutory duty on local authorities, placing
clearer accountability on local areas to ensure the needs of victims within refuges and
other forms of domestic abuse safe accommodation are met in a consistent way across
England. Under these duties, tier one authorities (county councils, unitary councils
outside London, and the Greater London Authority and the Council of the Isles of Scilly)
in England are required to appoint a Domestic Abuse Local Partnership Board to
support local needs assessments and local strategies.
329. Tier one authorities are required to effectively commission services based on a local
strategy informed by a robust needs assessment, and report back annually to
Government. The annual reporting requirement will help the Government and others to
monitor how the new duties on local authorities are working, understand where there
may be challenges and how the funding is being used, and help identify and
disseminate good practice. The Part 4 duty also requires tier two authorities in two-tier
areas (District Councils in areas with a County Council, and London Boroughs) to co-
operate with the lead tier one authority.
330. Under the duties, local authorities should consider the specific accommodation-
based support needs of all victims in its area, including those with particular protected
characteristics, and/or multiple complex needs. Relevant safe accommodation includes
refuge accommodation, specialist safe accommodation, dispersed accommodation,
second stage accommodation or other accommodation designated by the local
authority, registered social landlord or registered charity as domestic abuse emergency
accommodation.
331. Under these duties, authorities cannot provide support in ‘bed and breakfast’
accommodation
175
and support should not be provided in any shared, mixed sex
175
As defined in The Domestic Abuse Support (Relevant Accommodation) Regulations 2021.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
103
accommodation as this would not be in line with the descriptions of safe
accommodation in the relevant regulations or guidance. Where a victim is in this type of
accommodation and the authority identifies that they require support, the authority may
deem it appropriate to work with the housing authority to ensure that support can be
provided in the appropriate relevant safe accommodation. If a victim does not require
support in safe accommodation, then local housing authorities will need to continue to
comply with their duties under homelessness legislation in line with Chapter 21 of the
Homelessness Code of Guidance.
332. Refuge services are a core component of the housing response to domestic abuse
which provide a crucial form of provision for victims, including children, who are no
longer safe at home. However, some victims may not want to take up this option and
some can face challenges in accessing support. These may include victims
experiencing homelessness and facing multiple disadvantages related to mental
health, substance abuse and having a disability. In addition, those from minority
communities can also face challenges. Commissioners and providers should take an
approach that is mindful of different needs and experiences, how they may intersect as
well as any additional barriers and layers of discrimination faced by these groups when
planning and delivering services.
333. There is a need to ensure that all victims are able to access safe accommodation
irrespective of where they originally reside. Many victims fleeing domestic abuse will
travel across borders to seek help and move away from the perpetrator. Women’s Aid
annual 2017 survey found that over two thirds of women in refuges were from a
different local authority area.
176
The DLUHC has published statutory guidance relating
to Part 4 of the 2021 Act that makes clear that tier one local authorities must meet the
support needs of all victims residing in relevant accommodation including those who
originally present from outside of the locality. This guidance includes reference to the
appropriate quality standards to adhere to.
334. DLUHC has also produced guidance on improving access to social housing for
victims of domestic abuse who are in a refuge or other form of temporary
accommodation. The guidance encourages housing authorities to use their existing
powers to support victims to remain safely in their homes if they choose to do so. It
makes clear that housing authorities are expected not to apply residency tests for
victims who have fled to another district and sets out how they can ensure victims are
given appropriate priority for social housing. In line with section 79 of the 2021 Act, the
guidance requires local authorities and private registered providers of social housing to
ensure that victims of domestic abuse who have a lifetime tenancy, or who have had a
lifetime tenancy and have fled the social home to escape domestic abuse, retain their
lifetime security of tenure if the landlord grants them a new tenancy for reasons
connected with the abuse.
176
Women’s Aid. Survival and Beyond: The Domestic Abuse Report 2017: 2018.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
104
Local Criminal Justice Boards
335. An effective response by the criminal justice system is crucial in supporting victims
of domestic abuse and ensuring perpetrators are brought to justice. Local criminal
justice boards (LCJBs) are responsible for joining up local criminal justice agencies to
achieve common aims and objectives including reducing crime, bringing more
offenders to justice, and increasing public confidence. This can include activity to drive
forward the adoption of the Domestic Abuse Best Practice Framework. LCJBs could be
used by senior officers to monitor criminal justice responses to domestic abuse within
agencies that sit on the boards.
Policing
336. Domestic abuse related offences represent 18% of all offences recorded by the
police.
177
A review of domestic homicides and suspected victim suicides during the
Covid-19 pandemic found that over half of suspects (58%) were previously known to
the police as a suspect for any prior offending.
178
This review adopted a wide definition
of domestic abuse related deaths which included child deaths in a domestic setting,
unexplained or suspicious deaths, and suspected suicides of individuals with a known
history of domestic abuse victimisation.
337. Incidents of domestic abuse should not be seen in isolation; by its nature domestic
abuse involves repeat victimisation. Officers should consider the history and any
patterns of behaviour to understand any incident within its wider context. HM
Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMCIFRS) reports on the
police response to domestic abuse have indicated that there are a number of reasons
why domestic abuse cases may not result in prosecutions.
179
A significant share of
domestic abuse cases are withdrawn, with the victim not supporting police action. It is
vital to work with victims in a trauma-informed way to support them through an
investigation process and to prevent re-traumatisation. Victims may withdraw their
support for prosecution if they experience a lack of communication, empathy and
support. HMICFRS has noted a huge variation between forces in the proportion of
cases discontinued on the grounds that “victim does not support police action”. This
varied across forces from less than 10 to over 40 per 100 domestic abuse related
offences in the year ending March 2020.
180
The quality of the policing response plays a
significant part in victim engagement in domestic abuse cases and can impact charge
and conviction rates. The Government has committed to review the data in cases
closed due to evidential difficulties or where the victim does not support police action.
338. The report found that delays in investigations, lack of contact and lengthy court
processes more generally result in high levels of disengagement. Access to justice,
177
ONS. Domestic abuse prevalence and trends, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk): data year ending
March 2021.
178
Bates, l., Hoeger, K, Stoneman M-J, Whitaker, A. Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice Programme (VKPP): Domestic Homicides
and Suspected Victim Suicides During the Covid-19 Pandemic 2020-2021: Home Office, VKPP, NPCC, College of Policing: 2021.
179
HMICFRS reports, including update reports, on domestic abuse are published on the organisation’s website.
180
HMICFRS. Police response to violence against women and girls: Final inspection report: 2021.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
105
including long waiting times between a charge being made and a case being heard at
court increase the risk of victims disengaging with the process.
339. The College of Policing has developed guidance – Authorised Professional Practice
– which sets out principles and standards for officers in investigating domestic abuse.
The guidance outlines the duty of officers to take positive action in all stages of the
police response to domestic abuse to ensure that victims, including children are
protected; criminal proceedings are pursued where appropriate; and that there is
effective perpetrator management where criminal proceedings are not possible or
suitable.
181
340. Relevant CPS guidance on domestic abuse and associated offences is referenced
in the ‘Crown Prosecution Service’ section where topics related to police investigation
are covered and are therefore applicable to officers as well as other professionals
working on domestic abuse within the criminal justice system.
341. Controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or familial relationship has been a
criminal offence since 2015 by virtue of section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015
where the requirements of the offence are set out. Further information can be found in
the statutory guidance issued to police and criminal justice agencies under section 77
of that Act about investigations of this offence. This guidance should be considered
when investigating the offence. See also section on ‘Controlling or coercive behaviour’.
342. The police should adopt a trauma-informed and trauma-responsive approach
182
and
take into account the following when supporting victims of domestic abuse:
• An awareness of protected characteristics (as set out in section 4 of the Equality
Act 2010) and any vulnerabilities that may impact on the victim and how they
seek support, avoiding making assumptions based on stereotypes;
• Barriers that may exist for victims to disclose information or seek support
183
, for
example: fear of the perpetrator; fear that they may not be believed; pressures
from family or the community – in particular for those victims in rural or closed
communities; negative past experiences with the police or services; a desire to
make the relationship work; economic barriers; communication difficulties; not
wanting to uproot the children or fear that the children will be taken into care;
fear of repercussions related to insecure immigration status;
• Building trust can help people to disclose;
• An awareress that domestic abuse can involve the wider family particularly
where there is ‘honour’-based abuse or wider caring responsibilities;
181
For more information also see the College of Policing and NPCC’s Policing Violence Against Women and Girls National framework
for delivery: Year 1 and Outcomes and performance network.
182
See ‘Impact on Victims’ section in ‘Chapter 4 - Impact of Domestic Abuse’ for further information on a trauma-informed response.
183
These barriers can intersect with barriers resulting from a victim’s protected characteristic(s). See Chapter 5 ‘Different experiences,
needs and related considerations’.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
106
• Carry out safe enquiry, follow risk identification, assessment and management
procedures, including the need to refer to an IDVA or Multi-Agency Risk
Assessment Conference (MARAC),
• Make referrals to local specialist support services as appropriate;
• Follow local procedures for safeguarding adults and children, including multi-
agency safeguarding arrangements set out by the chief officer of police as a
statutory safeguarding partner;
• Recognise the impact ‘first responders’ may have on children who see, hear or
experience the abuse in a domestic abuse incident, ensuring premises are
consistently checked for the presence of children (whether or not in the room
during an incident) and children are actively listened to. Responders should also
be trained to recognise vulnerability and signs of abuse during a call for service
for domestic abuse. See the section on ‘Education’
for more information on
Operation Encompass;
• Act to safeguard children by making a referral to social services where there are
concerns about a child’s welfare;
• Consider whether the perpetrator also needs a response that offers the chance
to change their behaviour and holds them to account if they continue with their
abuse. The Respect Phoneline can offer advice and information to perpetrators,
their family and friends and to professionals, and can signpost to local Respect
accredited programmes;
• Investigate the history of the relationship (as well as the perpetrator’s history
with other victims) and recognise the dynamics including any power imbalance;
• Where substance misuse has occurred, be alert to the more complex dynamics
that might exist meaning the abuse is not necessarily ‘alcohol-related violence’
and that the violence may be symptomatic of domestic abuse;
184
• Record any crimes and any previous incidents and place a domestic abuse flag
on them, following National Crime Recording Standards. Consider that
behaviours such as harassment and stalking may from part of the abuse but be
recorded as separate offences;
• Consider whether an application under the ‘Right to Know’ route of the Domestic
Violence Disclosure Scheme, also known as ‘Clare’s Law’, needs to be made;
• Provide the victim with accessible information about the criminal justice process
and their rights under the Victims’ Code;
• Be aware that perpetrators may raise counter or cross-allegations when
reported by victims of abuse, and care should be taken to assess evidence and
correctly identify victims and perpetrators, which can include family members.
185
184
See, for example, Ward, M, et al. Domestic Abuse and Change Resistant Drinkers: preventing and reducing the harm. Learning
lessons from Domestic Homicide Reviews: Alcohol Concern, Against Violence & Abuse (AVA): 2016.
185
For further information, see for example Respect’s 2019 Toolkit for Work with Male Victims of Domestic Abuse.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
107
In the event that a victim of abuse is reported as being a perpetrator by the real
perpetrator, it is important that the victim should still be given support as a
victim.
• Ensure victims of domestic abuse have an interpreter
186
(including BSL for deaf
victims) or other communication accessibility support where required;
• Where appropriate, provide an intermediary (if the victim is particularly
vulnerable)
187
or allow someone to sit with the victim during police interviews.
This could be a supportive friend or family member (who is not a potential
witness); this person should not be the child of the victim or perpetrator or any
individual or member of the community where there is risk that they may
disclose information shared by the victim with the perpetrator; and
• Consider and follow your force’s positive action policy.
Link between victimisation and offending
343. Police and other criminal justice agencies should recognise the part domestic abuse
can play in offending behaviour; this link is highlighted in the Ministry of Justice’s
Female Offender Strategy. The response from criminal justice agencies to those
affected can be pivotal in identifying domestic abuse at the earliest opportunity, offering
support, and helping to break the cycle of victimisation and offending.
344. A range of offences may result from a victim’s experience of abuse, including:
handling stolen goods under threat of violence from a partner; possession of a
controlled substance belonging to an abusive partner; use of force against an abusive
partner or ex-partner; failure to ensure school attendance for fear of meeting an
abusive partner or ex-partner.
188
Agencies should always consider the possible context
of domestic abuse in female offending and emphasise a gender and trauma-responsive
approach for supporting women at risk of entering the criminal justice system. See also
the section on ‘Offending’.
Victims with insecure immigration status
345. Perpetrators of domestic violence can use insecure immigration status as a way to
inflict abuse on the victim, for example, by way of threatening to tell the police or Home
Office. When dealing with victims with insecure immigration status, police should treat
all individuals who report domestic abuse as victims first. See the ‘Immigration status
and migrant victims’ section for guidance as to what support victims with insecure
immigration status may be able to access.
186
The College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice on Domestic Abuse provides guidance on the use of, and selection of,
interpreters at the scene and during interviews.
187
As outlined in the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime in England and Wales (‘the Victims Code’), November 2020: victim, or
witness, might need the help of a Registered Intermediary because of their age, a learning disability, a mental disorder or a physical
disability that affects their ability to communicate. They are often the difference between a witness being able to give evidence or
not.
188
For further information on identifying perpetrators as victims see Respect Toolkit for work with Male Victims of Domestic Abuse:
2019 edition.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme
346. The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (‘DVDS’), also known as ‘Clare’s Law’,
as it was introduced following the murder of Clare Wood, by her former partner in
Greater Manchester in 2009, is a policy framework, which provides for procedures
enabling disclosure of information relating to previous violent conduct. Disclosures
under this scheme are made using the police’s common law powers to disclose
information to prevent crime, here by disclosing to A, information relating to abusive, or
violent, offending by A’s current, or former, intimate partner, B. In order to be lawful,
any such disclosure of information about B must be necessary to prevent crime, in this
case, harm to A. Any disclosure must be proportionate to that aim, and must be in
accordance with relevant over-arching legislation, for example the Human Rights Act
1998, the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act
1974. Police should consider the need to seek legal advice on the legality of using their
common law disclosure powers in the context of the DVDS on a case-by-case basis.
347. The DVDS includes two routes for disclosing information:
• “Right to Ask” is triggered by a member of the public (“A” or someone acting on
behalf of “A”) applying to the police for a disclosure; and
• “Right to Know” is triggered by the police making a proactive decision to disclose
information to protect a potential victim (“A or someone acting on behalf of A”).
The DVDS was implemented across all police forces in England and Wales in March
2014. Once brought into force, section 77(1) of the 2021 Act will place a duty on the
Secretary of State to issue guidance to chief officers of police about DVDS. Section
77(2) imposes a duty on chief officers of police to have regard to guidance issued
under section 77(1). Placing a statutory duty on the police to have regard to the
guidance, which means they must have a good, clear reason to depart from it, will
help raise awareness of the scheme, increase the number of disclosures made to
prevent harm and ensure that the scheme is used and applied consistently across all
police forces. There is existing non-statutory guidance on the DVDS scheme, this
guidance will be updated and re-issued as statutory guidance later in 2022.
Bail
348. Bail conditions are an important means of supporting the positive action of arrest.
They offer protection for the alleged victim and witnesses while criminal offences are
investigated or during criminal proceedings. If a suspect breaches bail conditions, they
should be swiftly held to account. Bail can be applied for both pre-charge and post-
charge:
• Pre-charge bail: Perpetrators may be released from police custody and subject to
pre-charge bail before being charged, if it is necessary and proportionate to do so. If
it is not necessary and proportionate to release on bail and there are no grounds for
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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further detention of the suspect, the suspect must either be ‘Released Under
Investigation’ or released with ‘No Further Action’ taken. If released on bail,
appropriate bail conditions can be applied if it is necessary in the circumstances, for
instance to protect the suspect interfering with witnesses.
189
• In domestic abuse cases, police should consider that a suspect Released Under
Investigation will not be subject to any conditions. This can lead the alleged victim
to feel unprotected, particularly if they live with the suspect and the suspect is able
to return home. Such circumstances can increase the likelihood of victims fleeing
their homes or withdrawing their support for investigations. These potential
outcomes should be balanced against the impact of release on bail with conditions
on the suspect.
• A suspect who breaches pre-charge bail conditions can be arrested and released
again on the same bail conditions. Protective Notices and Orders can also be used
where not already in place, further detail is provided at Annex D, which summarises
different protective orders that can be issued.
190
The Police, Crime, Sentencing and
Courts Bill will reform the law around pre-charge bail and includes provisions to
better protect vulnerable victims and witnesses.
• Post-charge bail: Appropriate bail conditions can be applied once a perpetrator is
charged to protect victims, witnesses and the public. Post-charge bail can be used
to protect victims and witnesses from the risk of danger, threats, pressure, or repeat
offences.
Voluntary Attendance Interview
349. A Voluntary Attendance (VA) Interview can also be used for progressing
investigations. It should be noted that no conditions can be placed on a perpetrator
when they attend a voluntary interview. Interviews may hinder the effectiveness of
investigations in providing suspects with prior notice and the opportunity to destroy
evidence (for example on digital devices) or speak to witnesses in advance. As such,
VA should only be used when appropriate as it may not afford enough protection for
the victim in cases of domestic abuse. Read further information on Voluntary
Attendance Interviews.
Protective Notices and Orders
350. Domestic Violence Protection Notices and Domestic Violence Protection Orders
(DVPNs/DVPOs) (governed by sections. 24-33 of the Crime and Security Act 2010,
189
The Government undertook a consultation on reforming pre-charge bail in 2020. The Government consulted on several proposals to
make sure we have a system that prioritises the safety of victims and witnesses and supports the effective management of
investigations; and the timely progression of cases to courts. The Government responded to the consultation on 14 January 2021
and a copy of the pre-charge bail consultation response can be found on GOV.UK
.
190
College of Policing. Post-arrest management of suspect and casefile: 2018. More information can also be found in the College of
Policing guidance on Identification, assessment and management of serial or potentially dangerous domestic abuse and stalking
perpetrators: Eight principles to assist forces (college.police.uk).
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
110
‘the 2010 Act’) can allow for protective measures to be put in place for a victim
following a domestic incident of violence or the threat of violence involving a
perpetrator aged 18 or over. These may be used, for example, where there is no
substantive criminal offence to prosecute. Breach of a DVPO is not a criminal offence
but enforcement action can be taken in a magistrates’ court as a contempt of court.
351. A DVPN issued by the police prohibits the perpetrator from molesting the victim, as
a minimum, which could include prohibiting the perpetrator from contacting the victim
by any means. A DVPN may also exclude the perpetrator from the premises if they live
with the victim. It also protects the victim and prevents further abuse until the matter
goes before a magistrate. The DVPN is followed up with an application for a DVPO in a
magistrates’ court within 48 hours of service of the notice (not including Sundays, bank
holidays, Christmas Day or Good Friday). The resulting DVPO, if granted, lasts for
between 14 and 28 days.
191
352. The 2021 Act introduces Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (“DAPOs”) and
Domestic Abuse Protection Notices (“DAPNs”). Once brought fully into force, DAPOs
will bring together the strongest elements of the existing protective order regime into a
single, comprehensive order to provide flexible, longer-term protection to victims of
domestic abuse. In addition to imposing negative prohibitions such as excluding a
perpetrator from a specified area, the DAPO will be able to impose electronic
monitoring requirements, and positive requirements such as attendance on perpetrator
behaviour change programmes.
353. DAPNs and DAPOs will initially be piloted in selected areas across England and
Wales for two years to test the effectiveness and impact of the new model ahead of
expected national roll-out. Separate guidance for the police on DAPNs and DAPOs will
be published ahead of the pilot. DVPNs/DVPOs will continue to apply in non-pilot areas
until, as expected, DAPNs/DAPOs are rolled out fully on a national basis. At that point,
the existing provisions in the 2010 Act relating to DVPN/DVPO will be repealed –
DVPNs/DVPOs and the guidance which underpins them will become obsolete. The
following paragraphs consider some of the other protective orders that can be issued,
further orders may be available dependent on the circumstances.
354. Other protective notices and orders include:
• Restraining Orders
• Stalking Protection Orders
• Forced Marriage Protection Orders
• FGM Protection Orders
• Non-molestation Orders and Occupation Orders
• Sexual Risk Orders
191
For more information, read the guidance on Domestic Violence Protection Orders.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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• Sexual Harm Prevention Orders
• Notification Orders
355. A table providing a summary of the orders is set out at Annex D and further details
can be found in the respective College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice and
CPS guidance.
Police and Crime Commissioners
356. Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs)
192
are responsible for issuing police and
crime plans which set out their priorities for the police force area during their period of
office. As part of the process of preparing the plan, PCCs arrange for the public and
victims of crime to give their views before it is issued. In preparing plans, consideration
should be given to those that may experience disparities in service outcomes or their
experience of crime and policing. PCCs will need to ensure they comply with their
responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010.
357. PCCs are responsible for holding their Chief Constables to account for the exercise
of the Chief Constable’s functions and the functions of the persons under the Chief
Constable’s direction and control. This may include setting clear expectations on
responding adequately and effectively to victims of crimes including victims of domestic
abuse related crimes incidents.
358. PCCs should consider how they work with other partners to provide an efficient and
effective criminal justice system for their local areas including in relation to domestic
abuse related crime and incidents to support prevention, early intervention and the
provision of services. This may involve bringing partners together through convening
and leading forums such as Local Criminal Justice Boards (LCJBs) and some areas
will have other partnership boards working alongside or reporting into the LCJBs. For
example, there are often boards, and other structures, with a particular focus on
domestic abuse and sexual violence. PCCs will play a leading role in these, given their
responsibilities in respect to victims of crime and commissioning local support services
for victims.
Crown Prosecution Service
359. The Crown Prosecution Service (the ‘CPS’) prosecutes criminal cases that have
been investigated by the police and other investigative organisations in England and
Wales. The CPS is independent and makes its decisions independently of the police
and Government. The CPS decides which cases should be prosecuted using the Full
Code Test, determines the appropriate charges in more serious or complex cases and
advises the police during the early stages of investigations, prepares cases, and
presents them at court. The CPS prosecutes criminal cases in England and Wales on
192
Including directly elected mayors with Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) powers, however the Police Reform and Social
Responsibility Act 2011 indicates some of the differences between the governance models in particular in relation to the Mayor’s
Office for Policing and Crime
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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behalf of the state against a defendant. The CPS works with partners to inform,
support, and serve victims and witnesses to help secure and deliver justice. The
Attorney General superintends the CPS, but the CPS is operationally independent. The
relationship between the police and CPS in relation to prosecution decisions is set out
in the Director’s Guidance on Charging.
360. The CPS does not decide whether a person is guilty of a criminal offence – that is
for the jury, judge, or magistrate - but it must make the key decision of whether a case
should be put before a court. Every charging decision is based on the same two-stage
test outlined in the Code for Crown Prosecutors:
• Does the evidence provide a realistic prospect of conviction? That means,
having heard the evidence, is a court more likely than not to find the defendant
guilty?
• Is it in the public interest to prosecute? That means asking questions including
how serious the offence is, the impact on communities and whether prosecution
is a proportionate response.
361. Cases involving domestic abuse are regarded as particularly serious by the CPS
given the abuse of trust involved. The CPS recognises the importance of
understanding the barriers that victims may face in reporting and accessing justice. The
CPS recognises the difficult decision victims may have to take before they report abuse
and the vulnerable position many face. There may be an ongoing threat to the safety of
victims as their life maybe closely intertwined with that of the perpetrator, for example,
they may have dependents and they may live, or have lived, together.
362. CPS legal guidance and training to prosecutors on handling cases of domestic
abuse applies to all victims, and sets out handling on all aspects of offending related to
domestic abuse including recognising the lasting trauma that victims and their
extended families may face and reminding prosecutors that abuse can comprise
controlling or coercive behaviour and can be psychological, physical, sexual, economic
and emotional. Wider CPS guidance on offences including controlling or coercive
behaviour; stalking and harassment; cybercrime; and ‘honour’-based abuse and forced
marriage can also be relevant to domestic abuse cases.
363. The CPS works closely with the police to build the strongest possible case in order
to bring offenders to justice and is committed to taking all practicable steps to help
victims through the often difficult experience of becoming involved in the criminal
justice system. Working with the police, the CPS has developed a proactive
prosecution approach, which requires prosecutors to assess as soon as possible
whether there is sufficient other evidence to bring a prosecution without the need for
the victim to attend court. This other evidence could include police body worn video
footage and 999 recordings where appropriate.
Victim’s Right to Review scheme
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364. Both the police and CPS operate a Victims Right of Review (VRR) making it easier
for people to seek a review of a decision not to bring charges or to terminate
proceedings in eligible cases. The right to review police decisions is an entitlement
under the Victim’s Code and the police should make victims aware of this right when
providing an explanation for a police decision not to charge.
365. For both VRR schemes, there is a three-month time limit to make a request.
Reviews will be considered by a person independent of the original investigation and
decision. The police VRR involves one review stage, conducted by an officer at least
one rank higher than the original decision maker. The CPS VRR can include two
stages comprising a local resolution stage and, if necessary, review by the national
Appeals and Review Unit.
366. The national guidance on the police VRR is being refreshed and an updated copy
will be published later this year. Details can also be found on individual force websites.
Further guidance on the CPS VRR is available in the Victims Right to Review scheme
and the Victims’ Right to Review Policy and Guidance 2020. In addition, CPS,
alongside other organisations, have obligations under the Victims’ Code.
Domestic Abuse Best Practice Framework for Courts
367. The CPS, together with the police and Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service
(HMCTS) are leading efforts to implement a best practice framework for use across all
magistrates’ courts. The framework has been developed by identifying common
components from high performing courts and aims to improve the capacity and
capability of the criminal justice system to respond effectively to reports of domestic
abuse offending. The framework also serves to provide a level of service to victims,
which increases their safety and satisfaction in the criminal justice system.
368. The framework has identified common components including:
• A clear multi-agency/community approach which addresses risk management
and safeguarding procedures. Multi-agency fora enable participating agencies to
discuss the handling of domestic abuse cases ensuring all information is
provided in a timely, safe and efficient manner and the correct support is put in
place for the victim. Agencies should scrutinise their local data and put in place
mitigating actions to address any emerging issues;
• Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA) support ensures victims are
informed at each stage of the prosecution process, working with prosecutors to
support the victim;
• Trained, consistently deployed staff across all agencies (including judges); and
• In court services - proactive witness services/pre-trial familiarisation
visits/appropriate use of special measures. As part of this, in some areas, they
have considered fast tracking or expedited trial systems.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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369. Following the testing of the Domestic Abuse Best Practice Framework (DA BPF) in
three test sites, all sites improved their performance in respect of managing domestic
abuse cases, moving from being low performing areas to being in line with or above
national average domestic abuse performance. The framework was rolled out in the
magistrates’ courts in January 2019.
370. Regions all have strategic and operational groups, including Local Criminal Justice
Boards, which should drive forward adoption of the DA BPF in each local area. They
are being supported by a national implementation group – membership of which
includes representatives from HMCTS, Police, CPS, Victim Support, and specialist
domestic abuse support services.
Prison and Probation
371. The role of Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) is to supervise
sentences given by the Courts either in custody or in the community, supporting people
to complete them successfully or taking enforcement action where they are not
complying. This includes tackling domestic abuse as part of HMPPS’ wider role of
protecting the public and reducing reoffending. HMPPS works closely with a variety of
other agencies, to manage the risks perpetrators pose and to ensure that risk
management plans address the safety and wellbeing of victims, including children.
372. The HMPPS Domestic Abuse Policy Framework sets out the organisation’s
commitment to reducing domestic abuse related reoffending, the risk of serious harm
associated with it and to provide interventions to support rehabilitation. It ensures that
staff at all levels understand what is expected of them and take action to safeguard
adults and children at risk. It encourages staff to approach the issue with professional
curiosity in every case and sets out the principles of good practice in relation to working
with domestic abuse.
373. The Policy Framework outlines the arrangements for working with people whose
behaviours include domestic abuse, as well as those with convictions. The
identification of domestic abuse is not a one-off activity that occurs only at the point of a
court report or at the start of the sentence. Throughout the sentence, all staff need to
use an investigative approach, being vigilant and inquisitive in seeking out information
from a wide range of sources to inform an ongoing assessment of whether domestic
abuse features in current or previous relationships. Risk assessment requires an
analysis of all available sources of information and takes into account prior known
incidents of domestic abuse (e.g. police call-out information) as well as convictions.
Risk Management Plans must address all the identified risk factors and set out actions
to safeguard identified individuals assessed to be at risk of serious harm.
374. HMPPS provides advice to courts to support safe sentencing and work closely with
a variety of other agencies to manage the risks posed by those under their supervision.
Sharing information in relation to risk is already an expected element of all staff’s
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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practice. The Policy Framework details the expectations of multi-agency working in the
context of domestic abuse, highlighting the range of arrangements under which multi-
agency working is governed and individual cases discussed. Staff will need to be
familiar with local arrangements for Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements
(MAPPA), Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARAC), child safeguarding
case conferences, Integrated Offender Management (IOM) as well as familiarising
themselves with specialist voluntary sector domestic abuse agencies. Probation
practitioners and their managers should expect to work with a variety of other agencies,
to manage the risks perpetrators pose and to ensure the safety and wellbeing of
victims, including children. The involvement of other agencies and the need to share
information should form part of a Risk Management Plan and staff will need to consider
which multi-agency arrangements are likely to be the most effective mechanism for
each plan.
375. Where appropriate, perpetrators should be offered the opportunity to engage with
an offending behaviour programme and those who are eligible for HMPPS accredited
programmes should be referred. Those who are not suitable for an accredited
programme will be able to access alternative rehabilitative activities designed to reduce
reoffending. Interventions and accredited offending behaviour programmes need to be
carefully considered for those with a history of abuse, including whether mixed sex
groups are appropriate.
376. Abuse can continue from within prison through phone calls, letters, face to face
meetings, or through family members. Prison Offender Managers should assess
whether a prisoner presents a continuing risk while in custody and prepare plans to
manage and address the risks identified. A perpetrator’s release from prison can also
be a risky period for victims and Prison Offender Managers and probation practitioners
should ensure that issues arising in custody are fed into release planning. Ensuring
that all necessary information has been obtained to inform and assess the suitability of
the address and adequate accommodation planning is also key to ensure perpetrators
do not immediately return to victims, including children or other vulnerable adults.
377. HMPPS operates a Unwanted Prisoner Contact Service
193
that is available for
victims or third-party agencies acting on behalf of a victim and with their consent, to
stop unwanted contact from a prisoner including to stop domestic abuse perpetrators
contacting victims from inside prison, even where the prisoner is serving a sentence for
an unrelated offence. Contact with the service is made by telephone or email directly
by the concerned individual or third-party agency. The service can also provide victims
with approximate release dates and any concerns about release will normally result in
a report being sent to the holding establishment.
378. Victim safety in the context of domestic abuse covers both past victims and
identified adults or children at risk of becoming victims in the future. Given the
prevalence of domestic abuse, HMPPS recognises that some of the people they
193
Get support as a victim of crime – GOV.UK.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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supervise will themselves be victims of domestic abuse. As part of sentence planning
and risk management, staff will work together with local agencies, domestic abuse
services and specialist services to ensure the most effective way of achieving the
safety of those affected by domestic abuse.
379. Victims of perpetrators who have been convicted of a specified sexual or violent
offence and sentenced to 12 months or more in custody have a statutory right to
participate in the HMPPS Victim Contact Scheme. If victims have opted into the Victim
Contact Scheme, the expectations of the Victim Liaison Officer and case managers are
set out in the Policy Framework; the role of the Victim Liaison Officer includes informing
the victim about key developments in the perpetrator’s sentence such as if they are due
to be released from prison or, for indeterminate prisoners, updates on Parole Board
hearings. The probation practitioner should include the arrangements for informing the
victim of a prisoner’s release from custody as part of the victim safety element of their
risk management plan including in circumstances where the person poses a high risk
of harm to a victim who does not fall into the scheme. Further information is provided in
the Policy Framework.
Youth Offending Teams
380. Youth Offending Teams play a significant role in assessing and identifying both
victims and perpetrators of domestic abuse. The teams are often one of the key
referrers into children’s social care and play an instrumental role in delivering offence-
focused work around domestic abuse and providing learning on healthy relationships.
The general services they provide include:
• running local crime prevention programmes;
• helping young people at the police station if they are arrested;
• helping young people and their families at court;
• supervising young people serving a community sentence; and
• staying in touch with a young person if they are sentenced to custody.
381. Whilst the police are usually the first people to contact the youth offending team,
any agency can make contact and family members and friends can also contact them if
they are worried about a young person’s behaviour.
Criminal and Civil Justice System – Criminal, Civil, and Family Courts
Criminal courts and special measures in the criminal courts
382. Domestic abuse is dealt with under both the criminal and civil law. The two systems
are separate and are largely administered by separate courts. Criminal courts primarily
deal with offenders who have committed a criminal offence, from common assault to
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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more serious crimes such as murder. The criminal courts will take necessary steps to
ensure that victims and witnesses are able to give their best evidence in such
proceedings.
383. The Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 (‘the 1999 Act’) introduced a
range of measures that can be used to facilitate the gathering and giving of evidence
by vulnerable and intimidated witnesses. These measures are known collectively as
‘special measures’ and include the following:
• Screens to shield the witness from the defendant
• Evidence given by witnesses through live link
• Evidence given in private
• Removal of wigs and gowns by judges and barristers
• Visual recorded interview
• Pre-trial visual recorded cross -examination or re-examination
• Examination of witness through an intermediary
• Aids to communication
384. The CPS provides further guidance on special measures. The 2021 Act provides for
automatic eligibility for complainants of offences relating to domestic abuse to be
considered for special measures in criminal proceedings. Once fully in force, section 62
of the 2021 Act, will directly amend the relevant provisions in the 1999 Act. This
change will provide complainants with automatic eligibility for special measures as
intimidated witnesses (under section 17(4) of the 1999 Act). This will mean that they
will not have to demonstrate fear or distress to be eligible for special measures. Special
measures apply to prosecution and defence witnesses, but not to the defendant and
must be made through an application to the court. Witnesses will be automatically
considered as intimidated witnesses under the 1999 Act and can choose what special
measure(s) they would like the application to be made to the court for, however,
granting special measure applications is always a judicial decision.
Civil courts and special measures in the civil courts
385. The civil courts resolve disputes mainly between individuals or organisations. They
do not have a separate category of offence for domestic abuse, however, cases before
these courts involve a wide-ranging category from debt to those involving housing
rights, compensation, and contractual disputes. As in the other court jurisdictions, there
is recognition that perpetrators sometimes use the courts to continue their abuse, often
bringing victims back to court repeatedly, which can in itself be a traumatising process.
386. Section 64 of the 2021 Act, which was commenced on 14 June 2022, requires
Rules of Court to include provision enabling a court to make a special measures
direction to provide for victims or alleged victims of specified offences to be eligible for
special measures (for example, to enable them to give evidence via a video link or
behind a screen). It also requires the Rules of Court to provide for those who are
victims of domestic abuse or who are ‘at risk’ of being a victim to avail of special
measures in the civil courts. The purpose of the provision is to ensure that rules are
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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made setting out when and how special measures directions should be made in such
cases. Regulations
194
have been made specifying which offences are relevant for the
purposes of these rules. Whether any special measures are ultimately provided in a
particular civil case will depend on whether the court considers they would likely
improve the quality of the witness’s evidence, or a party’s participation in the
proceedings. Special measures might only be appropriate in certain civil cases and not
others, but the new rules require the court to consider whether a special measure
direction should be made.
387. Once brought into force, section 66 of the 2021 Act will also prohibit perpetrators
from cross-examining their victims in person and vice versa in specified circumstances
in civil proceedings in England and Wales. Such cross-examination in person can
serve to re-traumatise victims and prevent them giving their best evidence in court.
This will apply for example, where a party or witness is a victim of a specified offence
or there is a relevant injunction in place. The 2021 Act will also allow domestic abuse
victims to introduce evidence (for example a letter from a doctor or employer) of
domestic abuse perpetrated by a party to the proceedings towards a witness (or vice
versa) in order to qualify for this ban. Regulations
195
have been made specifying the
types of specified offence, protective injunctions and evidence that are relevant for the
purpose of prohibiting cross-examination in civil proceedings.
Family courts and special measures in the family courts
388. Family proceedings in England and Wales are dealt with in the family court or in the
Family Division of the High Court. The administration of these courts in England and
Wales is a reserved matter and is therefore the responsibility of the UK Government.
However, in England, the Children and Family Court Advisory Service (Cafcass) provide
expert advice and recommendations to the court on the interests of the child in both
public law cases as well as in private law cases where there are safeguarding risks,
including those related to domestic abuse.
196
In Wales, Cafcass Cymru is the key agency
tasked with looking after the interests of children. Cafcass Cymru is devolved and part
of the Welsh Government.
197
389. The family courts routinely hear cases involving alleged or admitted domestic
abuse in both public law proceedings – usually disputes between parents and the state
(such as care proceedings), and private law proceedings – typically disputes between
family members over child arrangements. A literature review conducted on private law
children cases draws attention to estimates that allegations or findings of domestic
abuse are present in between 49% and 62% of child arrangement cases.
198
194
The Special Measures in Civil Proceedings (Specified Offences) Regulations 2022 (legislation.gov.uk).
195
The Prohibition of Cross-Examination in Person (Civil and Family Proceedings) Regulations 2022 (legislation.gov.uk).
196
Cafcass provide resources for assessing domestic abuse targeted at Family Court Advisers.
197
Further information on Cafcass Cymru is available at: Cafcass Cymru | GOV.WALES.
198
Ministry of Justice. Domestic Abuse and Private Law Children Cases, a literature review Table 4.1: Brunel University London: 2020.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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390. The Family Procedure Rules 2010 set out the practice and procedure to be followed
in family proceedings. Practice Direction 12J, which supplements those rules, sets out
what the court is required to do in child arrangements cases where domestic abuse is
alleged or admitted, or there is other reason to believe that the child or a party is at risk
of domestic abuse. The welfare of the child must be the court’s paramount
consideration when making any child arrangements order.
199
The court must be
satisfied that any contact ordered with a parent who has perpetuated domestic abuse
does not expose either the child or the parent with whom the child is living to risk of
further harm.
391. The 2020 Ministry of Justice report Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents
in Private Law Children Cases raised concerns about the experience of domestic
abuse victims, including children in the family proceedings. The expert panel (the
‘Harm Panel’) considered over 1,200 submissions from individuals and organisations
across England and Wales, together with roundtables and focus groups held with
professionals, parents and children with experience of the family courts. Key themes of
the report include:
• The pro-contact culture - respondents felt that courts placed undue priority on
ensuring contact with the non-resident parent, which resulted in systemic
minimisation of allegations of domestic abuse.
• Working in silos – submissions highlighted differences in approaches and
culture between criminal justice, child protection (public law) and private law
children proceedings, and lack of communication and coordination between
family courts and other courts and agencies working with families, which led to
contradictory decisions and confusion.
• An adversarial system – with parents placed in opposition on what is often not a
level playing field in cases involving domestic abuse, child sexual abuse and
self-representation, with little or no involvement of the child.
392. In response, the Government published an Implementation Plan setting out
commitments to improve the experience of domestic abuse victims, including children
in private law proceedings.
393. This plan included a commitment to address the Harm Panel’s conclusion that
perpetrators sometimes use the family court as a way to continue their abuse, often
bringing victims back repeatedly, which can itself be a traumatising process. An order
under section 91(14) of the Children Act 1989 (‘the 1989 Act’) (also known as a barring
order) can be made by the court to require individuals to seek permission before they
can apply again for particular orders. The Harm Panel concluded in its report that this
power has not been used sufficiently. The Government has therefore introduced
section 91A to the 1989 Act, inserted by section 67 of the 2021 Act. Section 67 makes
clear that section 91 (14) orders can be made by the court when it is satisfied that the
making of a further application for an order under that Act, would put the child
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Section 1(1) of the Children Act 1989.
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concerned, or another individual, at risk of harm. Risk of harm includes risk of harm
from domestic abuse, including seeing or hearing it.
394. Once brought into force, section 65 of the 2021 Act will prevent perpetrators from
cross-examining their victims in person and vice versa in specified circumstances in
family proceedings in England and Wales. Such cross-examination in person can serve
to re-traumatise victims and prevent them giving their best evidence in court. This will
apply for example, where a party or witness is a victim of a specified offence or there is
a relevant injunction in place. The 2021 Act will also allow domestic abuse victims in
family proceedings to introduce evidence (for example, a letter from a doctor or an
employer) of domestic abuse perpetrated by a party to the proceedings towards a
witness (or vice versa) in order to qualify for this ban. Regulations
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have been made
specifying the types of specified offence, protective injunctions and evidence that are
relevant for the purpose of prohibiting cross-examination in family proceedings.
395. Section 63 of the 2021 Act provides for special measures in family proceedings. It
mandates an amendment to the existing Family Procedure Rules at Part 3A, to
automatically deem as “vulnerable” victims of domestic abuse for the purposes of
determining whether a participation direction should be ordered. Specifically, it requires
that rules of court must provide that where a party or witness in family proceedings is,
or is at risk of being, a victim of domestic abuse carried out by a party, a relative of a
party, or a witness, it is to be assumed that the quality of their evidence, and their
participation in the proceedings are likely to be diminished by reason of vulnerability.
An exception may be included in rules to cover instances where a person does not
wish to be deemed eligible for a special measures’ direction.
Protective Orders
396. Victims or other professional agencies, depending on the nature of the abuse, can
apply for a protective measure to protect a victim or a person who may become a
victim of abuse. Applications for injunctions – either non-molestation or occupation
orders - can be made to the family court and emergency injunctions can be ordered at
the judge’s discretion, without the perpetrator’s knowledge.
397. Courts can make protective orders of their own volition, to protect a victim or person
at risk, where statute provides for this.
398. A summary table of protective orders for victims of domestic abuse is at Annex D.
Jobcentre Plus
399. Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) employees are highly likely to come into
contact with victims of domestic abuse and staff undertake learning to be able to
200
The Prohibition of Cross-Examination in Person (Civil and Family Proceedings) Regulations 2022 (legislation.gov.uk).
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support customers. Each jobcentre has assigned domestic abuse points of contact who
have undergone training to identify and support the needs of anyone experiencing
domestic abuse and will work closely with local services to share knowledge and
signpost victims to additional, external support. Furthermore, the Tackling Domestic
Abuse Plan commits to piloting the Ask for ANI ‘Action Needed Immediately’ codeword
scheme in jobcentres (currently operating only in pharmacies), so that individuals can
make disclosures safely and access emergency support.
400. There are a range of measures that may help victims of domestic abuse, including:
• Victims of domestic abuse can be exempt from work-related requirements for up
to 26 weeks;
• The Destitute Domestic Violence Concession (DDVC) (see the 'Immigration
status and migrant victims' section);
• Advance payments;
• An exception to the policy of supporting a maximum of two children. The
exception applies to those third and subsequent children likely to have been
born as a result of non-consensual conception (which, for this purpose, includes
rape or where the claimant was in a controlling or coercive relationship with the
child’s other biological parent at the time of conception);
• Housing Benefit paid to a Universal Credit claimant (for domestic abuse victims
living in a refuge) is excluded from the benefit cap;
• Waiver of the Child Maintenance Scheme application fee;
• Dual housing support - if victims have to temporarily stay in alternative
accommodation but intend to return to their former home, they may be able to
receive the housing element of Universal Credit for both their usual permanent
home and the temporary alternative accommodation;
• Removal of the spare-room subsidy not applying to victims staying in exempt
accommodation;
• Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) - The DHP Guidance Manual highlights
individuals or families fleeing domestic abuse are as a priority group for DHPs;
• Alternative payment arrangements, including split payments (no information
about why the split payment request has been granted is given to the
perpetrator);
• A change to the claimant messaging within the Universal Credit service to
encourage claimants who have joint claims where there are children in the
household to nominate the bank account of the main carer to receive the
Universal Credit payment; and
• Support to make a new claim for Universal Credit if there is not one in place, or
to split an existing joint claim if the survivor has left the perpetrator.
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401. Jobcentre Plus staff should be aware that perpetrators may make vexatious
allegations of benefit fraud in an attempt to control and abuse partners or former
partners.
Employers
402. Employers have an important role to play in helping victims of domestic abuse to
remain in work, in the workplace itself, and to help victims access the support they
need through signposting to specialist services and raising awareness about domestic
abuse. All employers need to consider what action they can take in relation to this role
and their responsibilities. Employers continue to have a pivotal role as new ways of
working in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, including home working and hybrid
working, are established. For those experiencing abuse, the workplace can often offer
a safe space and a respite away from the perpetrator. Colleagues and managers can
often be the only people outside the home that victims talk to each day and are
therefore uniquely placed to help spot signs of abuse.
403. Many employers are likely to encounter employees affected by domestic abuse,
either as victims, carers, witnesses to abuse, or as perpetrators. These individuals may
be found in any position within an organisation.
404. Domestic abuse can impact on victims’ ability to access work and their career
prospects. Examples of how perpetrators may prevent victims from working include
through threats, causing physical injuries or restraining them. Perpetrators may also try
to harass victims whilst at work, abuse or threaten their colleagues or employer, or
control their income. Victims may be forced to stop working when they flee from
perpetrators due to having to move area or go into a refuge.
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405. Domestic abuse has considerable costs for the economy, with an estimated £14
billion arising from lost output due to time off work and reduced productivity from
domestic abuse victims in the year to March 2017.
202
406. Employers have a duty of care to their employees. Legally, this means that they
need to abide by relevant health and safety and employment law, as well as the
common law duty of care. Employers must ensure, as far as reasonably practicable,
the health, safety and welfare at work of their employees. Employers should consider
the impact of domestic abuse on their employees as part of their duty of care.
407. As best practice, employers should develop policies to set out their approach to
domestic abuse within their workforce including, for example, signposting to specialist
organisations, roles and responsibilities within the organisation, any education and
training available, the practical support they can offer to victims in their workforce and
their approach to perpetrators in the workplace. This support offer may include access
201
TUC. Domestic violence and the workplace: A TUC Survey Report: 2014.
202
Home Office. The economic and social costs of domestic abuse: Research Report 107: 2019.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
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to paid leave or flexible working arrangements which can be helpful to victims in certain
situations, for example, managing appointments related to domestic abuse or finding
safe accommodation. Employers should consult with staff, trade unions, employee
representatives or domestic abuse charities to develop, implement and maintain a
domestic abuse policy taking into account the law, guidance and identified good
practice.
408. In 2020, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy undertook a
review to examine how victims of domestic abuse can be supported in the workplace
and how to give employers the confidence and knowledge to support victims better.
The report sets out the need to tackle domestic abuse as a workplace issue and the
positive role that employers can play in supporting victims. The report on workplace
support for victims of domestic abuse includes best practice case studies and prompts
to help those experiencing domestic abuse.
409. There is a range of up-to-date practical guidance which employers can access.
Employers should note the Employers’ Initiative for Domestic Abuse (EIDA), a business
network which empowers employers to take action against domestic abuse, for their
staff, and their sectors. The EIDA bring together the experience, expertise and best
practice of their members and partners to tackle abuse and raise awareness.
Membership is free to any employer wanting to act. The network provides practical
guidance, up to date tools and materials, as well as signposting to support services.
For example, their handbook is a single reference guide, with a raft of practical steps
for employers to take to establish and maintain a domestic abuse policy and support
employees who make a disclosure. The guidance has been assembled with the help of
EIDA’s partners, founders, and Beacon members and is available to download for
members of the network. They also have a free to download employer toolkit which has
been updated to reflect post-Covid-19 pandemic working.
410. Employers should also note the Employers Domestic Abuse Covenant (EDAC), a
commitment by businesses to support those affected by abuse to enter or re-enter the
workplace. Employers are invited to sign the Covenant and identify workplace skills
and opportunities for victims seeking sustainable employment opportunities. The
initiative aims to harness real and meaningful social change, create inclusive and
positive opportunities, develop long term, sustainable solutions for victims of abuse to
build their confidence, resilience, skills, and access to the workplace. The EDAC has
been rolled out across England from June 2021 and is a collaboration between the
Sharan Project and the Department for Work and Pensions, with support from the
Home Office and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy.
411. Employers should also refer to the PHE BITC Domestic Abuse Employer Toolkit.
This toolkit helps employers of all sizes and sectors make a commitment to respond to
the risk of domestic abuse and build an approach that ensures all employees feel
supported and empowered by their workplace to deal with domestic abuse. The
Equality and Human Rights Commission and the Chartered Institute for Personnel
Development have also published a guide for employers on managing and supporting
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employees experiencing domestic abuse, which outlines what a framework of support
may look like. UNISON has also produced a model workplace agreement on domestic
violence and abuse.
412. Employers may access Hestia’s Respond to Abuse Employer’s Advice Line and
digital tool, which is available to any business or organisation in the United Kingdom
who would like free guidance and information regarding how to support employees
enduring domestic abuse in the workplace. See Annex A for a list of support available
for victims.
Financial services
413. Control – through restriction, exploitation or sabotage – of finances is a significant
part of economic abuse. The VAWG National Statement of Expectations recommends
that local commissioners explore what local financial institutions are doing to identify
and support victims of coercive control, including whether they can provide a safe
disclosure point for a victim. See section on ‘Economic abuse’ for further information.
414. In 2015, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which regulates the financial
services industry in the UK and helps protect consumers, published research
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to
challenge firms to better support vulnerable customers. The FCA has worked with
stakeholders to ensure that vulnerable consumers are consistently treated fairly across
financial services sectors. Following a consultation process, the FCA finalised guidance
for firms on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers. This guidance identifies that
alongside other characteristics certain life events, including relationship breakdown and
domestic abuse, can increase the risk of consumers becoming vulnerable to different
types of harm or disadvantage. It highlights actions firms should take to understand the
needs of consumers in these circumstances to make sure they are treated fairly.
415. In recognising the role that financial services play in responding to domestic abuse
UK Finance and the Building Societies Association have established a Financial Abuse
Code. The voluntary Code sets out how participating banks and building societies
should support customers who are victims of domestic and financial or economic
abuse. It is also designed to extend to other forms of abuse – i.e. abuse by people that
are not connected as defined by the 2021 Act – for example elder abuse by carers who
are not “personally connected” to the victim. The Code aims to bring increased
awareness and better understanding of what financial abuse looks like for firms,
colleagues (e.g. customer facing staff), and those impacted by financial abuse.
416. A growing number of financial institutions and associated brands, representing a
large proportion of current accounts, have signed up to the Code since its launch. They
are implementing the principles set out in the Code, improving how they support
203
FCA. Occasional Paper No. 8: Consumer Vulnerability: 2015.
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customers to understand and regain control of their finances, which is often an
important first step in regaining their independence.
Links with the voluntary sector
417. The voluntary sector plays a key role in providing specialist support for victims, their
families and perpetrators. Many areas have voluntary support services, including
specialist and ‘by and for’ services, providing support in the community and beyond,
such as:
• national and local helplines;
• refuge services;
• advocacy (including Independent Domestic Violence Advocates and Domestic
Abuse Prevention Advocates);
• outreach and floating support;
• support for children and young people;
• drop-in services;
• counselling and therapeutic services;
• group work and peer support;
• recovery programmes for victims, including children;
• research and evidence building;
• development of policy and service standards; and
• behaviour change programmes for perpetrators.
418. The Government funds the Freephone National Domestic Abuse Helpline for
England (0808 2000 247) run by Refuge. The Helpline offers confidential, non-
judgmental information and expert support to keep victims safe and provide them with
information in order to make informed choices. The Government also funds the only
specialist LGBT domestic abuse helpline, run by Galop, an LGBT anti-violence charity
and a specific Men’s Advice helpline run by Respect (0808 801 0327). Southall Black
Sisters operates a specialist advice helpline for ethnic minority and migrant women with
no recourse to public funds (020 8571 9595). There is also helpline support for
perpetrators through the Respect Phoneline (0808 8024 040). The Live Fear Free
helpline is the national Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence
helpline in Wales (0808 80 10 800) and is funded by the Welsh Government. These
helplines and a non-exhaustive list of other specialist domestic abuse support can be
found at Annex A.
419. As specialist trained practitioners, Independent Domestic Violence Advisors
(IDVAs) act as a victims’ point of contact, supporting those who are at high risk of harm
from perpetrators. IDVAs work with their clients from a point of crisis to assess risk
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levels, discuss options and create safety plans. This includes actions from Multi-
Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARACs) as well as sanctions and remedies
available through the criminal and civil courts, housing options and services available
through other organisations.
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IDVAs may work closely with Independent Sexual
Violence Advisors (ISVAs) in cases involving sexual assault or rape and the Children
and Young People IDVA role provides specialist support in cases involving children
and young people at high risk.
420. For multi-agency working to be effective it is vital that the state works closely with
the voluntary sector to ensure full and proper combination of expertise to provide
holistic support. For instance, specialist domestic abuse support workers are highly
trained to support families affected by domestic abuse and contribute valuably to
discussions and risk assessments involved in Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hubs
(MASHs) or Child in Need and Child Protection plans, including attendance at Initial
Child Protection Conferences. Further details about multi-agency working are provided
in ‘Chapter 7 – Multi-Agency Response to Domestic Abuse’.
204
SafeLives. National Definition for IDVA work: 2014.
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Chapter 7 – Multi-Agency Response to
Domestic Abuse
This chapter covers:
• The responsibility for agencies to work together and share information, including to
safeguard children.
• Best practice principles for multi-agency working.
• Working together to address the behaviour of perpetrators.
• Domestic Homicide Reviews.
Multi-agency working
421. The response to domestic abuse is a complex one that spans several statutory and
non-statutory agencies, including but not limited to, local authorities, community-based
agencies, children’s services, schools, housing, health (including mental health), drug
and alcohol services, specialist domestic abuse agencies, the police and the criminal
justice system. Wider organisations, such as employers and financial services
institutions also have a role to play. Agencies have a responsibility to work together
effectively to provide support and protection to victims of domestic abuse. This can be
through strategic planning, co-commissioning and creating joined-up services. Working
together is essential to help with identifying domestic abuse at an early stage and with
responding to domestic abuse in a manner that can reduce the risk of escalation. It is
vital to appropriately safeguard victims, including children, regardless of the level of
risk.
422. An effective multi-agency response means that all frontline agencies consider
domestic abuse and are trained to understand both the complex dynamics and the
signs of domestic abuse. Specialist domestic abuse organisations offer a range of
training for professionals working in multi-agency safeguarding contexts. This training
should take into account a victim’s protected characteristics, individual circumstances
and recognise that intersecting forms of abuse may be at play. These factors can
prevent victims from accessing support and services and highlight the need for
specialist 'by and for' services to form part of all multi-agency working practices. In
Wales, there is a statutory duty placed on Relevant Authorities to train their staff to
appropriate levels in line with the National Training Framework on violence against
women, domestic abuse and sexual violence statutory guidance issued under section
15 of the Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act
2015 and section 60 of the Government of Wales Act 2006.
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423. Agencies must work together and share information to ensure they are able to draw
on all the available information held within each agency to build a full picture of the
victims, including children, and perpetrators. This includes looking holistically at an
individual’s case and circumstances to identify appropriate multi-agency support.
424. All agencies have a duty to assess whether a safeguarding response is required
before referring an incident to a multi-agency partnership. Co-locating specialist
domestic abuse services or providers can be an effective way of multi-agency working.
For example, some local areas have Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs)
based in police stations and hospitals.
205
Co-location can be particularly effective in
supporting those who have experienced domestic abuse, where there may be a stigma
around accessing services.
425. Standing Together have produced In Search of Excellence, a guide for facilitating
Coordinated Community Response (CCR) partnerships that reiterates the importance
of coordination work amongst frontline provision.
206
426. The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (‘the 2021 Act’) established in law the office of the
Domestic Abuse Commissioner (DAC), to provide public leadership on domestic abuse
issues, play a key role in overseeing and monitoring the provision of domestic abuse
services in England and Wales and promote best practice, including in multi-agency
working.
207
427. Multi-agency working should be embedded into approaches to responding to
domestic abuse and should offer a range of interventions and support, from early
intervention to support for high-risk cases through formalised safeguarding
arrangements. These responses can include but are not limited to:
• Advice and guidance;
• Advocacy;
• Onward referrals or signposting to other agencies or services;
• Housing support;
• Financial advice and assistance;
• One-to-One or group counselling;
• Respite care;
• Child protection plans;
205
The Pathfinder Toolkit includes a section on the co-location of health based IDVAs.
206
Standing Together also provide a CCR Network hub for sharing best practice including information on professional training.
207
The Home Office, in consultation with the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, developed a framework document within which the
Commissioner will operate. The Welsh Ministers have also been consulted as required under section 11(7) of the Domestic Abuse
Act 2021. The purpose of the document, which is issued under section 11 of the Act, is to set out how the Home Secretary and the
Domestic Abuse Commissioner will work together.
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• Safety and support plans;
• Support through a criminal justice process, or civil court case;
• Drug and alcohol support; and
• Perpetrator behaviour change programmes.
428. A Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) is one way of coordinating activity
around safeguarding referrals, assessments and joined-up responses. Other local
areas may call multi-agency safeguarding structures something different. These bring
together expert professionals from a range of services that have contact with children,
young people, adults and families, making the best possible use of their combined
knowledge and information to safeguard children who are at risk of harm or neglect.
Many local areas have a MASH or other fora, with the aim of providing a ‘one front
door’ model, where professionals gather information and make decisions about which
pathways to follow for different contacts and referrals. This may lead to an assessment
by children’s social care, early help or a response from universal services. Where local
areas do not have MASH arrangements in place, alternative multi-agency safeguarding
arrangements should be in place which deliver the broad principles set out below.
SafeLives have published Seeing the Whole Picture: an Evaluation of SafeLives’ One
Front Door which sets out what an effective model should look like.
429. Local organisations and agencies should have in place effective ways to identify
emerging problems and potential unmet needs of individual children and families. Local
authorities should work with organisations and agencies to develop joined-up early help
services based on a clear understanding of local needs. This requires all practitioners,
including those in universal services and those providing services to adults with
children, to understand their role in identifying emerging problems and to share
information with other practitioners to support early identification and assessment.
430. Effective multi-agency working (for example, a MASH):
• Needs to see and respond to the whole picture;
• Should embed the needs, safety, and wishes of victims;
• Should have a clear strategic focus;
• Requires active partners participating in meaningful joint working;
• Needs specialist skills;
• Requires safe and effective information sharing;
• Values and employs staff with the right values; and
• Addresses the behaviour of the perpetrator.
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431. See the ‘Principles for multi-agency working’ section.
432. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts (PCSC) Act 2022 (‘the PCSC Act 2022’)
introduced a Serious Violence Duty to ensure specified authorities across England and
Wales, being police, fire and rescue services, health, local authorities, youth offending
teams and probation services to work collaborative, share data and information in order
to put in place a strategy to prevent and reduce serious violence. Section 13 of the
PCSC Act 2022 explicitly includes domestic abuse and sexual offences within the
definition of “violence” for the purpose of the Serious Violence Duty.
208
Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences
433. A Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) is a non-statutory process
that brings together statutory and voluntary agencies to jointly support adult and child
victims of domestic abuse who are at a high risk of serious harm or homicide, and to
disrupt and divert the behaviour of the perpetrator(s). The MARAC’s working
assumption is that no single agency or individual can see the complete picture of the
life of a victim, but all may have insights that are crucial to their safety. The core
MARAC agencies are: police, IDVA services, housing, children’s services, the
Probation Service, primary health, mental health, substance misuse service and adult
social care.
434. At the beginning of the MARAC process, local agencies will refer victims to the local
MARAC. Before the meeting, all participating agencies will gather relevant,
proportionate, and necessary information regarding the victims, including children, and
the perpetrator(s). The local agency representatives will attend the MARAC meeting,
(usually taking place monthly or fortnightly) to discuss the shared information and
expertise and suggest actions. Agencies should ensure that they are regularly
communicating with each other between MARAC meetings – this is a crucial part of the
MARAC process and ensures there is a coordinated response to domestic abuse.
Communication around cases should not wait for MARAC meetings to take place.
435. The IDVA is a specialist practitioner who works in partnership with other agencies to
implement the action plan, mobilising resources on behalf of the victims, including
children to increase their safety. They crucially represent the victim at the MARAC,
making sure their voice is heard.
436. The victims, including children, and perpetrator(s) do not attend the meeting. The
victim is informed that the case is being taken through the MARAC process, unless it is
deemed unsafe to do so. If the victim objects to the disclosure of personal information,
this should be considered in proportion to the risks present. If it is believed that
withholding information puts a child at risk of significant harm, or another adult at risk of
serious harm, then disclosure may be justified in the public interest and/or in order to
208
At the time of writing, draft statutory guidance on the Serious Violence Duty, which will be issued by the Secretary of State under
section 19 of the PCSC Act 2022, is published for public consultation.
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protect the vital interests of the third party. If the victim is at significant risk of harm,
then this would be in the public interest. The process must be compliant with the UK
GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 and the common law duty of confidence. The
Information Sharing Protocol and Caldicott Principles must be adhered to and the
decision to share must be recorded as being both proportional and relevant in relation
to the risks. You can read the Practical Guidance on the application of the Caldicott
Guardian Principles to Domestic Violence and MARACs. Dependent on which regime
the processing falls within, you will need to ensure that the appropriate conditions for
processing (including for sensitive processing) are satisfied. Advice on data sharing is
available for practitioners providing safeguarding services to children, young people,
parents and carers.
Multi-agency working to safeguard children
437. Agencies should recognise the impact of domestic abuse has on children and
support them accordingly. Those responding to children experiencing domestic abuse
should follow existing safeguarding, risk assessment and referrals processes and
procedures.
438. Multi-agency working to safeguard children is underpinned by the system of multi-
agency safeguarding arrangements, provided for by the Children Act 2004, as
amended by the Children and Social Work Act 2017. These arrangements place a
statutory duty on police, health, and local authority leaders to work together on local
safeguarding arrangements. They are jointly responsible for coordinating safeguarding
services to keep children safe and are accountable for how well local agencies work
together to protect children from abuse and neglect. The three safeguarding partners
(the local authority, health and police) should agree on ways to coordinate their
safeguarding services; act as a strategic leadership group in supporting and engaging
others; and implement local and national learning including from serious child
safeguarding incidents.
439. The statutory guidance document, Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018),
sets out what professionals and organisations need to do, individually and in
partnership with other agencies, to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and
young people. This remains core guidance on supporting children who are victims of
domestic abuse. Working Together also highlights that everyone who works with
children has a responsibility for keeping them safe and that multi-agency working and
information sharing is essential to ensure that children and families receive the right
help at the right time. The importance of early help in promoting the welfare of children
is emphasised. The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 applies in Wales
as well as the accompanying Working Together to Safeguard People guidance and the
Wales Safeguarding Procedures for children and adults at risk of abuse and neglect.
440. The Working Together to Safeguard Children guidance also sets out key roles for
individual organisations and agencies to deliver effective arrangements for
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safeguarding and places an equal and shared duty on the three safeguarding partners
(the local authority, health and police) to make arrangements to work together to
safeguard and promote the welfare of all children in a local area. In relation to children
in need (section 17 of the Children Act 1989) and child protection enquiries (section 47
of the 1989 Act), the guidance sets out the specific roles and responsibilities of the
local authority and its social workers in leading statutory assessments. Working
Together makes clear that in all welfare and safeguarding enquiries, a child-centred
approach should be adopted by practitioners to ensure that the best interests of the
child are considered at all times. See the section on ‘Impact of Domestic Abuse on
Children’ and ‘Responding to children and young people’ for further information.
Principles for multi-agency working
Seeing and responding to the whole picture
441. It is essential that services work together to identify and respond coherently and
take into account the whole picture of a domestic abuse context. This principle should
frame the multi-agency response to victims, including children. Agencies should:
• Develop a collaborative approach built around coordinating the skills,
experience and perspectives of people from each agency. Any assessment
process should recognise and allow for fluctuations in the victim’s needs and
safety and should be informed by the assessment provided by the specialist
domestic abuse service.
• Be aware of the potential for domestic abuse to intersect with other harms,
taking into account other safeguarding functions when considering the
needs of victims, alongside pathways for intervention for perpetrators.
Many harms and adverse experiences intersect with one another to either drive
abusive behaviour, or to exacerbate vulnerabilities in those who have
experienced abuse - for example, where there is a suspected risk of serious
violence, modern slavery or child sexual exploitation.
• Use an evidence-based assessment process to ensure there is a shared
understanding of the risk and a shared plan to address risk. The assessment
should involve identifying the risk to/from each family member and the needs of
each family member. The primary goal of this assessment should be the
increased safety and wellbeing of all non-abusive family members, with the
response tailored to their particular situation and the views they have expressed.
This assessment process should be well-evidenced, tested with service users,
and be the subject of regular, high quality training on how it should (and should
not) be used. It should have reference to existing assessment methods such as
the Domestic Abuse, Stalking, Harassment and ‘Honour’-Based Violence
(DASH) risk assessment and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) work.
Risk is fluid and must be re-assessed regularly and the process should facilitate
that.
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• Develop processes and pathways that ensure that once needs and risks are
identified, family members get the most appropriate support as soon as
possible.
Box 7.1: Case Study – Support for victims of domestic abuse
Case Study
Hounslow Domestic and Sexual Violence Outreach Service is a violence against
women and girls (VAWG) service for all victims of gender-based violence. Victims
living in the London Borough of Hounslow can access the service themselves or
partner agencies can refer. Examples of the way in which Hounslow provides support
to victims of domestic abuse include:
Adult Social Care IDVA – supports vulnerable adults, including those with disabilities,
the elderly and those with complex needs.
Health IDVA – co-located with the Clinical Commissioning Group and supports victims
identified and referred by GPs, Maternity, and the local hospital. The referral pathway
is via the NHS System 1 ensuring speedy referrals from busy medical staff.
Metropolitan Police – The IDVA is co-located with the Safeguarding Unit to respond
quickly to reports of high-risk domestic abuse incidences thereby providing earlier
intervention and safety plans.
Freedom Programme – a 12-week programme designed to empower female victims
of domestic abuse.
Hounslow One Stop Shop – A designated venue offering a free weekly drop-in
providing information and advice from a variety of partners to victims of VAWG.
Partnerships with housing services, welfare benefits advisers, family law solicitors,
immigration solicitors, children’s support workers, ethnic minority support workers and
IDVAs working together to support families in Hounslow.
Children affected by domestic abuse project – provides a coordinated early help
response delivering improved outcomes for children and families affected by domestic
abuse. The project supports Operation Encompass which notifies schools within 24
hours after police have responded to an incident where a pupil is residing at the
address. Specialist Parent and Child Domestic Abuse Workers (PCDAWs), co-located
in schools, receive all notifications and work with the schools to provide holistic
therapeutic support to children and non-abusive parents. They also work with non-
abusive parents empowering them to make informed choices and supporting them to
help address their child’s needs. The PCDAWs liaise regularly with the Designated
Safeguarding Leads within the schools, enhancing the support that schools can offer
children affected by domestic abuse.
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These practitioners also enhance information sharing to schools, social, care and
other specialist services via the Domestic Abuse Early Help Lead (DAEHL) co-located
in the MASH. The DAEHL triages all domestic abuse contacts which come into the
MASH, working in partnership with the borough’s MASH members such as the Police,
Health, Education and Children Social Care to identify the needs and risks to the
family – better informing social care decisions and practices. Outcomes from these
assessments have included referrals to the project, Multi-Agency Risk Assessment
Conference (MARAC), the local perpetrator programme, and children’s therapeutic
services.
Designing interventions and responses around the needs of victims
442. The voice and needs of victims, including children, needs to be embedded in a
multi-agency response. Services designed around the needs of victims, and grounded
in victim experience, means victims are more likely to stay engaged in the process.
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Agencies should:
• Consider the needs of all local communities using local demographic data to
understand the make-up of the area and make appropriate provision, including
in rural communities and for those who face additional barriers to seeking and
engaging with the support available, such as language, mobility, physical
disability, learning difficulties or social attitudes. This could include, for example,
building sustainable and trusting relationships across faith and cultural allies in
the community to ensure the needs of victims are represented – see The Safety
Across Faith and Ethnic (SAFE) Communities project from domestic abuse
charity Standing Together as an example of good practice in this area. An
equality impact assessment should be developed and reviewed regularly,
including to evaluate the effectiveness of approaches against intended aims,
with input from service users and specialists to identify barriers and provide
responses experienced by some groups. Religious, community or cultural
institutions should always prioritise the welfare of victims.
• Listen to the views and experiences of victims and their family members.
This process should be embedded in the multi-agency response and should
consider how best to reach all victims, including children and young people who
may face additional barriers accessing services or making their voice heard.
Their views should be used to assess the risk that the perpetrator(s) of the
abuse pose(s) to other family members and the impact this has on their needs,
such as safety, health, housing, and wellbeing. The safety and support for the
victim should be central to any approach or engagement with other family
members.
• Be trained to identify and understand the different typologies of abuse and
perpetrators, the prevalence of different types of abuse in the local area, and
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Standing Together. In Search of Excellence: A refreshed guide to effective domestic abuse partnership work – The Coordinated
Community Response (CCR): 2020.
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the appropriate strategies to reduce abusive behaviour recognising that different
groups of professionals need different levels of training and awareness based
on their level of contact with children and families.
• Have embedded, or have readily available, input from specialist agencies
and 'by and for' services that have a proven track record of supporting victims
of domestic abuse and who are aware and experienced in working with male
and female victims with protected characteristics, including being from an ethnic
minority, being disabled, LGBT or from a particular religion or faith.
• Fully inform victims about the purpose and aims of the multi-agency
safeguarding team where such a team is in place. The team needs to be
aware that victims may perceive the involvement of statutory agencies in their
situation in a negative way. They may fear that they will not be believed, that
they will be blamed for the abuse and that they may lose their children. Agencies
should be trained to understand the different forms of abuse including coercive,
controlling and violent behaviour and the impact it has on male and female
victims, and this should inform professional practice.
• Develop processes to ensure that individuals do not have to repeat their
story to several professionals in different agencies. The team should consider a
single point of contact approach with the person acting as a lead seeking
consent to share information with relevant partners in all situations where it is
possible and legally required.
• Develop processes that ensure that the safety, needs and wishes of all
non-abusive family members are sought at the earliest opportunity and that
plans are developed which are responsive to the views they have given.
• Embed reflective practice throughout the service centred on feedback from
victims (both adults and children). Consult them regularly and use this to
reassess situations where necessary, considering new information, informing
continuous development and improvement of the collaborative work of the
agencies.
• Consider the role of victims throughout the process from service
development to commissioning, delivery and evaluation. There should be an
ongoing process of victim engagement throughout the lifecycle of any multi-
agency arrangement.
• Consider the burden on the victim throughout the process, while it is
sometimes appropriate for actions to be focused on the victim or non-abusive
parent, this can also place additional burdens on the victim when the person
responsible for the situation is the perpetrator.
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A clear strategic focus
443. For multi-agency working to be effective, all agencies must work with a clear and
common focus. For this to be achieved partnerships should:
• Have an integrated governance and operational structure, so that agencies
are regularly meeting at strategic, operational, and decision-making level.
Accountability and leadership are clear and effective and are appropriately
linked to local bodies such as the Community Safety Partnership, Safeguarding
Partners and Safeguarding Adult Boards.
• Agree a statement of common purpose which sets out a shared vision and
ambition and a high-level operating manual and protocols for the multi-agency
safeguarding team.
• Agree a common outcomes framework, which will focus on four key
measures: effective informed support provided to victims and family members,
which increases their level of safety and wellbeing at the earliest opportunity;
increasing victim trust and confidence in safeguarding; perpetrator behaviour
addressed at the earliest opportunity by agencies; family needs considered
holistically by agencies, not in isolation from each other.
• Take ownership of the need to understand local referral pathways and
available provision, identifying any gaps in provision and considering within
strategic governance how these gaps can be addressed.
• Together, regularly analyse performance and outcome measurement data,
undertake deep dive case audits to check for missed opportunities and consider
the feedback received from service users and specialist organisations. A key
element of the monitoring process should involve scrutiny around whether the
data collected reflect any disproportionality in terms of decisions or practice for
particular groups, e.g. ethnic minorities, LGBT, disabled victims, or victims
belonging to a particular faith. Personal data relating to any of these groups is
considered ‘special category’ data and is highlighted in Article 9 of the UK
GDPR. The processing (including sharing) of any ‘special category’ personal
data must meet further conditions set out in this Article. Further guidance on
special category data is provided by the Information Commissioner’s Office
(ICO). The data collected could be used to improve ongoing practice. This
process might be facilitated by a critical friend – a peer multi-agency team or
independent local or national organisation.
• Identify a dedicated multi-agency team coordinator or manager with specific
responsibility for team building, developing a common culture of meaningful
partnership through the creation of operating manuals, joint protocols, agreed
assessment procedures, joint induction and training programmes and common
monitoring and evaluation processes. All multi-agency partners are clear about
the role, responsibility, authority, and accountability of the multi-agency
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safeguarding team coordinator/manager; there is a clear, multi-agency
safeguarding escalation process for any concerns.
• Share information in a way that is timely, proportionate, legal, and safe. A
protocol will be in place between agencies to govern this information sharing
process and be the subject of annual review. All IT and use of that IT will be
compliant with data protection legislation. The multi-agency safeguarding team
will have developed and published a data protection impact assessment (DPIA).
A DPIA must be in place where a proposed data share is high risk or concerns
sensitive data. Further Guidance can be found here; ICO Data protection impact
assessments.
• Provide accurate data including designing out duplication of cases where
feasible and understanding the service pathway being undertaken by victims of
domestic abuse.
Participation as active and joined-up partners
444. In addition to having a common strategic focus, multi-agency partnerships should
also ensure the right people and organisations are at meetings and that a whole family
approach is taken to ensure meaningful work is achieved. Agencies should:
• Engage the core agencies whose collaborative working will be needed to
improve outcomes for victims, including children. This is likely to include the
police, probation, children’s services, health (physical and mental), housing,
specialist domestic abuse services, education, adult safeguarding services,
drugs, and alcohol support and Cafcass (Children and Family Court Advisory
and Support Service). This could also involve undergoing training in other
safeguarding procedures to maintain a full understanding of how different harms
and vulnerabilities intersect with one another.
• Seek to undergo training in other safeguarding procedures to maintain a full
understanding of how different harms and vulnerabilities intersect with one
another. Good practice might consist of teams undertaking training in one
another’s safeguarding procedures, to improve the response and support given
to victims.
• Demonstrate both in policy and practice that agencies consider the
safeguarding need of all family members, i.e. that those agencies primarily
charged with child safeguarding are considering the safety and wellbeing of the
non-abusive parent and other family members, and the agencies primarily
charged with safeguarding adults will also consider the support needs of the
child(ren).
Specialist skills
• Invite a specialist domestic abuse service to be embedded within the team.
The specialist should have skills and experience in identifying the individual
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circumstances of risk and need someone might be facing. This should include
professional expertise on supporting children experiencing or perpetrating
domestic abuse, including in a family setting or in their own intimate
relationships.
• Professionals from that service should be treated as having parity of
status with statutory bodies in the multi-agency safeguarding team (they should,
for example, be included in all relevant meetings, be part of information sharing
agreements, have good access around the building, expect that their skills,
knowledge and experience will be drawn on for key decisions and the outcome
of decisions shared with them).
• Set an expectation that the service invited to join the multi-agency
safeguarding team is able to evidence that it meets the shared sector standards
agreed between Imkaan, Respect, SafeLives and Women’s Aid published in
2016.
Safe and effective information sharing
445. Effective and meaningful multi-agency work relies heavily on timely and
appropriate, while lawful, information sharing, ensuring all agencies have the
necessary information to participate materially in meetings and make informed
decisions. Agencies should:
• Make mandatory, appropriate information sharing training available to the
multi-agency safeguarding team so that they are professionally competent and
confident about when and how to share (or not share) information, in line with
the multi-agency safeguarding team protocol (see above), data protection
legislation (UK General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act
2018, ‘the 2018 Act’) and the ICO Data Sharing Code of Practice. When sharing
personal data, consideration must be given to whether it is lawful, personal data
can only be shared if there is a lawful basis for doing so. Training should be
informed by service user feedback and learning from local Child Safeguarding
Practice Reviews, national reviews published by the Child Safeguarding Practice
Review Panel and Domestic Homicide Reviews.
• Develop links and information sharing protocols that place the safety of
the victims, including children, at the centre with multi-agency safeguarding
structures including MAPPA (Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements),
MARAC (Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference), Operation Encompass,
CSE (child sexual exploitation) operational groups, Prevent, the Community
Safety Partnership and Supporting Families.
• Decision-making about what to share, and when, should be governed by a
clear, collective understanding about the risks to safety for an individual and
family, and how those risks and the other needs within that family can be
addressed. Information sharing should happen with the express intent of
reducing risk to one or more family members. There must be a lawful basis to
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process (including sharing) any personal data. What lawful basis is appropriate
will depend on the specific purpose for the processing. The six different lawful
bases are set out in Article 6 of the UK GDPR, one of which must be met before
personal data can be processed or shared. If using consent as the lawful basis
this must be a freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication, and
an individual should be able to withdraw consent at any time. Consent may not
be the most appropriate lawful basis and consideration should be given to each
situation; for example processing personal data to comply with a statutory
obligation such as a court directive, in this case the lawful basis would be
compliance with a legal obligation. If there is a genuine change in circumstances
that requires the lawful basis to be amended, this should be documented and
the individual informed; for example if consent was used as the original lawful
basis, but an unanticipated risk to an individual has become apparent, then the
lawful basis can justifiably be changed to vital interest. Further details on lawful
basis is provided online by the Information Commissioner’s Office. Where
necessary agencies should redact information or consider splitting meetings
where it is thought that doing so could reduce the risk to the victims, including
children. In relation to law enforcement processing by competent authorities
under Part 3 of the 2018 Act, such as police forces, different rules under that
Part of the 2018 Act will apply.
• Document these decisions to demonstrate data protection compliance.
• Record all relevant data, information sharing is only as good as the quality of
the information being shared, and the level of detail can be crucial to accurate
risk assessment. For example, simply recording “there is a history of domestic
abuse” does not give other professionals the level of detail needed to be able to
risk assess. When sharing personal data, consideration must be given to
whether it is lawful, personal data can only be shared if there is a lawful basis for
doing so.
Valuing and employing staff with the right values
446. The work performed by agencies is heavily reliant on the ability of staff to carry out
the work, and agencies should ensure that staff are adequately supported. This can be
done by:
• Demonstrating in both policy and practice that they take the duty of care
to their staff seriously. This should involve a focus on reflective practice, joint
training programmes which bring different organisations’ staff together, clinical
supervision and employee assistance programmes;
• Demonstrating professional curiosity when engaging service users. Often,
victims will make contact with a range of services before disclosing their abuse.
These contacts represent opportunities for early intervention, so it is crucial that
all staff are trained to recognise domestic abuse and ask the right questions;
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• Creating opportunities for staff to have sight of any positive outcomes,
such as case studies or local stories, and being able to link back to families that
they had initial contact with, to understand the impact of their work;
• Recognising the specialised nature of the work, choosing staff who hold
specialist qualifications, training, accreditation, or other recognised professional
standard which gives parity of status with agency colleagues; and
• Having a domestic abuse policy in place, complementing the policies held by
each individual agency, which addresses the potential for staff to themselves be
victims, or perpetrators, or experiencing vicarious trauma, which they action and
own.
447. There are a number of different existing initiatives and processes beyond MASHs
(or equivalent) that agencies should be feeding into. Some of these initiatives and
processes will be more or less appropriate depending on the level of risk and the stage
at which agencies are intervening, e.g. early intervention or a well-established case.
These include but are not limited to Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences, Multi-
Agency Public Protection Arrangements, Perpetrator Panels and Perpetrator
Programmes (see also the section ‘Addressing the behaviour of the perpetrator’).
Address the behaviour of the perpetrator
448. Addressing perpetrator behaviour is as important as safeguarding and supporting
victims. Often, the courses of action considered are those aimed at the victims and
non-abusive parents, placing additional burdens on them. Tackling perpetrator
behaviour and placing the onus on them should be a key consideration for partnership
work.
449. Agencies should take the earliest opportunity available to consider how the
behaviour of the perpetrator can be disrupted or constrained, putting the emphasis for
change on that individual. The response to the perpetrator must be appropriate for the
unique context and needs of the victim. For instance, victims subject to ‘honour’-based
abuse may be experiencing a spectrum of behaviours from multiple perpetrators.
450. Where Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) statutory interventions
are not available, agencies should consider creative options to address the behaviour
of the perpetrator, including recourse to Youth Offending Teams, Integrated Offender
Management (IOM), Multi-Agency Targeting And Co-ordinating (MATAC), Domestic
Abuse Perpetrator Programmes, safeguarding, housing, Department for Work and
Pensions (DWP) and the full range of quality assured perpetrator programmes. Any
approaches adopted should work closely with existing arrangements, including MARAC
to ensure perpetrator management teams have key information from victim-focused
panels.
451. Young people perpetrating abuse in their relationships must be supported in an
appropriate way that places emphasis on tackling the drivers of their behaviour. Court
and responding agencies must consider youth justice guidelines when responding to
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cases of teenage relationship abuse, avoid unnecessarily criminalising young people,
and identify appropriate interventions to address behaviours that might constitute or
lead to abuse. Relevant youth justice guidelines include:
• Case management guidance for Youth Offending Teams
• Standards for children in the Youth Justice System
• Crown Prosecution Service guidance on youth offenders
• Sentencing Council guidelines on sentencing children and young people
452. Agencies should also ensure multi-agency safeguarding teams receive mandatory
training on:
• the full range of behaviours that can be abusive, coercive or controlling;
• recognising the key risk and vulnerability factors and power relationships;
• understanding the dynamics of domestic abuse and the basic typologies of
different perpetrators, including dynamics of denial and minimisation and how to
appropriately weigh up the credibility of different versions of events. Staff should
know that key perpetrator tactics often involve trying to manipulate frontline
services making those professionals more likely to identify and be confident to
competently address coercive, controlling, and manipulative behaviours;
• recognising the impact of domestic abuse on children and young people,
including the impact of being exposed to domestic abuse, and being used by the
perpetrator to inflict abuse on the target victim; and
• skills to form alliances with victims and early engagement with perpetrators
aimed at behaviour change.
453. This will make those professionals more likely to identify and be confident to
competently address coercive, controlling, and manipulative behaviours. Staff need to
be aware of the complexity of different forms of perpetration which may not neatly fit
into the binary of ‘victim’ or ‘perpetrator.’ For example, a young person may be
perpetrating domestic abuse but may be a victim of child sexual exploitation
themselves or a woman may be perpetrating abuse within a forced marriage context
but may also be experiencing domestic abuse herself.
Addressing the behaviour of the perpetrator
Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements
454. Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) are a set of statutory
arrangements to assess and manage the risk posed by certain sexual, violent and
terrorist offenders. They are established by virtue of sections 325 to 327 of the Criminal
Justice Act 2003 and apply to all police force areas in England and Wales. MAPPA
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requires local criminal justice agencies and other bodies to work together in partnership
in order to deal with sexual, violent, terrorist or other dangerous offenders in order to
protect the public from serious harm. MAPPA brings together the Police, Probation and
Prison Services into what is known as the MAPPA ‘Responsible Authority’ for each
MAPPA Area (coterminous with police force areas). A number of other agencies are
under a statutory duty to co-operate with the Responsible Authority (e.g. Children’s
Services, Adult Social Services, Health Trusts and Authorities, Youth Offending Teams,
Home Office Immigration Enforcement). Local Strategic Management Boards are
responsible for overseeing the arrangements of their respective police force areas.
455. MAPPA is for convicted offenders, the conviction does not have to be for a violent
or sexual offence but the circumstances surrounding it need to be indicative that there
is a risk of harm. Anyone can refer a convicted individual into MAPPA. It is particularly
suitable in domestic abuse cases when dealing with serial perpetrators or other
offenders who pose a high risk of serious harm where there is need for a formal multi-
agency plan to be kept under review. IDVAS and other victim representatives should
be included within MAPPA partnerships. See the MAPPA Guidance for more
information Domestic Abuse and Stalking - Multi-Agency Public Protection
Arrangements - MAPPA .
Perpetrator Panels
456. All local areas should have a forum for discussion that is focused on the
perpetrator; this may be as part of a focused discussion at a MARAC or elsewhere.
Many local areas are introducing multi-agency perpetrator panels, such as the Multi-
Agency Tasking and Coordination meeting (MATAC), which has been piloted in
Northumbria and rolled out across six other police forces in the North East and
Yorkshire. The Drive programme
210
has also successfully used perpetrator panels in
other forces in England and Wales. Such panels bring together local agencies to
identify strategies for responding to the most harmful domestic abuse perpetrators.
Interventions identified through MATAC or Drive can include education, prevention,
diversion, disruption, and enforcement.
457. The following principles will help agencies deliver effective multi-agency perpetrator
forums:
• Identification – Panel agencies have the tools to recognise and assess the
level of risk and harm posed by perpetrators of domestic abuse, including serial
offenders. Individuals convicted of an offence under schedule 15 of the Criminal
Justice Act 2003, who are subject to Notification requirements under the Sexual
Offences Act 2003 (commonly known as the Sex Offender Register) or are
sentenced to more than 12 months' imprisonment are automatically eligible for
MAPPA management. For other convicted perpetrators who pose a high risk of
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The Drive partnership works with high-risk perpetrators to prevent their behaviour and protect victims.
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harm, consideration should always be given to referring into MAPPA on a
discretionary basis.
• Multi-Agency Engagement – Agencies involved in offender management,
safeguarding, disruption and behaviour change attend the Panel and are
involved in governance as appropriate.
• Information Sharing – Agencies share relevant and proportionate information,
in line with the protocol and UK GDPR.
• Disruption – The Panel develops a multi-agency coordinated action plan to
disrupt abuse and reduce reoffending, using the full range of tools and actions
available.
• Holding Cases – The Panel provides oversight and ensures that actions are
completed and followed up, that cases are held by the appropriate agency
(avoiding duplication with other agencies and multi-agency initiatives such as
MAPPA, IOM and MARAC) and are reheard when required.
• Safeguarding and Victim Voice – The Panel recognises victim and survivor
voices, considers the impact of planned actions on risk to victims, including
children and works with the relevant agencies to safeguard.
• Case Volumes – The Panel will have clear local criteria which ensures the
appropriate volume of cases is heard.
• Equality – The Panel recognises the needs of both victims and perpetrators
with protected characteristics.
• Operational Support – The Panel will have enough support and resources to
ensure its effective functioning.
• Governance – There is a clear and accountable governance structure and
strategic leadership from the relevant agencies. There should be links with the
MAPPA Strategic Management Board.
Perpetrator Programmes
458. It is important that local areas commission safe, effective perpetrator programmes
which take into account the needs in their areas and are accompanied by support for
any associated victims. These should be ‘as well as’ support for victims, not ‘instead
of’. There are several different accreditation schemes and standards operating in
perpetrator work.
459. The Government has committed to develop a set of overarching national standards
and principles for domestic abuse perpetrator interventions. These will provide a
framework for commissioners to help determine the quality of perpetrator interventions,
particularly on safeguarding and victim and survivor safety.
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460. The third sector expert organisation Respect has developed quality standards and
an accreditation process for services working with perpetrators. The Respect
Standard
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is nationally recognised and sets out an evidence-based, safety-focused
framework which identifies good practice and offers guidance for organisations to
ensure that they are meeting the needs of service users safely and effectively, with the
safety of victims, including children at its heart.
461. These programmes should also be accessible therefore relevant needs
assessments may be required to allow for identification and appropriate response.
462. Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) has their own accredited
programmes for those convicted and sentenced by the courts. The Correctional
Services Advice and Accreditation Panel (CSAAP), an independent committee of
international experts, helps HMPPS to accredit programmes by reviewing programme
design, quality assurance procedures and findings, and programme evaluations. They
make recommendations about whether to accredit programmes based on set criteria
and ensure that programmes:
• are based on the latest international evidence and thinking around what works to
reduce reoffending;
• address factors relevant to reoffending and desistance;
• are targeted at appropriate users;
• develop new skills (as opposed to only awareness raising);
• motivate, engage and retain participants;
• are delivered as intended; and
• are subject to monitoring, evaluation and review.
Behaviour Change Interventions
463. Programmes such as that ran by Ahisma and ‘Talk, Listen, Change’ aim to
challenge and support perpetrators of abuse to make long term changes to their violent
and abusive behaviour. Behaviour change interventions also consider additional needs
such as alcohol and substance misuse and mental health difficulties.
464. The Multi-Agency Tasking and Coordination (MATAC) model is part of the Whole
System Approach to Domestic Abuse piloted in the North East and Yorkshire. The
model involves data analysis to identify high harm perpetrators who are then referred
into a multi-agency panel to coordinate action including education, diversion,
disruption, and enforcement to prevent abuse and reduce reoffending. Findings from
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In Wales, refer also to the VAWDASV Perpetrator Service Standards.
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one force’s two-year evaluation indicate reductions in reoffending across different types
of domestic abuse.
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Box 7.2: Case Study – Multi-agency working
Coordinated Community Response Case Study
A Coordinated Community Response (CCR) offers a comprehensive, inclusive and holistic
approach to address domestic abuse and violence against women and girls, by bringing
statutory, voluntary and community agencies and organisations alongside specialist 'by
and for' services to prevent, identify and respond to the multiple and intersecting needs of
victims and children who are subject to this oppression, while holding perpetrators to
account.
How partnership working can operate in practice:
K described experiencing emotional abuse from her ex-partner throughout their three-year
relationship and states that towards the end of the relationship there was a constant threat
of physical violence and K felt that it was only a matter of time before he hit her. During the
relationship, the perpetrator was very controlling and jealous. He would sometimes turn up
unexpectedly when K was out with friends and always demanded to know what she was
wearing, where she was going and who she was with. K described the perpetrator as
sexually violent. He was very rough during sex. She did not consent to this and sometimes
would cry afterwards – he did not care. The perpetrator had access to weapons and had
experience in cyber security, so K was concerned that he may be tracking her or have
access to her phone. K was very afraid of her ex-partner.
After they separated, K’s ex-partner repeatedly contacted and harassed K and her friends
and family. Initially, he contacted her every three to four days by phone. He also sent K
unwanted messages and gifts on special occasions, despite K stating that she wished to
have no further contact.
As a result of the abuse, K was diagnosed as having post-traumatic stress disorder. She
had been accessing private counselling but could not afford to keep doing this.
K was referred to the Angelou Partnership’s lead, Advance
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, who offered K support from
an IDVA. The IDVA began supporting K and helped her create a safety plan. The plan
included a referral to Rape Crisis and the Angelou Partnership’s Independent Sexual
Violence Advisor (ISVA) service, provided by Solace Women’s Aid, to support K with her
experience of sexual violence and abuse. The IDVA also referred K to a Woman’s Trust,
for specialist domestic abuse counselling that was free for K to access.
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Davies, P, Biddle, P. Domestic Abuse Serial Perpetrator Interventions. Multi Agency Tasking and Co-ordination (MATAC): Tackling
perpetrators of domestic abuse. Evaluation – Final Report: 2017 Northumbria University.
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Information on Advance and its role within the Angelou Partnership is provided on the partnership’s website.
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The Advance IDVA explained the different options available to K and supported K in the
following ways (as chosen by K) in conjunction with external partners: civil court (e.g.,
obtaining an injunction with the help of a specialised law firm); obtaining safer housing
through the local authority’s Sanctuary Scheme to target harden her property including
improved windows locks and doors; working closely with the police to report the abuse;
improving K’s digital and technology safety; and putting a safety plan in place with regard
to the harassment and stalking.
The IDVA also provided K with emotional support and more in-depth support to
understand the dynamics of domestic abuse.
After receiving specialist support for her intersecting experience of violence and abuse
from three organisations in partnership, K reported that she felt less alone, her safety had
increased, and she felt confident to know where she could access further support if she
needed it.
Domestic Homicide Reviews
465. A Domestic Homicide Review (a ‘DHR’) under section 9(1) of the Domestic
Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 (‘the 2004 Act’) is a review of the circumstances
in which the death of a person aged 16 or over has, or appears to have, resulted from
violence, abuse or neglect by a person to whom they were related or with whom they
were in an intimate personal relationship, or by a member of the same household.
Where a victim took their own life (suicide) and the circumstances give rise to concern,
such as it emerging that there was coercive controlling behaviour in the relationship, a
DHR should also be carried out. Such reviews are carried out in local areas by
Community Safety Partnerships (CSP), made up of one or more of the bodies and
persons bodies listed in section 9(4) of the 2004 Act. The reviews are undertaken with
a view to identifying the lessons to be learnt from the death, particularly regarding the
way in which professionals and organisations work together to safeguard victims.
466. When a domestic homicide occurs, the relevant police force should inform the
relevant CSP in writing of the incident. Overall responsibility for establishing a review
rests with the local CSP as they are ideally placed to initiate a DHR and review panel
due to their multi-agency design and locations across England and Wales. CSPs are
made up of representatives from some, but not all, of the ‘responsible authorities’ listed
in section 5 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (‘the 1998 Act’), which have the
functions set out in section 6 of the 1998 Act in relation to a local government area who
work together to protect their local communities from crime. See further guidance on
conducting DHRs. It is the duty of any person or organisation listed within subsection
(4) of the 2004 Act to have regard to the DHR statutory guidance.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
147
Annex A – Support Available for Victims
• 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline (England) – run by Refuge, freephone:
0808 2000 247. British Sign Language access from 10am - 6pm on weekdays. The
website offers a live chat service between 3pm - 10pm on weekdays.
• Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse – an organisation that supports those who
have lost a family member (or friend) through fatal domestic abuse.
• Age UK – an organisation that supports older people and victims of elder abuse.
• Ask for ANI – a codeword scheme for victims to access support from the safety of their
local pharmacy.
• Broken Rites – a group offering mutual support and information to separated and
divorced spouses and partners of clergy, ministers, and Church Army Officers.
• Childline – a free 24-hour service providing support for anyone under 19 in the UK.
0800 1111.
• Clinks – an organisation that supports the voluntary sector working with people in the
criminal justice system and their families. Clinks have a directory of services, although
it is not exhaustive, and are experienced in supporting women who have suffered
domestic abuse.
• Dogs Trust Freedom Project – a specialist dog fostering service for victims fleeing
domestic abuse.
• Galop – a specialist organisation and LGBT anti-violence charity offering support to
LGBT victims.
• Hestia Respond to Abuse Advice Line – a specialist advice line supporting
employers to help staff experiencing domestic abuse on 0203 879 3695 or via email
Adviceline.EB@hestia.org. 9am - 5pm Monday to Friday.
• HM Prison and Probation Service Unwated Prisoner Contact Service – a service
for victims to contact HMPPS to report unwanted letters, phone calls, texts or
messages from a prisoner or to proactively seek to stop contact. You may access the
service by completing the form on Gov.uk using the link gov.uk/stop-prisoner-contact
(24 hr access) or call 03000606699 or via email
unwantedprisonercontact@justice.gov.uk Monday to Friday 9am – 4pm. The Unwanted
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
148
Prisoner Contact service also offers victims the opportunity to contact HMPPS to raise
concerns about a prisoner being released.
• Hourglass – a specialist organisation aiming to end the harm, abuse and exploitation
of older people in the UK. Their helpline can be accessed by phone on 0808 808 8141,
text on 07860 052906 or email helpline@wearehourglass.org.
• Jewish Women’s Aid – a specialist organisation supporting Jewish women and
children affected by domestic abuse. Their helpline is 0808 801 0500 and is open
Mondays to Thursdays from 9.30 am - 9.30 pm (excluding Jewish holidays and bank
holidays).
• Karma Nirvana ‘Honour’-Based Abuse helpline – a specialist organisation
supporting victims of ’honour’-based abuse and forced marriage. Their helpline is 0800
599 9247 and is open 9am - 5pm, Monday to Friday.
• Loving Me – a specialist organisation providing one-to-one online support and
advocacy for high risk Transgender, Gender Queer and Non-Binary victims of domestic
abuse.
• ManKind Initiative – a specialist organisation supporting male victims of domestic
abuse and their children.
• Men’s Advice Line – run by Respect. 0808 801 0327 open Monday to Friday 9am -
8pm or email info@mensadviceline.org.uk
• Muslim Women’s Network – a specialist organisation supporting Muslim women and
girls.
• National LGBT+ Domestic Abuse helpline – 0800 999 5428 Monday to Friday 10am
- 5pm.
• National Stalking helpline – run by Suzy Lamplugh Trust. 0808 802 0300 9.30am -
4pm Monday to Friday.
• NSPCC – The UK’s leading children’s charity working to prevent abuse, rebuild
children’s lives and support families.
• NSPCC FGM helpline – 0800 028 3550.
• Operation Encompass Teachers’ National Helpline – 0204 513 9990 open 8am -
1pm Monday to Friday. The helpline is for school staff to seek guidance and discuss
queries they may have following an Operation Encompass notification and in
preparation for supporting a child experiencing domestic abuse.
• Paladin – an organisation that provides support for victims of stalking.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
149
• Parental Education Growth Support (PEGS) – an organisation that supports victims
of child to parent abuse.
• Rail to Refuge – a scheme providing free rail travel to refuge accommodation for
women, men and children fleeing domestic abuse through a member organisation of
Women’s Aid, Welsh Women’s Aid, Imkaan or Respect (which runs the Men’s Advice
Line).
• Rape Crisis England and Wales – an organisation representing rape crisis centres
across England and Wales which provide support for women and girls of all ages who
have experienced any form of sexual violence. Their telephone number is 0808 802
9999. Their website also offers a Live Chat service.
• Refuge – an organisation operated by an all female staff that provides support for all
victims of domestic abuse and violence against women and girls.
• Respect – an organisation that works with male victims of domestic abuse and
domestic abuse perpetrators. Respects operates the Men’s Advice line, a confidential
helping for male victims of domestic abuse and the Respect Phoneline for domestic
abuse perpetrators and those supporting them.
• Restored – a specialist organisation working to tackle domestic abuse by partnering
with churches and Christian organisations.
• Revenge Porn helpline – open between 10am and 4pm, Monday to Friday. 0345 600
0459 or help@revengepornhelpline.org.uk.
• Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs) – centres providing medical, practical and
emotional support to all victims of sexual assault.
• Sign Health Domestic Abuse Service – a specialist domestic abuse service to
support the health and wellbeing of deaf people.
• Sikh Women’s Aid – an organisation providing support for Sikh women and girls.
• Southall Black Sisters – an organisation providing support for ethnic minority victims
and migrant women. Their helpline is 020 8571 9595 and is open between 9am and
5pm Monday to Friday.
• Stay Safe East – a specialist organisation providing support for deaf and disabled
victims of domestic abuse across London. Referrals should be made to
enquiries@staysafe-east.org.uk.
• Surviving Economic Abuse – a specialist organisation dedicated to supporting
victims of economic abuse, working in partnership with Money Advice Plus to provide
money and debt advice to victims experiencing financial difficulties.
Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance
150
• UK Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) – a Government policy unit leading on forced
marriage policy, outreach and casework. FMU operates a public helpline to provide
advice and support to victims and potential victims of forced marriage. 020 7008 0151.
• Victim Support – a specialist service helping anyone affected by any types of crime,
not only those who experience it directly, but also their friends, family and any other
people involved.
• Women’s Aid Federation England (WAFE) – an organisation supporting women
affected by domestic abuse. Their website offers a Live Chat service available Monday
to Friday 10am to 6pm and Saturday and Sunday 10am to 6pm. Women’s Aid also
provide a directory, listing local support services across the UK, although it is not
exhaustive it is updated regularly.
Wales specific organisations:
• 24-hour National Helpline (Wales) ‘Live Fear Free’ – 0808 801 0800 open 24 hours
a day, 7 days a week.
Live Fear Free helpline is a free service for all victims of domestic abuse and sexual
violence and those close to them, including family, friends, colleagues and other
concerned parties.
Live Fear Free can also be contacted in the following ways;
Text: 0786 007 7333
Email: info@livefearfreehelpline.wales
Live chat: gov.wales/livefearfree
• BAWSO – a specialist organisation dedicated to supporting ethnic minority
communities.
• Dyn Wales helpline – an organisation supporting male victims of domestic abuse.
0808 801 0321 or email support@dynwales.org (support for male victims)
• Meic – a free, confidential, anonymous, and bilingual helpline service for children and
young people up to the age of 25 in Wales providing information, useful advice and
support. Meic are open 8am - midnight, 7 days a week, by telephone, SMS text and
instant messaging.
Telephone: 0808 80 23456
Text: 54001
Live chat: www.meiccymru.org
• Mid, West, East and South Wales the main sexual violence support service provider
is New Pathways and can be contacted on 01685 379 310
or enquiries@newpathways.org.uk.
151
• North Wales (Anglesey, Conwy, Gwynedd, Flintshire, Denbighshire and Wrexham),
there are two main sexual violence support services:
o Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre (RASASC) provides information,
specialist support and therapy to anyone who has experienced any kind of
sexual abuse and violence; they can be contacted on 01248 670 628
or info@rasacymru.org.uk.
o Stepping Stones provides therapeutic services to adults who have been
sexually abused as children; they can be contacted on 01978 352 717
or info@steppingstonesnorthwales.co.uk.
• Welsh Women’s Aid – an organisation supporting Welsh women affected by domestic
abuse.
152
Annex B – Glossary of Acronyms
• ACE – Adverse Childhood
Experience
• APVA – Adolescent to Parent
Violence and Abuse
• CAPVA – Child and Adolescent to
Parent Violence and Abuse
• CCR – Coordinated Community
Response
• CJS – Criminal Justice System
• CPS – Crown Prosecution Service
• CQC – Care Quality Commission
• CSE – Child Sexual Exploitation
• CSEW – Crime Survey for England
and Wales
• CSP – Community Safety
Partnership
• DA BPF – Domestic Abuse Best
Practice Framework
• DAEHL – Domestic Abuse Early
Help Lead
• DAHA – Domestic Abuse Housing
Alliance
• DAPNs – Domestic Abuse
Protection Notices
• DAPOs – Domestic Abuse
Protection Orders
• DAPPs – Domestic Abuse
Perpetrator Programmes
• DASH – Domestic Abuse, Stalking,
Harassment and ‘Honour’-Based
Violence
• DDVC – Destitute Domestic
Violence Concession
• DHR – Domestic Homicide Review
• DHSC – Department of Health and
Social Care
• DLUHC – Department for Levelling
Up, Housing and Communities
• DVDS – Domestic Violence
Disclosure Scheme, also known as
“Clare’s Law”
• DVILR – Domestic Violence
Indefinite Leave to Remain
• DVPNs – Domestic Violence
Protection Notices
• DVPOs – Domestic Violence
Protection Orders
• DWP – Department for Work and
Pensions
• FCA – Financial Conduct Authority
• FGM – Female Genital Mutilation
• FGMPO- Female Genital Mutilation
Protection orders
• FOUR – Fixated, Obsessive,
Unwanted and/or Repeated
• HMCTS – Her Majesty’s Courts and
Tribunals Service
153
• HMICFRS – Her Majesty’s
Inspectorate of Constabulary and
Fire and Rescue Services
• HMIP – Her Majesty’s Inspectorate
of Probation
• HMPPS – Her Majesty’s Prison and
Probation Service
• ICB – Integrated Care Board
• ICP – Integrated Care Partnership
• ICS – Integrated Care System
• IDVA – Independent Domestic
Violence Advisor
• INCADVA - Inter-Collegiate and
Agency Domestic Violence Abuse
• IOM – Integrated Offender
Management
• ISVA – Independent Sexual
Violence Advisor
• JTAI – Joint Targeted Area
Inspection
• KSS – Knowledge and Skills
Statements
• LCJBs – Local Criminal Justice
Boards
• LGBT – Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Trans
• MAPPA – Multi-Agency Public
Protection Arrangements
• MARAC – Multi-Agency Risk
Assessment Conference
• MASH – Multi-Agency Safeguarding
Hub
• MATAC – Multi-Agency tasking and
coordination meeting
• NICE – National Institute for Health
and Care Excellence
• NRM – National Referral
Mechanism
• NRPF – No Recourse to Public
Funds
• NSE – National Statement of
Expectations
• ONS – Office for National Statistics
• PCC – Police and Crime
Commissioner
• PCDAW – Parent and Child
Domestic Abuse Worker
• RSHE – Relationships, Sex and
Health Education
• VAWDASV – Violence Against
Women, Domestic Abuse and
Sexual Violence
• VAWG – Violence Against Women
and Girls
154
Annex C – Guidance Documents
All resources listed here and within the guidance may be subject to changes and updates.
Where impending updates are known at the time of writing indication of this is given.
Authorised Professional Practice on Domestic Abuse
214
https://www.app.college.police.uk/domestic-abuse-index/
Child to Parent Abuse Guidance
215
https://safelives.org.uk/sites/default/files/resources/HO%20Information%20APVA.pdf
Code of Practice for Victims of Crime
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_
data/file/476900/code-of-practice-for-victims-of-crime.PDF
Controlling or Coercive Behaviour Statutory Guidance
216
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_
data/file/482528/Controlling_or_coercive_behaviour_-_statutory_guidance.pdf
Crown Prosecution Service Guidance on Domestic Abuse
217
https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/domestic-abuse
DAHA (Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance) toolkit
http://accreditation.dahalliance.org.uk/
Domestic Abuse, Stalking, Harassment and ‘honour’ Based Violence (DASH) risk
checklist
https://www.dashriskchecklist.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/DASH-2009.pdf
Domestic Abuse Toolkit for Employers
https://www.bitc.org.uk/toolkit/domestic-abuse-toolkit/
Domestic Homicide Review (DHR) Guidance
218
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_
data/file/575273/DHR-Statutory-Guidance-161206.pdf
214
At the time of writing, it is known that this publication is planned for update.
215
Ibid.
216
Ibid.
217
Ibid.
218
Ibid.
155
Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS) Guidance
219
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_
data/file/575361/DVDS_guidance_FINAL_v3.pdf
Domestic Violence Protection Notice (DVPN) and Domestic Violence Protection
Order (DVPO) Guidance
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_
data/file/575363/DVPO_guidance_FINAL_3.pdf
Female Genital Mutilation Statutory Guidance
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/multi-agency-statutory-guidance-on-female-
genital-mutilation
Forced Marriage Statutory Guidance and Multi-Agency Practice Guidelines
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-right-to-choose-government-guidance-on-
forced-marriage/multi-agency-statutory-guidance-for-dealing-with-forced-marriage-and-
multi-agency-practice-guidelines-handling-cases-of-forced-marriage-accessible
Guidance for Local Strategies (Wales)
https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2019-06/guidance-for-local-strategies.pdf
Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) Domestic Abuse Policy
Framework
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/domestic-abuse-policy-framework
Homelessness Code of Guidance
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a969da940f0b67aa5087b93/Homelessnes
s_code_of_guidance.pdf
Information Sharing: Advice for Practitioners Providing Safeguarding Services to
Children, Young People, Parents and Carers
220
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_
data/file/721581/Information_sharing_advice_practitioners_safeguarding_services.pdf
Keeping Children Safe in Education Statutory Guidance
221
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2
Male Victims Statement (Crown Prosecution Service)
https://www.cps.gov.uk/publication/cps-public-statement-male-victims-crimes-covered-cps-
vawg-strategy
Supporting Male Victims Document (Home Office)
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-male-victims
219
At the time of writing, it is known that this publication is planned for update.
220
Ibid.
221
Ibid.
156
Modern Slavery: Statutory Guidance for England and Wales (under s49 of the
Modern Slavery Act 2015) and Non-Statutory Guidance for Scotland and Northern
Ireland
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_
data/file/1059234/Modern_Slavery_Statutory_Guidance__EW__Non-
Statutory_Guidance__SNI__v2.8.pdf
Multi-Agency Working and Information Sharing Project
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_
data/file/338875/MASH.pdf
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs116
National Statement of Expectations
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_
data/file/1064571/National_Statement_of_Expectations_2022_Final.pdf
Pathfinder Toolkit
https://www.standingtogether.org.uk/blog-3/pathfinder-toolkit
Perpetrator Service Standards (Wales)
https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2019-06/perpetrator-service-standards.pdf
Pre-Charged Bail and Released Under Investigation Guidance
222
https://cdn.prgloo.com/media/832fb4a76353450ab555b7db1c93ed48.pdf
Priorities for Domestic Abuse Services
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_
data/file/721495/Fund_for_domestic_abuse_services_2018-20_prospectus.pdf
Respect Standard Accreditation Guidance
https://www.respect.uk.net/pages/64-respect-standard
Safeguarding Children, Young People and Adults at Risk in the NHS: Safeguarding
Accountability and Assurance Framework
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/safeguarding-children-young-
people-adults-at-risk-saaf.pdf
SafeLives Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) guidance
https://safelives.org.uk/practice-support/resources-marac-meetings
Sanctuary Schemes for Households at Risk of Domestic Violence: A Guide for
Agencies
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sanctuary-schemes-for-households-at-risk-of-
domestic-violence-guide-for-agencies
222
At the time of writing, it is known that this publication is planned for update.
157
Sentencing Children and Young People Sentencing Council Guidelines
https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/overarching-guides/magistrates-
court/item/sentencing-children-and-young-people/
Sexual Violence and Harassment Between Children in Schools and Colleges
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sexual-violence-and-sexual-harassment-
between-children-in-schools-and-colleges
Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years Statutory
guidance for organisations which work with and support children and young people
who have special educational needs or disabilities (England)
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25
Stalking Protection Act: Statutory Guidance for the Police
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stalking-protection-act-statutory-guidance-for-
the-police
Standards for Children in the Youth Justice System 2019
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_
data/file/780504/Standards_for_children_in_youth_justice_services_2019.doc.pdf
Statutory Guidance for the Commissioning of Violence Against Women, Domestic
Abuse and Sexual Violence (VAWDASV) Services in Wales
https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2019-05/statutory-guidance-for-the-
commissioning-of-vawdasv-services-in-wales.pdf
Statutory Guidance Framework: Controlling or Coercive Behaviour in an Intimate or
Family Relationship
223
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/statutory-guidance-framework-controlling-or-
coercive-behaviour-in-an-intimate-or-family-relationship
Strengthening Families and Protecting Children Programme
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/strengthening-families-protecting-children-sfpc-programme
Tackling Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence: A
Collaborative Commissioning Toolkit for Service in Wales
https://www.lloydsbankfoundation.org.uk/media/jmun2m2n/vawdasv-toolkit_wales_web.pdf
The Multi-Agency Response to Children Living with Domestic Abuse The multi-
agency response to children living with domestic abuse (publishing.service.gov.uk)
Violence Against Women and Girls Commissioning Toolkit
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/violence-against-women-and-girls-national-
statement-of-expectations-and-commissioning-toolkit
223
At the time of writing, it is known that this publication is planned for update.
158
Violence Against Women and Girls: Sector Shared Core Standards
https://1q7dqy2unor827bqjls0c4rn-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-
content/uploads/2016/11/Shared-Standards-Whole-Document-Final-30.11.2016.pdf
Working Together to Safeguard Children Statutory Guidance
224
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2
Working Together to Safeguard People: Handling Individual Cases to Protect
Children at Risk
https://gov.wales/safeguarding-children-risk-abuse-or-neglect
Youth Offenders CPS Legal Guidance
https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/youth-offenders
Youth Offending Team and Managers Case Management Guidance
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/case-management-guidance
224
At the time of writing, it is known that this publication is planned for update.
159
Annex D – Table of Protective Orders
Jurisdiction
Name
Purpose
Process
Relevant
Legislation
Is a
breach a
Criminal
Offence?
Sanction for
breach
Civil proceedings
(Magistrates’ court)
Domestic
Violence
Protection
Orders
Intended to provide
immediate and short-
term cessation of contact
between perpetrator and
victim.
Separate from
criminal
proceedings (if
any).
Police make an
application to the
magistrates’
court.
Crime and
Security Act
2010
No
Maximum two
years
imprisonment
(for civil
contempt)
Civil proceedings
(Magistrates’ court)
Violent
Offender
Orders
For those convicted of
specified serious
violent offences to
protect the public
from the risk of
serious violent harm.
Post-conviction.
Police make an
application to the
magistrates’
court.
Criminal
Justice and
Immigration
Act 2008
Yes
Five years
imprisonment
maximum
Civil proceedings
(Magistrates’ court)
Sexual
Risk Order
Protection from harm
where risk from person
shown to have carried
out certain sexual
behaviour.
Not dependent
on conviction.
Police make an
application to the
magistrates’
court.
Anti-Social
Behaviour,
Crime and
Policing Act
2014
Yes
Five years
imprisonment
maximum
160
Jurisdiction
Name
Purpose
Process
Relevant
Legislation
Is a
breach a
Criminal
Offence?
Sanction for
breach
Civil proceedings
(Magistrates’ court)
Notification
order
Makes a sexual offender
who has been convicted
or cautioned abroad
subject to the notification
requirements. Used
where necessary to
prevent sexual harm.
Post foreign
conviction.
Police make an
application to the
magistrates’
court.
Sexual
Offences Act
2003
Yes
Five years
imprisonment
maximum
Civil proceedings
(Magistrates’ court)
Stalking
Protection
Order
Early intervention to
prevent escalation or
entrenchment of stalking
behaviour. Can be used
where there is sufficient
evidence of stalking
behaviour (but not
necessarily conviction)
before a charge is
brought.
Not dependent
on criminal
proceedings.
Police make an
application.
Stalking
Protection Act
2019
Yes
Five years
imprisonment
maximum
Civil proceedings (County
court or High court)
Injunction
To be used if victims are
not legallyassociated to
the perpetrator (e.g.
marriage, sharing
parental responsibilities,
living together), provides
for a restraining order
Victim brings
civil
proceedings.
Protection from
Harassment Act
1997 (s.3)
Yes
Contempt two
years
imprisonment
maximum; or
conviction five
years
161
Jurisdiction
Name
Purpose
Process
Relevant
Legislation
Is a
breach a
Criminal
Offence?
Sanction for
breach
and the victim can claim
damages.
Criminal
proceedings(Magistrates’
or Crown court)
Restraining
Orders
To allow a court to
protect a victim from an
offender/defendant
Prosecutor
applies to
criminal court on
conviction or
acquittal for any
offence.
Protection
from
Harassment
Act 1997
Yes
Five years
imprisonment
maximum
Criminal proceedings
(Magistrates’ or Crown
court)
Sexual
Harm
Prevention
Order
To protect the public
from sexual harm from
an offender.
Post-conviction.
Prosecutor
applies to
criminal court on
conviction.
Sexual
Offences Act
2003
Yes
Five years
imprisonment
maximum
Criminal proceedings
(Magistrates’ or Crown
court)
Criminal
Behaviour
Orders
Can be used to prevent
further incidents of
domestic abuse.
Prosecutor
applies to the
criminal court on
conviction.
Anti-Social
Behaviour,
Crime and
Policing Act
2014
Yes
Five years
imprisonment
maximum
Family proceedings
Occupation
Orders
Determines who can
and/or cannot occupy
particular premises for a
period of time.
Victim makes
application to the
family court.
Family Law
Act 1996
No
N/A
Family proceedings
Forced
Marriage
Can be used where
person has been
Not dependent
on criminal
proceedings.
Family Law Act
1996
Yes
Contempt two
years
imprisonment
162
Jurisdiction
Name
Purpose
Process
Relevant
Legislation
Is a
breach a
Criminal
Offence?
Sanction for
breach
Protection
Order
subjected to or is at risk
of forced marriage.
Person to be
protected, local
authority, or any
other party with
the permission
of the court,
applies to family
court.
maximum; or
conviction five
years
Family proceedings
Non-
molestation
orders
To prohibit a person
from molesting another
person.
By a court of its
own volition if a
child involved
otherwise on
application.
Victim applies to
Family Court.
Family Law
Act 1996
Yes
Five years
imprisonment
maximum
Family proceedings or
criminal proceedings
FGM
Protection
Order
Can be used where
person has been
subjected to or is at risk
of FGM.
Not dependent
on criminal
proceedings.
Person to be
protected, local
authority or any
other party with
the permission
of the court
applies to Family
FGM Act
2003
Yes
Contempt two
years
imprisonment
maximum or
conviction five
years
163
Jurisdiction
Name
Purpose
Process
Relevant
Legislation
Is a
breach a
Criminal
Offence?
Sanction for
breach
or High Court (or
can be made by
criminal court in
criminal
proceedings for
an FGM
offence).
