Spotlight on Domestic Abuse

Spotlight on Domestic Abuse

This year, much has been written about the continual impact of domestic abuse upon victims and their families. The Domestic Abuse Bill 2019 highlighted the issues and made clear that a new statutory definition was required to enable health, social care, and criminal justice professionals to fully protect victims and their families. With this in mind, we speak to social work trainer Bal Kaur Howard about why it’s so important for social workers to understand the impact of domestic abuse, and how they can use practical tools to improve their practice.

In your view, what is the priority for enabling social workers to fully protect victims of domestic abuse?

Currently, when social workers undertake their social work degree, domestic abuse training isn’t a mandatory module. This is surprising because social work teams will spend a considerable amount of time working with incidents that are directly or indirectly affected by domestic abuse. As we wait for the Domestic Abuse Bill 2019 to be finalised, I’m hoping that it will become a mandatory part of their qualifications as domestic abuse will have a statutory footing.

Training is so important. Not just to allow practitioners to deal with the impact of physical abuse, but also to help them understand the signs and indicators of coercive control and economic abuse which is clearly defined.

I also think it’s imperative that the statutory definition of domestic abuse is confirmed. At the moment, local authorities, police, healthcare professionals, and other agencies all work to individual definitions which makes it much harder to bring them together. Much has been written about the Bill having a specific definition of what constitutes abuse, so the sooner it is enshrined in law, the better.

The proposed statutory definition of Domestic Abuse...

Behaviour by 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 or (b) The behaviour is abusive.

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 (e) Psychological, emotional, or other abuse

Economic Abuse

Economic abuse is defined as: any behaviour that has a substantial and adverse effect on B’s ability to – a) acquire, use or maintain money or other property, or b) obtain goods or services 'Property’ would cover items such as a mobile phone or car and ‘goods and services’ would cover, for example, utilities such as heating, or items such as food or clothing.

In your experience, what are the primary reasons for victims staying in abusive relationships and how can social workers offer support to help break this cycle of abuse?

There are many reasons why a victim may struggle to leave. They may be in love with the perpetrator (as they aren’t abusive all of the time), breaking up the family unit and they may not have realised that they are in an unhealthy relationship or where to go for help. It may be that they are scared to leave but primarily the main underlying factor will always be financial. Therefore, understanding economic abuse is so important.

In December 2015, Coercive Controlling Behaviour (CCB) became a criminal offence so we need to work hard as a profession to understand what this means. When I’m running my training workshops, I often ask delegates “can you live without your keys, your credit cards or mobile phone?” which helps them to consider how difficult life can be when someone is denied access to things that we take for granted.

We need to really understand that domestic abuse isn’t just physical violence and sexual. It could be manipulation, psychological (mind games) and emotional abuse (constantly putting a person down). Perpetrators can be extremely subtle in the ways that they manipulate their victims, so we need to be able to spot these signs and indicators when we undertake home visits or speak with them. As a professional, look at the space they live in – one victim could not wash the teapot, it was the only item that looked out of place in the home setting and she said “I’m not allowed to wash that”.

I highly recommend using practical tools such as the 'Power & Control Wheel' along with the 'Economic Abuse Wheel' because it clearly shows how economic abuse is the primary underlying factor in domestic abuse cases. I often use it in partnership with the 'Equality Wheel (the Duluth Model)' because many victims simply do not realise that they are in an unhealthy relationship. It’s about helping them to come to the realisation of what a healthy, equal partnership is.

It is vital for the professional to understand what stage the victim is at, it is no good asking the victim to leave and go to refuge if they haven’t yet identified the abuse.

Although there have been delays with the Domestic Abuse Bill 2019, what do you hope the new Domestic Abuse Commissioner will focus upon following their appointment?

Nicole Jacobs has very recently been appointed to the role of Domestic Abuse Commissioner and it’s really exciting to know that there is now somebody focusing on issues relating to domestic abuse.

Although her role is on a part-time basis (which is disappointing given the breadth of the role), I believe that we have long needed someone to lead and guide from a national level. As I mentioned, until the statutory definition becomes final, too many agencies are working to different definitions making it harder to tackle these issues. Ideally, I would like to see her monitor the issues relating to domestic abuse and ensure that standards are being met across the country rather than a 'postcode lottery'. It’s important that new commissioner can ensure that people are held accountable.

However, it should be noted that although the Domestic Abuse Bill has been delayed until the new Queen’s Speech, there is much positive work coming from government legislation such as the Domestic Abuse Homicide reviews (DHRs). There are so many different strands of work, it will be great to see them brought together in one central place, under Nicole Jacob’s leadership.

Before she stepped down as Prime Minister, Theresa May said that she wanted to end the ‘postcode lottery’ of domestic abuse and ensure that councils had a legal duty to provide secure homes for victims and their children. What will be the impact of this decision on social work teams?

Unfortunately, this is something else which still hasn’t happened, primarily because it will be extremely costly. For it to truly work, more funding needs to be available for local authorities to fully manage this.

The housing teams should have domestic abuse policies (most do). Housing teams are involved in Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) processes but unfortunately, unless the victim is high risk and a referral is made, the case is not always looked at as a priority. There is a huge demand for housing; women’s refuges all have waiting lists simply because of a lack of funding, hence the lack of space to accommodate victims and their children.

I think that it is potentially a very important step, but it should be noted that there will always be gaps in the policy. For example, what about potential victims from overseas who may not have access to public funds? How will they be protected? If children are involved, it becomes a matter for social care, and it would be funded out of their budget because of Section 17 of the Children’s Act. There’s also the issue that a victim may not necessarily be classed as ‘vulnerable’ which adds increasing complexities to these issues. As you can see, there is a lot of different aspects which need to be fully considered.

It’s been 10 years since the development of the Domestic Abuse, Stalking, Harassment and Honour Based Abuse (DASH) Risk Assessment was implemented across police services in the UK. How has this model helped to keep victims safe?

I believe that this is a fantastic model and tool because it really works, and I’d like to see social workers make use of it to intervene at a much earlier stage. Currently, in Suffolk alone, 80% of high-risk DASH referrals are made by the police. This shows that the victim calls 999 when they are at crisis point.

In my view, if we want to focus on prevention work, healthcare professionals, social workers, education staff and other agencies could be using this model to make referrals at a much earlier stage so that intervention can happen before crisis point.

For those who aren’t fully aware of the model, it’s a set of 27 (or in some areas 24) questions, which are all asked in a specific order, which can help to identify the risk of the victim. The level of risk can be classified as standard, medium or high – those who are deemed to be high risk will be referred to a MARAC. The tool uses the questions to identify the risk level, but also allows the practitioner to use their professional judgement as well. This is important because a potential victim may be answering each question, but their body language, eye contact or general demeanour may be saying something different. This is where we can use the tool and reporting to inform our notes. We know from research that “stalking / harassment / strangulation” are high risk indicators to potential murders.

What should be made clear is that is a social worker has completed the DASH Risk Assessment and believes that a referral is required; they do not necessarily need the consent of the victim to make that referral. It’s always good practice to try to get their consent first, but if the person hasn’t understood that they are a victim of domestic abuse then they may not believe that it’s necessary. In these instances, the professional should make the referral anyway to safeguard the victim and/or their children.

If you are not going to make a referral because you do not believe the situation warrants it, always make sure that you document and record your rationale. Should the victim or their children be murdered or caused significant harm, it will be noted as evidence during a DHR. Often key indicators which always come out in these reviews has been “information wasn’t shared”, so it’s vital that you continue to document your reasons within your reporting.

The DASH questions can be hard to ask; how can social workers feel more comfortable with the lines of questioning?

When I run my training courses, we always incorporate role-play elements where I act as a victim. I’ll encourage a delegate to complete a risk assessment and then we can explore how people feel during the assessment.

It’s important that the questions are asked in the order that they are written, and using the same phrasing, but you can add as any additional questions where appropriate. In my view, there are some questions which social workers can always ask in every single conversation. Do you feel safe at home? How do you spend your day? What were you like before this relationship? Did you know that someone will be a victim of domestic abuse 35-40 times before speaking out? These questions are imperative because the first two are so basic, but they can encourage people to really open up about their experiences. It’s also important to help them realise that domestic abuse rarely happens just once. If they realise that it happens multiple times before they tell someone, they may start to understand the seriousness and that it’s not just ‘one incident’; it’s a continual cycle of abuse.

If we look at the Power and Control Wheel, we can help a victim to link together different instances. For example, they may have experienced name-calling on separate occasions months apart. Because of the time frame, they may not link them together, but once they understand that it’s a cycle of abuse which becomes tighter and tighter, they can start to view the situation with greater clarity and understanding.

How can social workers make the most out of the MultiAgency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) process?

MARAC’s are a great way to really advocate for the victims. Once a DASH Risk Assessment and referral have been made, the case will be sent to the MARAC administrator, who will bring together a variety of agencies (such as information from health professionals, substance misuse teams, mental health workers, education, housing, probation, etc) and the whole case will be reviewed collectively.

I believe that the role of the social worker within these conferences is to be the voice of the victim and to ensure that they are listened to and heard. If there are any issues that the victim is having, this is the opportunity to air them. Within my domestic abuse training, I spend a lot of time talking about the MARAC process which helps social workers to understand what they should be doing to ensure positive outcomes. It’s important to remember that the social workers are not alone, they can call on the help of the Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs) and other partner agencies.

Are there specific issues social workers should be aware of in relation to cultural sensitivities or community beliefs and how can these be addressed?

This is where we move into more Honour Based Violence and Abuse (HBV/A) training and knowledge. With these cases, there are issues relating to language, a lack of recourse to public funds and an awareness that professionals should use independent translators – not just family members. I’ve mentioned that a victim of domestic abuse will have experienced 35-40 incidents of domestic abuse before they tell anyone. When you consider cultural aspects, this figure trebles.

It’s also important to note that in these instances, we may not be dealing with one perpetrator, it could be many. It’s also much harder when it involves family. We know that it’s incredibly difficult to walk away from a partner, but it’s even worse if you must walk away from your entire family. How do you keep people safe in these instances?

Domestic Abuse Statistics

1 in 5 children are exposed to domestic abuse during childhood. Those children affected by domestic abuse in their early years are four times more likely to go on and experience or perpetrate domestic abuse later in life. 2% of children living with domestic abuse are directly harmed by the perpetrator of the abuse, in addition to the harm caused by witnessing the abuse of others. On average victims at high risk of serious harm or murder live with domestic abuse for 2-3 years before seeking help. 85% of victims sought help five times on average from professionals in the year before they got effective help to stop the abuse

Find out More

If you would like to know more about the domestic abuse training led by Bal Kaur Howard, visit bkhtraining.co.uk or email info@bkhtraining.co.uk