Tackling Domestic Violence
Professor Marianne Hester
University of Bristol
VICTIM
PERPETRATOR
CHILD
VICTIM
PERPETRATOR
CHILD
Home Office
Crime Reduction
Programme
Aims To identify ‘what works’ to support victims
and to tackle domestic violence
Background
£6.3 million to fund 34 pilot projects aimed at
reducing domestic violence, rape and sexual assault
27 projects on domestic violence:
• criminal and civil justice;
• protection and prevention;
• Black and other ethnic minorities;
• health;
• multi-service;
• education; and
• rural work
Meta-evaluation
Methodology
518 interviews with project staff and partner agencies;
174 interviews with domestic violence victims/survivors;
22 focus groups; and
2,935 questionnaires.
Quantitative data (gathered mostly through the police) were
collected on 80,350 domestic violence victims/survivors,
35,349 domestic violence perpetrators, and 5,687 children
living in domestic violence situations.
Three groups – different needs
•Children and young people in schools who may or may
not have been living with domestic violence
•Younger women with children who did not appear to be
actively seeking help
•Women from an older age group who had been subject to
repeat victimisation, and often severe and systematic
abuse, and who were actively seeking help
Primary prevention in primary
& secondary schools
Had an impact when:
• student-centred,
• interactive,
• with visual input such as drama
More impact if:
• integrated across curriculum
• teachers supported
Routine Enquiry
Used by health and social care professionals
Effective when:
• Training for practitioners of at least 2 days
• Incorporated into existing work
• Good multi-agency links
• Use of Duluth wheels
• Linked to safety planning
Led to:
• Increased awareness & disclosure
• Increased empowerment of clients and staff
Supporting women
Needs range of support:
• Advocacy support in widest sense
• Advocates for BME women
• Outreach
• Legal advocacy and advice
• Panic alarms & home security
• Individual and/or group work
Has to be geared to individual need and
situation, and will change over time.
Can reduce repeat victimisation
Supporting women
e.g. Northampton Sunflower Centre
‘Spiralling cocoon care’
Support - to report to police:
Most effective when:
• Project workers in police station, or
• Police as part of one-stop-shop.
Leads to:
increase in reporting (recording)
Increase in arrests
Support - to report to police:
Figure 4.4 - Method 2. (non-project comparison)
% incidents resulting in arrest
60
% reports
50
40
Police
30
Project
20
10
0
Bradford
Camden
Cheshire
Suffolk
Project
Bradford and Camden prioritised legal support.
Cheshire & Suffolk did not.
Support – through the court process
Involves:
• Advocacy with intensive legal & other support
• Links with good solicitors
• Legal worker
• Links with police & CPS
• Training for magistrates
Leads to:
• Better use of civil remedies
• Reduced attrition in criminal justice process
(less ‘drop-out’ of cases)
• More custodial sentences
Support – through the court process
Well I took my ex-partner to Court and… If I had
to go and see anybody they came with me. And
you know when you speak to solicitors and stuff
they don’t always speak in jargon…they explained
everything in English to me…so I fully understood
what was happening. And they gave me several
ways of advice, different paths I could go on. And
I made my own decisions then of what to do.
(Project user, Bradford)
Individual and group work
Involved outreach workers and advocates
Worked best when:
• Outreach was structured & included children
• Individual work when woman needed focused
support.
• Group work to help women ‘move on’.
Three groups – different needs
•Children and young people in schools who may or may
not have been living with domestic violence – awareness,
primary prevention
PREVENTION & EARLY INTERVENTION
•Younger women with children who did not appear to be
actively seeking help – routine enquiry, outreach,
advocacy
EARLY INTERVENTION
•Women from an older age group who had been subject to
repeat victimisation, and often severe and systematic
abuse, and who were actively seeking help – outreach,
advocacy, individual and group work
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