Safety in Numbers: a study commissioned by the Hestia Fund and funded by The Henry Smith Charity and The Sigrid Rausing Trust – published on 24th November 2009

Posted on November 25, 2009
Filed Under 16 Days 2009 2008, Domestic Violence, England, Publication, Reseach | Comments Off

The study followed 2,500 women over two years across seven sites in England and Wales who were suffering from severe, high risk physical, emotional and sexual abuse as well as stalking and harassment.

It found that this abuse stopped completely in two-thirds or cases where there was intensive support from an IDVA (Independent Domestic Violence Advisor) service.

The report is available to download in PDF format via the following links:
* full report http://www.henrysmithcharity.org.uk/documents/SafetyinNumbersFullReportNov09.pdf
* summary of findings and recommendations http://www.henrysmithcharity.org.uk/documents/SafetyinNumbers16ppSummaryNov09.pdf
* summary of the four key findings http://www.henrysmithcharity.org.uk/documents/SafetyInNumbers4keyfindingsNov09.pdf

From http://www.henrysmithcharity.org.uk/

4 key recommendations:

Recommendation 1: More IDVAs are needed
While the IDVA sector has expanded in capacity over the past four years, many services – including some in our study – are facing cutbacks and current capacity is still estimated to be less than half of the 1,200-1,500 IDVAs that are needed for national coverage. The financial costs associated with this group of victims are particularly high, especially to the health service and criminal justice system. The cost of providing an IDVA for a high risk victim of domestic abuse is around £500 and the cost per successful outcome (i.e. where all forms of abuse cease), is less than £1,000. The potential savings to government from national IDVA coverage of the type set out in Safety in Numbers run into hundreds of millions of pounds excluding any allowance for emotional suffering or loss of economic output.

Recommendation 2: IDVA services must be commissioned to a common framework that keeps the safety of the victim central
This research highlights just how effective an IDVA service can be if properly focused. IDVAs must have the capacity to offer an ‘intensive’ level of support, giving the full range of choices to victims regarding their safety. Their work must be a formal part of any multi agency response via the MARAC. The IDVA often acts as a catalyst to mobilizing multiple actions from other agencies, saving the victim the stressful and often unproductive work of trying to do this alone and targeting the agencies’ scarce resources more effectively. Without this, the outcomes for victims and their children will suffer. Funding for the domestic abuse sector today is fragmented and short term. Given the clear evidence of the impact of this work, and the need for it to be tightly defined and delivered, the case for commissioning of independent services with a common framework is clear.

Recommendation 3: Urgent links need to be made to address the risks to children
The study highlighted the dangerous confluence of domestic abuse, substance misuse and mental health problems surrounding the lives of over 3,600 children. Without addressing the other sources of adversity in parents’ lives that affect children, the impact of our efforts will be more limited. The establishment of safety for a child’s parents is a crucial step towards protecting that child from direct harm and long-term psychological damage. However, this needs to be supported by direct links with services that work with children, offering them the targeted help that they may require.

Recommendation 4: Stronger links need to be made with health services and those who work with perpetrators
It is well known that the health needs of victims of domestic abuse, both in the short and long term, are great. However, the IDVAs in the study were not able to make all the links that one might expect with longer-term health services. This can be addressed by locating IDVA services in health settings and ensuring the participation of all key health partners – primary and secondary care – in the MARAC. Similarly, links with the agencies involved in addressing the issues relating to the perpetrator – criminal behaviour, substance misuse and mental health, in particular – is vital to make the IDVA role as effective as possible, particularly in the context of the MARAC.

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