Children and domestic violence Polly Neate, Chief Executive, Women’s Aid

The impact of domestic violence on children What domestic violence is, who the victims are and how they are affected Service delivery and commissioning trends Towards earlier intervention Towards prevention

Background Domestic violence is extremely common 1.2 million women a year; two women a week are killed; 750,000 children a year are witnesses at home Children are severely affected 97% of women in refuges and 94% in non-refuge services had children aged 15 or younger 25% and 31% respectively said children were or had been on a child protection plan 34% and 31% respectively said their children had also been directly abused Early Intervention Foundation: in 65-77% of households where women are victims of domestic violence, children are also physically maltreated

Key features of domestic violence Pattern of incidents “Coercive control” – experienced by 95% of women accessing services Fear – and it is well founded Limited choice and space for action Severe, long-lasting psychological and emotional impact Damage to parenting skills and confidence

Understanding victims’ experiences Women have experienced an average of more than 30 incidents of abuse before reporting Women are afraid of reporting to the police – with good reason The threat that children will be taken into care is a major influence on women’s behaviour, is realistic, and is frequently used by perpetrators 89% of victims of four or more incidents are women, but women are three times more likely to be arrested for domestic violence than men Victim-blaming is common: “Why doesn’t she just leave?” The most dangerous times for victims are when they leave or have just left the abusive relationship 35% of the children in refuges who had been abused (and 29% in non-refuge services) were still in contact with the perpetrator

Commissioning and services In each of the last two financial years, funding for domestic violence services was cut by 31%, against a background of long-term under-investment In 2013, 48% of Women’s Aid organisations were running a service with no funding at all. The most common of these was the children’s service The Early Intervention Foundation found families already targeted by parenting and family support programmes are at high risk of domestic violence Family Rights Group has seen an eight-fold rise in domestic violence-related inquiries between 2007/8 and 2012/13. They say children of domestic violence victims are now far more likely to be taken into care Investment in domestic violence is focused on “high- risk victims” and MARAC – not on needs-led services, longer term support or early intervention

Impact of commissioning practice Loss of refuge services (often in the name of “early intervention”) Move towards large providers, new to domestic violence Loss of expertise and specialist experience “Gender-neutral” commissioning Transformation of the sector Impact of commissioning decisions on other services, especially children’s social care, not yet understood

Earlier intervention will require… Earlier identification and disclosure Changes to build women’s trust in statutory services, particularly police Preservation of specialist services and knowledge – and using it to inform practice in children’s centres, troubled families programme etc No more fear of the gender issues Finely-balanced, sensitive decisions by professionals working together

Prevention will require… A focus on long term recovery: meeting need not reducing risk Parenting support for women who are recovering Specialist support for children who have witnessed domestic violence Education on healthy relationships in school A local authority-wide strategy for ending violence against women