4.10 Domestic Abuse

1. Definition

1.1 Domestic abuse

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 provides a definition of domestic abuse.

It is the behaviour of one person towards another where:

• both people are aged 16 or over and are personally connected to each other (see Section 1.3, Personally Connected); and
• the behaviour is abusive.

Behaviour is defined as abusive if it consists of any of the following:

• physical or sexual abuse;
• violent or threatening behaviour;
• controlling or coercive behaviour;
• economic abuse;
• psychological, emotional or other abuse.

It does not make any difference whether the behaviour is a single incident or consists of a number of incidents over a period of time.

Economic abuse is any behaviour by a person that has a negative impact on the other person’s ability to:

• obtain, use or maintain money or other property (such as a mobile phone or car and also include pets);
• buy goods or services (for example utilities such as heating, or food and clothing).

Children are recognised as victims of domestic abuse if they see, hear, or experience the effects of the abuse, and are related to the victim and / or perpetrator of the domestic abuse, or if the victim and / or perpetrator have parental responsibility.

The definition of domestic abuse also includes ‘honour’ based abuse (see ‘Honour’ Based Abuse chapter), female genital mutilation (see Female Genital Mutilation chapter) and forced marriage (see Forced Marriage chapter).

Domestic abuse also includes child-to-parent abuse.

1.2 Controlling and coercive behaviour

See also Controlling or Coercive Behaviour Statutory Guidance Framework (Home Office)

Controlling behaviour is a range of acts designed to make a person subordinate and/or dependent by isolating them from sources of support, exploiting their resources and capacities for personal gain, depriving them of the means needed for independence, resistance and escape and regulating their everyday behaviour.

Coercive behaviour is an act or a pattern of acts of assault, threats, humiliation and intimidation or other abuse that is used to harm, punish, or frighten their victim.

Both coercive and controlling behaviour can apply to people who are no longer in a relationship but were previously.

1.3 Personally connected

The Act introduced the term ‘personally connected’. This applies to people who:

• are married to each other;
• are civil partners of each other;
• have agreed to marry one another or have a civil partnership (whether or not they are still planning to);
• are or have been in an intimate personal relationship with each other;
• have, or have had, a parental relationship in relation to the same child;
• are relatives.

2. Victims and Perpetrators of Domestic Abuse

Victims of domestic abuse do not solely come from one gender or ethnic group. Abuse occurs in same sex relationships, is committed by young people against other family members or partners (teenage domestic abuse is the most common), as well as abuse of older relatives or those with physical or learning disabilities. Domestic abuse occurs irrespective of social class, racial, ethnic, cultural, religious or sexual relationships or identity.

Domestic abuse has a significant impact on children and young people of all ages (up to 18 years old)

Section 76 Serious Crime Act 2015 created the offence of Controlling or Coercive Behaviour (CCB) in an intimate or family relationship.

Practitioners should be mindful of how CCB overlaps with other offences such as stalking, harassment and assaults.

3. Impact on Child Victims

Experience of domestic abuse is recognised as an Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) and can contribute towards early trauma. The presence of domestic abuse has been identified as a risk factor for child physical and emotional abuse, with children who were exposed to domestic violence being more likely to be physically abused and neglected.

Young people can also experience abuse in their own relationships (‘peer on peer abuse’). 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.

Broadly, some of the impacts that domestic abuse can have on children can include:

• 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;
• 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.

Non-physical forms of domestic abuse like coercive control have a significant impact on children 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.

4. Action in Response to Domestic Abuse

4.1. Working with Adults where there are Concerns of Domestic Abuse

On average victims experience on average 50 incidents, and over a two and a half year period, before seeking support (see SafeLives).

Interventions with adults who are experiencing or at risk of domestic abuse should seek to:

• support victims to get protection from violence by providing relevant practical and other assistance;
• identify those who are responsible for perpetrating such abuse, so that there can be an appropriate criminal justice response;
• provide victims with full information about their legal rights, and about the extent and limits of statutory duties and powers;
• support non-abusing parents in making safe choices for themselves and their children, where appropriate.

Professionals from any agency may receive a disclosure from a victim or perpetrator about domestic abuse or have concerns that such behaviour is taking place. All staff working with children and families should be familiar with the signs of domestic abuse and know how to respond.

Concerns may also be reported by a member of the extended family, friend or neighbour for example. Such information must be responded to in accordance with these procedures.

Professionals in contact with adults who are threatening or abusive to them as professionals, should be aware of the potential for that individual to be also abusive in their personal relationships. They should, therefore, assess whether domestic abuse may be occurring within the family environment.

4.1.1 Risk Assessment

See also SafeLives: Resources for identifying the risk victims face  including the Domestic Abuse, Stalking and Harassment (DASH) checklist.

When carrying out a risk assessment, professionals should  see the adult on their own.

When assessing domestic abuse and the needs of the adult living with domestic abuse, the following factors should be considered:

• age and vulnerability of the adult;
• the adult’s description of the effects of the abuse upon them;
• frequency and severity of the abuse, how recent and where it took place;
• whether there were any children or other adults who either witnessed the abuse or was in the property at the time;
• any weapons used or threatened to be used;
• whether the adult victim has been locked in the house or prevented from leaving;
• has there been any actual or threatened abuse of animals used to threaten the adult.

The professional should decide, based on any assessment and their professional judgement as to whether there is a threat to the safety of the adult or anyone else in the home environment. If the threat is imminent, the police should be contacted immediately by telephoning 999.

The police are often the first point of contact for adults experiencing domestic abuse. However the Ambulance Service and hospital Emergency Departments may also be involved as a first point of contact.

Professionals should ensure that they make a full record of all discussions, including referrals to other agencies.

Under the Domestic Abuse Act, local authorities have a duty to provide support in refuges / other safe accommodation to victims of domestic abuse and their children. In addition, all eligible homeless victims of domestic abuse automatically have ‘priority need’ for homelessness assistance.

4.2 Safeguarding and Supporting Children

The first priority must always be the safety and welfare of the child.

Where there is an imminent risk of serious harm, the police must be contacted and steps taken to ensure immediate protection for the child. See Immediate Protection chapter.

Children and young people may be victims of domestic abuse both directly (in their own relationships) and by witnessing the abuse of others such as a parent.  Domestic abuse also includes child-to-parent abuse.

Agencies should recognise the impact 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.

A referral should be made to children’s social care and the safeguarding children process initiated and followed. See Referrals chapter.

It is vital that young people who experience domestic abuse within their own relationships are referred through a multi-agency risk assessment, using an appropriate risk assessment tool such as the Domestic Abuse, Stalking and Harassment (DASH) checklist. See SafeLives: Resources for Identifying the Risk Victims Face.

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: Children and Young People (SafeLives), Work with Young People’s Violence and Abuse (Respect) and Good Practice Guidance for Specialist Services for Children and Young People (Women’s Aid).

Once their safety has been secured, 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 advisor (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.

Professionals should recognise the dynamics, impact, and risk when responding to cases of child-to-parent abuse. Where indicated, this may include, commissioning specialised local child-to-parent abuse services. It is important that a young person using abusive behaviour against a parent or family member receives a safeguarding response.

Professionals should develop an individual response for every child and young person affected, including for siblings. 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.

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.

5. Multi-Agency Working

All agencies have a duty to assess whether a safeguarding response is required before referring an incident to a multi-agency partnership.

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.

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.

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;
• safety and support plans;
• support through a criminal justice process, or civil court case;
• drug and alcohol support; and
• perpetrator behaviour change programmes.

5.1 Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences

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).

See Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference chapter

6. Recording and Information Sharing

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.

All relevant information should be recorded.  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.

There must be a lawful basis to process (including sharing) any personal data. What lawful basis is appropriate will depend on the specific purpose for the processing. For further information see Information Sharing and Data Protection chapters.

7. Domestic Violence Protection Orders and Notices

See also Domestic Violence Protection Notices (DVPNs) and Domestic Violence Protection Orders (DVPOs) Guidance (gov.uk).  (During 2024, these orders will become Domestic Abuse Protection Orders and Domestic Abuse Protection Notices under Domestic Abuse Act 2021).

DVPOs are a civil order that fills a ‘gap’ in providing protection to victims by enabling the police and magistrates’ courts to put in place protective measures in the immediate aftermath of a domestic violence incident where there is insufficient evidence to charge a perpetrator and provide protection to a victim via bail conditions. It is important to note that bail with conditions and protective measures can be used simultaneously to build up greater protection for the victim.

A DVPN is an emergency non-molestation and eviction notice which can be issued by the police, when attending to a domestic abuse incident, to a perpetrator. Because the DVPN is a police-issued notice, it is effective from the time of issue, thereby giving the victim the immediate support they require in such a situation. Within 48 hours of the DVPN being served on the perpetrator, an application by police to a magistrates’ court for a DVPO must be heard.

A DVPO can prevent the perpetrator from returning to a residence and from having contact with the victim for up to 28 days. This allows the victim a degree of breathing space to consider their options with the help of a support agency. Both the DVPN and DVPO contain a condition prohibiting the perpetrator from molesting the victim.

A Domestic Violence Protection Notice and subsequent Order are aimed at perpetrators who present an on-going risk of violence to the victim with the objective of securing a co-ordinated approach across agencies for the protection of victims and the management of perpetrators.

The DVPN / DVPO process builds on existing procedures and bridges the current protective gap, providing immediate emergency protection for the victim and allowing them protected space to explore the options available to them and make informed decisions regarding their safety.

The DVPN / DVPO process does not aim to replace the criminal justice system in respect of charge and bail of a perpetrator. A DVPN will be issued in circumstances where no other enforceable restrictions can be placed upon the perpetrator.

7.1 Multi-agency engagement

Although the power to issue a DVPN and subsequent application for a DVPO lies with the police and ultimately the criminal justice service, the success of any such process will be reliant on the partnership work with other agencies and organisations including those that contribute to Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARACs) and service providers for independent domestic violence advisors (IDVAs) or other, similar services.

Engagement with the victim and the agencies referred to above at the earliest opportunity, is crucial to the success of the DVPN / DVPO process.

See Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference chapter

8. Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme

The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (also known as Clare’s Law) is made up of two elements: the Right to Ask and the Right to Know.

Under the right to ask, a person or relevant third party (for example, a family member) can ask the police to check whether a current or ex-partner has a violent or abusive past. If records show that an individual may be at risk of domestic abuse from a partner or ex-partner, the police will consider disclosing the information.

Right to Know enables the police to make a disclosure on their own initiative if they receive information about the violent or abusive behaviour of a person that may impact on the safety of that person’s current or ex-partner. This could be information arising from a criminal investigation, through statutory or third sector agency involvement, or from another source of police intelligence.

9. Addressing the Behaviour of the Perpetrator

Addressing perpetrator behaviour is as important as safeguarding and supporting victims.  Tackling perpetrator behaviour and placing the onus on them should be a key consideration for partnership work.

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.

Where the threshold for HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) statutory interventions is 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.

See also Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements chapter

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’.

Behaviour change interventions aim to challenge and support perpetrators of abuse to make long term changes to their violent and abusive behaviour.  They also consider additional needs such as alcohol and substance misuse and mental health difficulties.

10. Professional Safety

It is important to assess any potential risks to professionals, carers or other staff who are providing services to a family where domestic abuse is or has occurred. In such cases a risk assessment should be undertaken. Professionals should speak with their manager and follow their own agency’s guidance for staff safety. Such issues should also be discussed during supervision.