APPENDIX 18
Memorandum submitted by Paula Harding,
Pan-Birmingham Domestic Violence Co-ordinator
INTRODUCTION—THE
BIRMINGHAM CONTEXT
1. Birmingham's agencies recognise the
significant advances that have been made in the last ten years
in tackling the issue of domestic violence. As domestic violence
co-ordinator for the city, particularly acknowledge the lead that
the Inter-ministerial Domestic Violence Group has taken in the
development of new legislation, harnessing good practice and cross/multi-agency
work.
2. Birmingham's strategy has endeavoured
to seize this leadership baton and drive the momentum at a local
level. The City has a strong history of partnership working, particularly
in its relationship with its third sector in domestic violence.
Indeed this year, our third sector relationship has been recognised
through Beacon Status and it is our intention to share good practice
in multi-agency working in domestic violence nationally.
3. Birmingham has a richly diverse population
circa one million with some thirty% of its population from Black
and minority ethnic communities, both emerging and established.
As the largest authority in Europe it hosts nine police operational
command units, three Primary Care Trusts and eight Multi-Agency
Risk Assessment Conferences. It is within this complex environment
that we have embarked upon implementing the government's domestic
violence agenda for multi-agency, cross departmental and integrated
services. The initiatives that we have developed and the lessons
we have learnt will hopefully inform the Committee.
MULTI-AGENCY
PRINCIPLES
4. Birmingham was the first area to adopt
through the Crime and Disorder Partnership, multi-agency principles
and minimum standards of working in domestic violence. At the
heart of these principles was the recognition that domestic violence
is a gendered crime. Although individual agencies will often be
providing services to anyone experiencing violence or abuse, in
partnership, agreement was reached that strategic initiatives
would be diminished by marginalising the gender dimensions. This
recognition has driven Birmingham's strategic and operational
partnerships since and enabled us to focus on woman-centred and
children-centred responses to those experiencing domestic violence
and offender management responses to abusers.
JUSTICE RESPONSES—LEGISLATION
AND SPECIALIST
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
COURTS
5. Birmingham's agencies have welcomed
the recent legislation which has come into being including the
Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004, the Female Genital
Mutilation Act 2003 and the Forced Marriage Act 2007 as signalling
that domestic violence will not be tolerated and offenders will
be brought to justice.
6. Birmingham hosts the largest Specialist
Domestic Violence Court (SDVC) in Europe, running between three
and five court rooms to capacity each day. Birmingham's service
providers have welcomed the SDVC initiative, together with the
intention to standardise the specialist nature of the Court service
through satisfaction of the prescribed eleven components.
7. In order to embed this initiative
most successfully, and to take account of the impact of domestic
violence before ALL court jurisdictions, including criminal, civil
and family, the Committee may wish to consider standardising,
and making compulsory, regular training for magistrates, justices"
clerks, lawyers and practitioners in ALL courts, not only those
sitting on the SDVC.
8. The SDVC model rightly places the
role of independent domestic violence advisors (IDVAs) central
to the success of the courts in this matter. Indeed early outcome
analysis within Birmingham has shown that the IDVAs have significantly
contributed to increased safety for women (self-assessment). However,
funding for this new initiative has been woefully incommensurate
with need. See below.
JUSTICE RESPONSES—CIVIL
ORDERS
9. In Birmingham, the City Council has
been pioneering a new form of civil action to tackle domestic
violence, in partnership with West Midlands Police and specialist
third sector organisations.
10. Birmingham Domestic Violence (Civil
Orders) Partnership arose out of the recognition that the number
of domestic violence cases which could not be brought before the
criminal courts was considerable. The Partnership determined that
the Council could bring legal action against perpetrators on behalf
of woman affected, children, and families and indeed also on behalf
of the wider community which pays such an enormous price, through
both the cost of policing and the National Health Service, as
a consequence of the significant and damaging effects of domestic
violence.
11. Some 50 cases have now been, or are
being, taken to court by the Council on behalf of the Community
Safety Partnership—all successfully. Perpetrators are being
held to account and Injunction Orders obtained to protect the
women and children affected—men as well although this is
much less common. If Court Orders are breached then perpetrators
are liable to be, and have been, sent to prison for contempt of
court.
12. From the outset the Partnership has
upheld the primacy of the Criminal Justice System where prosecution
is possible and has taken particular care to ensure that issues
of confidentiality, data protection and the safety of women affected
and children of the family are fully considered.
13. Birmingham's civil order project
has provided an innovative opportunity to drive forward both the
Council's key theme of developing a safer City and the wider national
agenda of integrating civil and criminal responses to domestic
violence.
JUSTICE RESPONSES—VISUAL
EVIDENCE FOR
VICTIMS
14. In 2003 Birmingham launched its Visual
Evidence for Victims scheme whereby victims who felt unable or
unwilling to report domestic violence to the police could approach
a range of voluntary agencies and health services have physical
evidence of their injuries photographed in line with the continuity
of evidence requirements.
15. As well as leading to successful
prosecutions, victims have reported feeling empowered and able
to use the fact that evidence is lodged with agencies as a means
to redress some of the power imbalance that the use of domestic
violence perpetuates.
16. The scheme is now being taken up
across the West Midlands.
INTEGRATED RESPONSES—BIRMINGHAM
WOMEN'S
SAFETY UNIT
17. Birmingham's Safety Unit is unique
nationally in its endeavour to integrate civil and criminal justice
as well as being pivotal to achieving the broader statutory targets
of reducing homelessness. The service, which is managed on behalf
of Birmingham Community Safety Partnership and Birmingham City
Council by Birmingham & Solihull Women's Aid currently includes:
— Independent domestic violence
advisors (including language specialists) (criminal justice).
— Independent domestic violence
advisors (civil justice).
— Civil orders case-builders
(Birmingham City Council).
— Civil orders litigators (Birmingham
City Council).
— Independent home options workers
(providing front-line homeless service to all women experiencing
domestic violence and threatened with homelessness in the city).
— Single referral pathway to
refuges in Birmingham.
— Children's workers (NSPCC).
— Funding being secured for
specialist substance abuse workers and specialist mental health
workers.
18. This Unit sits alongside and enables
access to a broad range of specialist services, particularly in
our third sector. The opportunity, through wrap around services,
to clear the pathways between criminal, civil and family justice
is already demonstrating beneficial outcomes for women and children
using the service and enhancing the skills across the sectors
involved in domestic violence. It is the ambition of the Unit
to further introduce co-located statutory services in the coming
year where this will enhance the safety of women and children.
INTEGRATED RESPONSES—FOCUS
ON HIGH
RISK VICTIMS
19. Birmingham has acknowledged and welcomed
local and national drivers by the Police to raise standards through
the implementation of risk assessment in domestic violence. In
observation of national models, concerns have been expressed that
the risk assessment tools are being used as a means of rationing
services rather than providing an evidence based woman or child
centred approach to responding to risk.
20. Discussions within our inter-agency
domestic violence have noted that we have not been alerted to
any evidence that demonstrates:
— That risk assessments have
any predictive merit. Evidence from the United States (Gondolf
et al) seems to indicate that risk assessment has its uses for
galvanising attention to potential risk but not in predicting
future risk.
— That domestic homicide has
been prevented through application of their use. Anecdotal evidence
appears to indicate that those at greatest risk have not approached
services at all.
21. The Forum has discussed the need
for some transparency over the thinking about risk which has led
to this new way of working. Our agencies alert us to the dangers
that, given the scarcity of resources, the focus on high risk
may preclude services to those who are ready to engage with them
as well preclude much of the early intervention and preventative
work for which there remains a strategic imperative.
22. The Forum has also discussed concerns
from its members over Multi— Agency Risk Assessment
Conferences (MARACs). Analysis over outcomes would be welcomed
as there is anecdotal evidence that women's understanding of the
widespread sharing of information between agencies could result
in them failing to report future incidents of domestic violence
and inadvertently lead to greater risk. The scarcity of funding
for victim advocates in this setting may be seen as further alienating
women as victims from the process.
23. Nationally, there remain ambiguities
between the role of MARACs, MAPPAs, MARAPs and PPO Forums in domestic
violence offender management. Significantly greater attention
is focussed on encouraging women to exit violent relationships
through multi-agency work rather than curtailing the offender
through multi-agency offender management.
EDUCATION AND
PREVENTION
24. There seems little dispute that the
prevention of domestic violence through education must be a fundamental
strategic imperative and raises concerns that there is much local
discretion allowed within current targets set by the Best Value
Performance Indicator for local authorities.
25. In this vein, there have been many
calls for a national programme for schools as part of the national
curriculum raising awareness of domestic violence and building
relationships based upon respect and equality. This would necessarily
be accompanied by national guidance to school staff.
TRAINING
26. Training in domestic violence needs
to stretch as wide amongst the professions as the harm that domestic
violence causes. It is argued that this is best achieved through
a national co-ordination of training strategies which at minimum
would require domestic violence to be a mandatory element of all
professional training and education for those working in social,
health or justice settings.
HEALTH
27. The unique position of health services
in enabling early intervention into domestic violence is well
observed within the National Reduction Plan. Significant advances
have been made in the development of screening programmes within
key health services. However, it is observed that without a nationally
driven imperative to institute screening programmes, particularly
in Ante natal, Gynaecological, Accident and Emergency and amongst
G.P.s, development in this area, nationally, has and will remain
patchy
WOMEN WITH
NO RECOURSE
TO PUBLIC
FUNDS
28. Women with no recourse to public
funds who experience domestic violence experience perhaps the
greatest risk and vulnerability of all. Agencies, both statutory
and voluntary, invest a large amount of time, effort and ingenuity
to support women but often have their hands tied by the currently
restrictive legislative regime.
29. Birmingham is currently undertaking
research into the impact upon women and the impact upon the city,
both social and financial, of its endeavours to protect and assist.
Ultimately, our local best efforts will not protect women without
a change in the law, and women with no recourse will continue
to be faced with the choice of destitution or abuse.
RESOURCES
30. There remains much disappointment
that the commitments of National Domestic Violence Reduction Plan
have not been matched with funding. Over the last two years, public
announcements have been made of "new money" for domestic
violence resulting in circa £4 million being shared nationally.
Birmingham's receipts in this area may be seen as typical and
are provided for illustration only.
— Birmingham has a population
of 1 million with an annual reported incident rate of domestic
violence to the police circa 17000. Estimates from the British
Crime Survey would reveal 35000 women will experience domestic
violence per year within the City.
— A central tenet of the National
Plan is the establishment of independent domestic violence advisors
to serve, in our city, up to five daily Specialist Domestic Violence
Courts and eight Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences. Last
year Birmingham was awarded £40k for these independent domestic
violence advisors, equivalent to 1.3 posts.
31. There are many critical funding pinch
points for domestic violence, many of them around children. For
example, there is no national strategy for funding essential children's
work in refuge nor for therapeutic work with children and young
people.
32. Likewise specialist therapeutic work
with women to deal with the trauma of abuse is nationally under
resourced and complex needs significantly under recognised within
mental health or substance abuse services.
33. The next round of Local Area Agreements
sees domestic violence competing for recognition within the restricted
number of objectives for each area. Nationally we will be likely
to see the perpetuation of domestic violence as the "Cinderella
service" as strategists fall shy of this outcome and measurement
unfriendly issue. The better our services are, the better our
communications are—the more likely women are to report and
repeatedly report their experiences—the heavier the burden
upon our criminal justice, family and children's services—the
continued difficulty we will have in measuring whether our communities
are safer for our interventions.
34. The task for the next decade becomes
firstly listening to what women and children need and constructing
outcome measurements from what they tell us helps them be safe
and keep their children safe. Secondly recognition is needed that
good practice only goes so far. Compulsion is needed, with the
resources to match from national, ministerial level to enable
our services to meet the challenge. Never has an issue made the
case so strongly for an invest to save approach, in both social
and economic terms.
1 Ocotber 2007
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