APPENDIX 38
Memorandum submitted by the Mayor of London
1. EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
1.1 The Mayor of London welcomes
the opportunity to respond to the Home Affairs Select Committee's
inquiry into domestic violence and believed that the inquiry is
much needed. This submission highlights some of the key issues
the Mayor would like to see the Committee address.
1.2 The Mayor's Domestic Violence
Strategy has contributed greatly to London's significant achievements
in the domestic violence sector, through his strategic leadership
during both terms in office. Key achievements have included:
— A 57% reduction
in the domestic violence murder rate;
— Year-on-year reductions
in serious assaults (classified as Grievous Bodily Harm or above);
— An increase in
arrests;
— An increase in
convictions;
— The development
of innovative approaches such as the development of services for
Turkish speaking women; a fostering service for the dogs of women
and children in temporary accommodation; a campaign aimed at encouraging
men to speak out against domestic violence; initiatives which
have widened the numbers of people who engage with domestic violence
as an issue including hairdressers, black cab drivers, employers
and faith leaders;
— An increase in
cross sector working and innovative partnerships such as between
the drug and alcohol and domestic violence sectors and also mental
health and domestic violence sectors.
1.3 The approach taken in
London has been very effective in reducing and preventing domestic
violence, although there is still much more that can be done.
Some of the key factors leading to London's success include the
following:
— Political commitment
at a regional and local level;
— Sustained funding
for implementation;
— Partnership working
at every level from senior management to front-line;
— Prioritising victim
safety as the over-riding principle at each and every stage;
— Ensuring the expertise
and experience of the voluntary sector is central to the design,
planning and reviewing processes;
— Focusing on the
provision of holistic services at a local level so that interventions
encompass all relevant agencies rather than principally those
of the criminal justice system;
— Establishing transparent
mechanisms for regularly scrutinising progress at both a local
and regional level;
— Engaging with
new sectors and agencies to develop domestic violence work. This
includes black cab drivers, hairdressers, faith leaders and employers;
— Raising public
awareness in imaginative and creative ways including annual exhibitions
at City Hall, a poster campaign on the tube aimed at perpetrators
instead of victims and producing materials for family members
and friends of victims.
1.4 The Mayor attaches his
most recent Domestic Violence Strategy for the Committee's information.
Progress against the Mayor's current and previous London Domestic
Violence Strategies are detailed within his Annual Reports published
in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006 respectively. Copies of these annual
reports can be found at www.london.gov.uk/mayor/strategies/dom—violence/reports.jsp.
In addition the Mayor has also contributed to key government consultations
including Guidance for Domestic Violence Homicide Reviews under
the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004; Putting
Children First: A Planner for Separating Parents and the Select
Committee consultation Domestic Violence and Breach of a Protective
Order Guidelines Consultation, all are available upon request.
2. KEY
RECOMMENDATIONS
2.1 To adopt a greater focus
upon providing holistic services. The Mayor feels that the progress
made by some of the criminal justice system agencies in recent
years is being undermined by a lack of progress in other sectors,
most notably health and education. The Mayor believes that at
present the Government do not provide sufficient leadership and
incentive to these sectors.
2.2 Despite the overall progress
of the criminal justice system, the Mayor feels that there is
still much work to be done in regard to the awareness and understanding
of the judiciary, the Prison Service and in resourcing the Probation
Service to provide effective programmes. Performance management
targets are needed which span across the whole of the CJS and
not its individual component parts which frequently undermine
one another.
2.3 Whilst the focus on the
risk posed by domestic violence perpetrators is clearly right
and necessary, the Mayor believes that it is insufficient as a
whole approach to the issue. There is an increasing tendency for
services to victims to be restricted solely to the period when
she is in danger from the abuser and more attention needs to be
paid to supporting victims and their children to rebuild their
lives after abuse. The Mayor feels that failing to do this can
result in further future problems that could be avoided.
2.4 The Mayor recommends that
longer term funding to aid the sustainability of the specialist
voluntary sector is needed. In particular, he feels that the current
short-term approach to funding for Independent Domestic Violence
Advocates (IDVAs) is wholly untenable and is resulting in high
levels of stress and staff turnover with subsequent impact on
service delivery.
2.5 The Mayor is very concerned
about the issue of women with no recourse to public funds, and
urges the Committee to act to remedy the situation as a matter
of urgency. Whilst it is not possible to accurately state the
numbers affected, there are some reassuring signs that the problem
is not huge. For example, four of the most diverse boroughs in
London report a joint total of approximately 100 women per annum.
There are some practical steps that the Mayor feels could be put
into place that could ease this problem considerably without enormous
cost to government, which he would be happy to share with the
Committee.
2.6 The Mayor would also like
to draw the Committee's attention to the complex issue of information
sharing. He believes that it is an issue that continues to hinder
effective partnership work. Whilst the Home Office guidance is
a welcome start, he feels that more detailed work is still needed
at a local level to place much more emphasis on safety.
Response to the specific areas of Inquiry
3. SPECIALIST
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
COURTS (SDVCS)
3.1 The further development
of SDVCs is one of the Mayors key priorities within the London
Domestic Violence Strategy and he welcomes this initiative, which
has drawn in new partners to address domestic violence.
3.2 Notwithstanding this support,
the Mayor does have the following concerns:
— The development
of SDVCs to date has been restricted to those areas that already
have well developed responses to domestic violence. In many London
Boroughs, the lack of commitment from a single agency has prevented
the development of an SDVC.
— The model championed
by the Home Office and accompanying funding requires only a single
IDVA, which is insufficient to cope with the associated workload.
— Communication
between Borough Criminal Justice Boards and other local domestic
violence partnerships remains poor in many areas.
— Sentencing options
are limited by poor resourcing of IDAP.
— Despite the development
of SDVCs the most common sentence is a fine or a bind-over. This
does not encourage victims to use the criminal justice system.
4. PUBLIC
EDUCATION
4.1 In London the Metropolitan
Police Service led an award winning public education and awareness
raising campaign in 2005, focused on perpetrators of domestic
violence with the slogan Your partners silence no longer protects
you. Evaluation showed high recall rates amongst London's
population, particularly with BAME communities. The Mayor commends
this approach of focusing on perpetrators instead of replicating
abuser tactics of telling victims what to do which is the focus
of so many public campaigns.
4.2 The Mayor also welcomes
and supports the recent Home Office Enough! campaign that
focused on friends and family members and he would recommend the
continued adoption of this approach as this remains the single
most likely source of support for victims.
4.3 The Mayor would urge the
Committee to consider more creative ways in which domestic violence
information can be aimed at victims by engaging with the Corporate
Alliance. For example, Alliance Pharmacy are willing to publicise
sources of support via their outlets. The Mayor would also suggest
that other potential targets could include mobile phone companies
or sanitary protection products. However, additional resources
to ensure phone-calls can be answered must accompany publicising
the national domestic violence help-line.
5. CIVIL
JUSTICE PROCESSES
(LEGAL AID)
5.1 The Mayor has serious
concerns that victims face an ever-increasing difficulty in accessing
both solicitors and legal aid, which is restricting their access
to protective measures.
5.2 For those victims who
do not qualify for legal aid, the costs of civil protection can
be prohibitive. There is no reason why these costs could not be
significantly curtailed through the development of a simplified
process thus negating the need for a solicitor. This approach
already works well in many areas of the US.
5.3 In addition, the Mayor
would very much support the enactment of section 60 of the Family
Law Act allowing third party applications for injunctions.
5.4 The Mayor would also urge
the Committee to support the further roll out of integrated courts
to deal with domestic violence cases. This approach, pioneered
in the US and currently piloted in the London Borough of Croydon,
is not only cost-effective but reduces the trauma for victims
through reduced court appearances.
6. POLICE
POWERS
6.1 Police powers have been
strengthened considerably in recent years and the Mayor feels
that these powers now afford adequate provision to protect victims
of domestic violence. The issue is not one of police powers but
of implementation. The Mayor believes that it is still the case
that the potential of "victimless" prosecutions is vastly
under-utilised as a consequence of poor investigation and evidence
gathering.
7. SUPPORT
FOR VICTIMS,
INCLUDING FINANCE
AND REFUGE
SERVICES
7.1 Across the country there
has been an emphasis placed on the provision of crisis intervention
services, however the Mayor would urge the Committee to consider
the need also for longer-term resettlement and post crisis support.
There is a danger that provisions now are becoming too focussed
on risk in the short term.
7.2 The Mayor would also urge
the Committee to examine the available provision for children
and young people exposed to domestic violence. Despite the inclusion
of a specific outcome within Every Child Matters to identify and
provide support to this group, this is not yet being fully translated
into practice at a local level. The Mayor therefore would like
to highlight the specific therapeutic groups for children and
young people exposed to domestic violence now being provided in
ten London boroughs and to which he is committed to ensuring are
available across the capital. These are not only effective in
assisting children and young people to recover from the trauma
of domestic violence, but are also cost-effective.
7.3 The Mayor also feels that
there is still often an assumption that perpetrator management
should be done by the victim, especially within the realm of child
protection where social workers often do not engage with the perpetrator
at all. This is a dangerous and unrealistic expectation, which
fails to recognise the risks to victims associated with challenging
perpetrators. In addition, shifting blame onto the victim leads
to professionals failing to hold perpetrators properly to account
for the abuse they commit and instead hold victims to account
for failure to protect.
7.4 Specialist refuge services
are increasingly being forced to merge with larger providers as
local authority Supporting People Teams are refusing to engage
with small providers. This is seriously threatening specialist
provision which is increasing being delivered by generic providers.
Ethnic specific refuges are disproportionately affected by this
trend.
7.5 The Mayor has pioneered
the development of services for substance abusing women who also
experience domestic violence. A few areas outside of London have
begun to draw on this experience but it could be far more spread
across the UK.
7.6 The issue of women with
no recourse to public funds needs urgent attention. Whilst it
is not possible to accurately state the numbers affected, there
are some reassuring signs that the problem is not huge. For example,
four of the most diverse Boroughs in London report a joint total
of approximately 100 women per annum. There are some practical
steps that could be put into place that could ease this problem
considerably without enormous cost to government, which the Mayor
would be happy to share with the Committee.
7.7 The two key issues inhibiting
victims from changing their situation are invariably housing and
finances. The almost total absence of the financial institutions,
including the Benefits Agency, from local domestic violence partnerships
is thus of concern.
7.8 The Mayor has led on the
London wide roll out of Sanctuary schemes. Whilst this is a welcome
initiative, it is important that these initiatives are regulated
and monitored to ensure that they reflect the appropriate level
of risk management and advocacy to ensure that victims are not
placed at risk.
8. PERPETRATOR
PROGRAMMES
8.1 The Mayor is gravely concerned
at the extremely limited availability of perpetrator programmes
in the capital. Those placed on programmes are often placed on
waiting lists and are then unable to access an appropriate programme.
This must be an area of work reviewed by the Committee as it not
only forms one of the range of options available to the courts
but also as a longer-term preventative measure.
8.2 The Mayor also believes
that there is a lack of consistency within Social Care services
to deal effectively with perpetrators. Most frequently they are
ignored altogether. In particular, the referral routes to community
based perpetrators programmes are often patchy and inconsistent.
8.3 Caring Dads is
a multi-agency project, which provides parenting support specifically
to domestic violence offenders. It was developed because traditionally,
parenting programmes are designed to educate parents in control
and disciplining techniques, which are evidently not skills needed
by abusers. It aims to help fathers improve their relationship
with their children and end controlling, abusive and neglectful
behaviours. More such programmes should be available especially
as add-ons to ASBOs where relevant.
8.4 The effectiveness of community
orders needs to be evaluated. There is evidence in London to show
that because the waiting list for IDAP is lengthy, perpetrators'
Community Orders expire before they access the course. As a result
some perpetrators do not fulfil the intended sentence.
8.5 The Mayor is also concerned
that while London is a multicultural and diverse city, perpetrator
programmes offer no provision for those people whose first language
is not English. This has led to inequalities in access to help.
9. MULTI-AGENCY
APPROACHES, AND
WHAT BARRIERS
EXIST TO
THEIR EFFECTIVE
OPERATION
9.1 Whilst the Mayor supports
partnership working, there is rarely an acknowledgement that this
is often a difficult and problematic style of working with the
very real potential to result in replication of the very same
power differentials and dynamics that domestic violence initiatives
seek to address. One such example is the current debate over information
sharing where the position of some statutory agencies is that
voluntary sector agencies should disclose information to them
but not the other way around. Attempts to focus on victim safety
are brushed aside in the eagerness to bring more offenders to
justice so the debate focuses on whether information sharing is
possible rather than whether it is appropriate and safe.
9.2 Effective partnership
work relies on good information flow and on nurturing relationships.
In areas such as London that have high turnover of staff, the
co-ordination of such work is time-consuming and requires specific
resources separate from the running costs of any such initiative
(eg Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conferences MARACs).
9.3 Incompatible data systems
across the criminal justice system leads to duplication and in
some cases acts a barrier to effective information sharing between
partners. In particular, in a domestic violence case it is not
unusual for the investigating officer to have to input information
into three different systems in order to record a domestic violence
case.
10. KEY
BARRIERS TO
FURTHER PROGRESS
10.1 The Mayor is concerned
by a lack of consistent engagement by the health sector. Even
where there is involvement, it is overwhelmingly staff from child
protection rather than the many other parts of the health service,
who see victims of domestic violence. Moreover, involvement is
still restricted to champions rather then being organisational
commitment leading to systemic changes. This means work falls
apart each time a champion moves on.
10.2 A key barrier for greater
involvement is the lack of a national health performance target
which could be met through work on domestic violence.
10.3 The Mayor also feels
that the education sector needs to be much more involved in preventative
work. It cannot be right that as a society we only improve on
our ability to pick up the pieces after domestic violence has
occurred. Evaluation reports of work in schools shows extremely
positive outcomes beyond simply increasing knowledge of domestic
violence. These include engagement of disruptive teenage boys,
decreased bullying and improved classroom behaviour. These outcomes
should be being championed by the DCSF to encourage further engagement
of more schools.
10.4 The gender blind approach,
far from including male victims has the opposite effect of obscuring
their specific needs. For example, there are frequent calls for
male refuges in the assumption that this will provide parity despite
the evidence[251]
that male victims have no need of such a service
10.5 While the Mayor welcomes
the inclusion of forced marriage into the Government's definition
of domestic violence, the fact remains that the overwhelming majority
of victims of forced marriage are under 18. This means that interventions
are spread across both the domestic violence and child protection
system stretching an already tiny sector to breaking point.
10.6 Finally, in relation
to "honour" crimes, The Mayor very much supports the
progress being made nationally around the issue. However there
is a growing tendency to separate out this work from "mainstream"
domestic violence work, which has led to an unhelpful marginalisation
of the issues from the existing infrastructures.
10 October 2007
251 The Dyn Project: Supporting Men Experiencing Domestic
Abuse Robinson and Rowlands, Cardiff University (2006). Back
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