Domestic abuse victims’ ‘lack of help’

SOCIETY: Far too little is being done to prevent domestic abuse and support child victims, a damning new Ofsted report has warned. While professionals, have made progress in responding, not enough is being done to prevent the abuse.

FAR TOO little is being done to prevent domestic abuse and support child victims, a damning new report has warned.

While professionals, including social workers, police, and medical staff, have made progress in responding to the large volumes of cases, not enough is being done to prevent the abuse in the first place or to repair the damage it causes afterwards, according to authors Ofsted.

The report labels domestic abuse as a “widespread public health issue” and calls on the Government to put a long-term strategy in place to tackle the problem.

It comes after inspectors from the watchdog, as well as the Care Quality Commission, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services, and HM Inspectorate of Probation carried out joint inspections of six areas in England, including Bradford, to evaluate the multi-agency response to cases of domestic abuse.

The national director for social care at Ofsted, Eleanor Schooling, said: “There is a lot of good work being done to protect victims of domestic violence – emergency services are particularly effective. But we’re not so good when it comes to helping victims deal with the aftermath and get on with their lives.

“The justice system must play a role, but there is work to do to stop it happening in the first place.

“That’s why schools have an essential role in educating children about domestic abuse. Teaching children about healthy relationships is already part of the curriculum, but it is often not prioritised by schools.

“It is a sad truth that the sheer scale of domestic abuse means that it can be all too easy for police, health professionals and social workers to focus on short term responses to incidents. But the best teams are able to see the bigger picture.

“I want to see a new approach to tackling domestic abuse – one which focuses more on prevention and repairing long term damage to child victims.

“Agencies can address these complex challenges but due to the endemic nature of domestic abuse they cannot do it alone. A widespread public service message is needed to shift behaviour on a wide scale.”

Inspectors visited Bradford between February and March this year and looked at how organisations worked together to respond to children living with domestic abuse.

The report highlights the numerous strengths of the multi-agency response, however it stressed that more work was needed to ensure a robust strategic overview of domestic abuse in the city.

Bradford Council’s strategic director of children’s services, Michael Jameson, said: “This was a very thorough examination of part of our district’s safeguarding service which recognises the innovative work we are developing for children and parents.

“We know there is still much more to do, but this report shows that we are ‘getting the basics right’ and going in the right direction.”

Councillor Val Slater, Bradford Council’s portfolio holder for health and well-being, added: “The inspectors recognise the challenges that our different agencies face and the robust measures we are putting in place to tackle them.

“We can never be complacent about safeguarding, but this thorough inspection recognises the good work we are doing.”

Official figures suggest that domestic-abuse-related offences accounted for one in 10 of all crimes in the 2015-16 financial year.

It can be all too easy to focus on short term responses.

Eleanor Schooling, Ofsted national director for social care.