Safeguarding Victims of Domestic Abuse during Covid-19: Challenges and Opportunities
Lead Research Organisation:
Manchester Metropolitan University
Department Name: Nursing
Abstract
Emerging evidence from China, Italy, France and the UK indicates that domestic abuse (DA) rates have increased by up to 30% during Covid-19 (WHO 2020). Social distancing during Covid-19 is thought to increase the risk of DA whilst accessing support is more difficult. Increased financial pressures, increased proximity of family members living in the same household, isolation, the increased burden of domestic labour and caring responsibilities for women are all potentially risk factors for increased rates of DA. Victims of DA have less opportunity to disclose abuse to professionals or to seek support from family and friends (Women's Aid, 2020). In the UK, domestic homicides have risen by 50% since the UK lockdown with a surge in calls to a national domestic abuse helpline (The Guardian 2020). A survey of survivors during lockdown showed that 67% of survivors said that domestic abuse had got worse in lockdown (Women's Aid, 2020). Pre-Covid-19, accessing DA support was already compromised by austerity policies affecting the DA NGO sector and other related services such as mental health services and adults and children's social care (Sanders-McDonagh, 2016). These challenges are likely to be exacerbated during lockdown (Safe Lives, 2020), as lockdown eases and currently during the second wave of Covid-19. Accessing DA support is likely to be aggravated for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) women and their children (Imkaan, 2020), particularly as the Covid-19 burden is higher in BAME communities (Khunti et al, 2020). No recourse to public funds is a long-standing barrier for BAME women accessing DA support. Safeguarding is a key process for protecting women and their children from further abuse.
The study will investigate:
1. How have DA safeguarding interventions and processes in different agencies changed due to Covid-19, at strategic and operational levels?
2. What is the effect of Covid-19 on the identification of DA survivors and their children and on the support, protection and safeguarding they have received during lockdown?
3. What ongoing lessons are there for multi-agency arrangements during a pandemic to enable effective identification, recording and response to safeguard DA victims from abuse, especially from BAME groups?
To investigate our research questions, the study is organised into two work packages.
Work Package 1 (WP1)- National Safeguarding Context (England): An England-wide survey will be distributed online to safeguarding leads based in local authorities, health, policing, MARAC chairs and DA coordinators. It will establish how safeguarding practice is being conducted during Covid-19 and how this may differ from previous safeguarding procedures and practice. It will focus specifically on the identification and response to DA, examples of good practice, challenges, multi-agency relationships, and innovations during lockdown at a national level and identification of good practices to be continued post-Covid-19. Telephone interviews will be conducted with 20-25 safeguarding leads and DA coordinators to gain more in-depth data about the context, and perceived impact of changes on safeguarding, particularly for BAME women and children.
Work Package 2: Two case study areas (Greater Manchester and Lancashire) have been selected to generate in-depth knowledge of safeguarding on the ground. 20 interviews will be conducted with DA NGO providers to identify challenges and good practice; 20 interviews with survivors of DA to understand help-seeking during Covid-19 and analysis of police databases pre and during Covid-19 to identify safeguarding processes.
Our deliverables include: briefing reports and infographics; interactive project website; final conference; academic papers and conference presentations; webinars and round table discussions to support and develop practitioners and aid policy development for managing domestic abuse in pandemics and beyond.
The study will investigate:
1. How have DA safeguarding interventions and processes in different agencies changed due to Covid-19, at strategic and operational levels?
2. What is the effect of Covid-19 on the identification of DA survivors and their children and on the support, protection and safeguarding they have received during lockdown?
3. What ongoing lessons are there for multi-agency arrangements during a pandemic to enable effective identification, recording and response to safeguard DA victims from abuse, especially from BAME groups?
To investigate our research questions, the study is organised into two work packages.
Work Package 1 (WP1)- National Safeguarding Context (England): An England-wide survey will be distributed online to safeguarding leads based in local authorities, health, policing, MARAC chairs and DA coordinators. It will establish how safeguarding practice is being conducted during Covid-19 and how this may differ from previous safeguarding procedures and practice. It will focus specifically on the identification and response to DA, examples of good practice, challenges, multi-agency relationships, and innovations during lockdown at a national level and identification of good practices to be continued post-Covid-19. Telephone interviews will be conducted with 20-25 safeguarding leads and DA coordinators to gain more in-depth data about the context, and perceived impact of changes on safeguarding, particularly for BAME women and children.
Work Package 2: Two case study areas (Greater Manchester and Lancashire) have been selected to generate in-depth knowledge of safeguarding on the ground. 20 interviews will be conducted with DA NGO providers to identify challenges and good practice; 20 interviews with survivors of DA to understand help-seeking during Covid-19 and analysis of police databases pre and during Covid-19 to identify safeguarding processes.
Our deliverables include: briefing reports and infographics; interactive project website; final conference; academic papers and conference presentations; webinars and round table discussions to support and develop practitioners and aid policy development for managing domestic abuse in pandemics and beyond.
| Description | The key change in domestic abuse safeguarding during Covid-19 was the shift to remote working. Good practices included additional support services for children utilising online methods and accessible safe community spaces; additional case worker and Independent Domestic Violence Advocates posts; new chat line and text based services; additional move on accommodation; a new refuge for women with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF); partnerships with local supermarkets and pharmacies to provide additional access points; creative approaches to staff well-being; receptiveness of commissioners to meet needs and streamline bureaucratic processes to expedite service responses. Multiagency safeguarding meetings held on-line resulted in consistent attendance and facilitated swift communication to meet changing demands at strategic level. However, such meetings created barriers to participation for some families in formal safeguarding meetings which relied on families having access to relevant technology and know-how. Those experiencing digital poverty, older people and those who were not fluent in English were excluded from the move to remote working. The initial confusion about which services were open in the first lockdown and lack of central government messaging about domestic abuse (DA) may have led to missed safeguarding opportunities. This created a 'lull' in referrals followed by a surge in high-risk, complex cases coming forward to both the statutory and domestic abuse (DA) specialist sector, with a noticeable spike in mental health related cases and older victims. Assessing risk was difficult during Covid-19 lockdowns as professionals did not have 'eyes on' families whilst abuse was intensifying due to the close proximity of victim and perpetrator, compounded by financial pressures and increased alcohol use (as found in other studies). Victims took greater risks to leave abusive relationships, but refuges were struggling to cope due to lack of spaces and move-on accommodation for those ready to leave refuge. Police officers and refuge staff were the only community-based service that had face-to-face contact with DA victims during lockdowns. There were fewer calls to police during lockdowns compared to pre-pandemic levels with increases in police calls as restrictions eased. In both case study areas, police forces, recorded a statistically significant increase from 2019 to 2020 in stalking crimes, largely carried out by ex-partners. Professionals working remotely reported they valued the flexibility (especially when dealing with home schooling, additional caring responsibilities, time gained because of the lack of commuting). However, some missed the transitory space of the commute, the kettle chat and informal support from colleagues - essential ingredients for practitioners' well-being when working with trauma. The biggest disadvantage was vicarious trauma as informal support had disappeared during lockdowns, but many organisations introduced extra support in recognition of this. The study had a specific focus on Black and minoritsed women who faced multiple intersectional difficulties. The key barrier to them accessing services was the immigration rule of NRPF, further exacerbated by variable and often unhelpful professional responses who assumed they were unable to help due to the women's immigration status. Ethnicity recording by one of the police forces was poor thus limiting the force's ability to understand, plan and respond to domestic abuse (DA) victims from minoritsed communities. There was a significant effect of victim ethnicity on the number of Domestic Abuse Stalking Honour-based violence (DASH) risk factors ticked, indicating that Black and Minoritised DA victims had significantly less DASH risk factors ticked compared to White victims. Familial violence was more prevalent for Black and Minoritised victims compared to White victims. Significantly higher proportions of Black and Minoritised victims had the outcome of 'Victim Withdraws Support, with White victims recording a higher proportion of Charged/Summonsed. This suggests that across both Forces, Black and Minoritised victims are receiving DA outcomes that are less likely to safeguard them. |
| Exploitation Route | Both statutory and voluntary sector services need to consider which services work best on-line and which are better face-to-face in their covid-19 recovery plans. In the event of future emergencies domestic abuse must be taken into account in local community resilience fora as these are the civic bodies that plan for emergencies and national government need to lead on messaging about domestic abuse. Commissioning processes for domestic abuse services were streamlined during the pandemic and this should be maintained. At a national policy level, the immigration rule 'No Recourse to Public Funds' needs to be abolished for victims of domestic abuse as this rule leads makes fleeing abusive relationships very difficult. Health, social care and police need to be better informed about migrant women's rights. Improved recording of ethnicity data by police is important to help understand and act upon differences in victim outcomes. Police forces need to investigate the reasons for the differences in DASH forms between Black and Minoritsed victims and White British victims. The domestic abuse specialist sector needs adequate resourcing including the 'by and for' sector. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Healthcare,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| URL | https://domesticabuse-safeguarding-covid19.co.uk/resources/ |
| Description | 1) Greater Manchester Domestic Abuse Strategic Group plan to use findings in their post-Covid-19 recovery domestic abuse plans 2)Greater Manchester SW academy Research in Practice- MS did a 2 hour webinar. Audience: SWs or SW managers which was very positively received and was seen as useful and applicable to their direct practice with families. 3) Talk Listen Change (TLC) is an NGO that works with domestic abuse perpetrators in Greater Manchester and they were planning to use the study's findings in relation to survivor voices to inform their direct work with perpetrators and also on their domestic abuse victim support arm. 4) Two local authorities: Tameside and Bury - want to use findings to inform their domestic abuse strategy 5) Greater Manchester Probation are using the findings for their domestic abuse training aimed at newly appointed probation staff, particularly sensitising staff to victim experiences. They were also specifically interested in the equality and diversity aspects of the findings. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2021 |
| Sector | Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Impact Types | Policy & public services |
| Description | Collaboration of domestic abuse researchers during Covid-19 |
| Organisation | University of Central Lancashire |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Planning and co-chairing/facilitating with the University of Central Lancashire a new network of domestic abuse researchers undertaking research during Covid-19 to consider ways of reducing data collection burden on stakeholders, mapping current research and potential for joint dissemination activities and future collaboration. Agreement to co-chair future meetings. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The meeting was attended by around 18 academics including from the Universities of Bristol, Durham, Glasgow, Queen Mary, London, London School of Economics, The Open University, City University, London. Good discussion on potential collaborations and agreement to meet once every three months. Interest in joint dissemination Agreement to map current work |
| Impact | None as yet |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Academy for Social Justice Seminar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | 300 people attended the seminar and there was a lot of discussion following the presentation. Attendees suggested that there was much food for thought to take back to their own organisations to enhance professional practice. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | End of Study Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | 170 people attended the end of project on-line conference despite technological problems which delayed the start of the conference. This was the first presentation where we synthesised information across all the study methods, drew out clear learning points. The online chat was lively as was the Q&A session. We've had requests for further information as well as people reporting the conference as useful. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://domesticabuse-safeguarding-covid19.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/DASC-10th-March-2022-sli... |
| Description | End of Study Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | 170 people attended the end of project on-line conference despite technological problems which delayed the start of the conference. This was the first presentation where we synthesised information across all the study methods, drew out clear learning points. The online chat was lively as was the Q&A session. We've had requests for further information as well as people reporting the conference as useful. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://domesticabuse-safeguarding-covid19.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/DASC-10th-March-2022-sli... |