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Annual Progress Report 2006/07

As in 2005/06, the health service has been making significant progress in the early identification of, and intervention with, domestic violence victims. The roll-out of routine enquiries for all pregnant women has been a major achievement. Progress has also been made on plans to collect violent crime data (including domestic violence) as part of embedding electronic patient records.

Title: National Domestic Violence Delivery Plan - Annual Progress Report 2006/07
Authors: Home Office
Number of pages: 51
Date published: March 2007
Availability: Download National Domestic Violence Delivery Plan - Annual Progress Report 2006/07 PDF 147Kb

In work on domestic violence and children, there has been further progress on integrating an awareness of domestic violence into wider work to safeguard children. Domestic violence has been included in the Common Assessment Framework and in the work of the recently established Local Safeguarding Children Boards. We need to build on this to ensure that Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPAs) and Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARACs) work effectively with child protection arrangements. We are learning more about how domestic violence can affect children, in particular from the work of Gordon Harold at Cardiff University and the Wave Trust.

We have seen innovative work with employers in the past year, with progress being made with government departments on staff training, domestic violence policies and awareness-raising. An excellent model is the Crown Prosecution Service's (CPS) employee domestic violence handbook for staff; it is being disseminated to other government departments as an example to follow.

The Corporate Alliance Against Domestic Violence (CAADV) also continues to grow, with over 160 new companies having joined since its launch in 2005. Over 2 million employees will now be better protected as a result. CAADV has developed a strategy for its continuing work over the next year, including improving workplace safety for domestic violence victims.

Building capacity within the domestic violence sector

The Local Government Association (LGA) Domestic Violence Project completed its final year in December 2006. The project will leave a lasting legacy of the crucial role of local government in tackling domestic violence. It has yielded important information about the role of local authorities in tackling domestic violence and has provided consultancy services to those local authorities who were part of the Specialist Domestic Violence Court (SDVC) Programme. During its three-year span, the LGA Domestic Violence Project produced a number of helpful guides to support local authorities in delivering national objectives. A significant one was The vision for services and young people affected by domestic violence, which was produced in conjunction with Women's Aid and the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) and will help to shape the commissioning of children's services in future years.

As we pursue the development of a Co-ordinated Community Response to domestic violence in 2007/08, the support and involvement of the LGA and local authorities will be crucial to its success.

In last year's report we identified that there was a pressing need to develop a men's agenda to engage with men in a coherent and co-ordinated way. It will involve men not just as victims or perpetrators of domestic violence, but also as a powerful lobbying force to challenge the culture and behaviour that colludes with this destructive crime.

In the past year we have linked two phone lines more closely: RESPECT (for male perpetrators) and MALE (the Men's Advice Line and Enquiries) (for those men who find themselves in abusive relationships). The Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) recently provided training on forced marriage to call handlers at MALE.

The Home Office funded The Centre for Public Innovation to host two seminars on changing men's behaviour in 2006/07. The seminars were attended by a wide range of groups who all have an interest in this emerging agenda. This work is ongoing; the aim is that it will develop into the National Men's Coalition in the coming year. This grouping has joined forces with the Men's Health Forum to consider the formation of a coalition of organisations to deal with men's health and behaviour, creating a powerful male voice to address violent behaviour.

We will be commissioning the delayed research into men as victims of domestic violence in this coming year.

During 2006/07 the Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) published the results of the national consultation held in 2005 on whether the Government should make forced marriage a specific criminal offence. As a result of the consultation, it was decided that legislation would not be introduced at this time. However, the Government is committed to supporting the civil law outcomes identified in Lord Lester's recent Private Members' Bill, and we plan to work with the Bill's backers to achieve a positive result.

The FMU is currently pursuing the other recommendations from the consultation and continues to provide assistance to approximately 300 victims and potential victims of forced marriage, to increase awareness of the issues, and to develop guidance for public service professionals. In 2006, two honour killings seminars with community leaders were jointly hosted by the Attorney General and Baroness Scotland.

We have a continued commitment to address the issues faced by domestic violence victims from black and minority ethnic (BME) groups, and as part of our commitment we have funded the charity IMKAAN to examine the number of BME victims of domestic violence who have accessed refuge accommodation in the past year. In addition, we have prioritised additional research in 2007/08 to look into the service needs and patterns of help-seeking behaviour of the BME population.

As domestic violence steadily grows in importance as a criminal justice issue, so too does the need to ensure that the domestic violence sector, its services and its workforce are all fit for purpose.

We aim to create consistency in services for victims and perpetrators. To this end, we are working to develop national occupational standards with the voluntary sector organisations that deal with domestic and sexual violence. Draft service standards have been prepared by Women's Aid and these are being circulated as part of a consultation exercise. In addition, draft occupational standards for Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs) are being consulted on and will be developed further in 2007/08. This will be co-ordinated with the work on the Victims of Violence and Abuse Prevention Programme (VVAPP) to create a package of measures to ensure that the best possible responses to domestic and sexual violence are available locally.

We have demonstrated our commitment to the provision of a range of accommodation options for victims of domestic violence - from traditional solutions such as refuge provision and re-housing to the floating support detailed in the Sanctuary Scheme guidance published in December 2006 (it adds another option for care plans at the local level wherever victims and children need to be protected).

Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS) is continuing to build on the recommendations outlined in the report published in 2005 by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Court Administration on the handling of domestic violence issues by CAFCASS and on the administration of family courts by HMCS. Progress on the implementation of the recommendations will be monitored on a regular basis.

HMCS has now produced a DVD about the family court process. You don't have to live in fear aims to address the concerns that victims may have when making an application for a civil injunction. HMCS has also repeated a survey of special facilities available in the family courts and has worked to increase awareness among victims and professionals about what to do when there are concerns about intimidation while at court.

Increasing reporting and arrests for domestic violence

We will continue to roll out the Centrex/CPS Responses to Domestic Violence training manual to embed the principles of the Association of Chief Police Officers' (ACPOs) Guidance on Investigating Domestic Violence in local policing policies. When this guide was published, the police set a target that all officers should be familiar with the guidance by 2008; over the past year, ACPO has been undertaking an audit of how close we are to reaching that target.

The lessons learned during the domestic violence enforcement campaigns (DVECs) mean that we continue to develop the evidence base on what works in relation to policing domestic violence. This includes innovative work such as the use of head cameras to aid effective evidence gathering when responding to domestic violence incidents. An interim report on the use of head cameras and a report into policing domestic violence during the FIFA World Cup 2006 are both available at www.crimereduction.gov.uk/tvcp/tvcp05.htm.

Increasing the rate at which sanction detections are converted into offences brought to justice

Building on the success of the first SDVC Programme in 2005/06 - when 25 new sites were identified as having reached the nationally agreed standard for a specialist court - the Programme was expanded in 2006/07. There are now 64 sites working towards being operational by April 2007.

The launch of the expanded SDVC Programme at 10 Downing Street in September 2006 - together with the National SDVC Steering Group being nominated in the top three for the 2006 Whitehall & Westminster World Award for Joined-up Government - is another indicator that this work is a government priority.

The Centrex/CPS training manual was launched in February 2005, with a target to train all CPS prosecutors and caseworkers by April 2008. By January this year, over 2,400 CPS staff had been trained to handle domestic violence cases. This - and the dissemination of good practice guidance - has led to the successful prosecution rate for domestic violence rising from 46% in 2003 to 65.4% by December 2006.

Supporting victims through the criminal justice system (CJS) and managing perpetrators to reduce risk

IDVA involvement with victims of domestic violence has been shown to decrease victimisation, increase awareness of children at risk, and reduce the number of victims who are unwilling to support a prosecution.

During 2006/07, £3 million in funding has been used to pump-prime IDVAs in the 64 SDVC areas and to establish Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVAs) in sexual assault referral centres (SARCs) and specialist sexual violence voluntary sector organisations. Accredited training has also been developed and provided for both roles.

To date, funding for this programme of work has been provided by the Home Office. However, the Department for Constitutional Affairs has now secured £3 million for 2007/08 for the funding of IDVA posts in all the court areas, with an ongoing commitment for future years. Funding for ISVAs will also continue for 2007/08, and will be reviewed after the evaluation is completed.

At the beginning of March 2007, the Home Secretary announced £1.85 million in funding for the development of MARACs across the country. These are a recent development in the services offered to victims of domestic violence, and they focus on high-risk victims (as indicated through the use of risk assessment processes). By sharing information, agencies get a better picture of victims' situations and so develop responses that are better tailored to the needs and goals of individual victims and their children.

In Cardiff - where the MARAC has been evaluated by Cardiff University - the level of reported repeat victimisation has dropped from 32% to below 10%. In 2006/07 the Home Office funded the development of a training package for MARACs based on the evaluated Cardiff model, and it is now being rolled out across the SDVC areas. MARACs will be rolled out to an agreed national standard in 100 areas by the end of April 2008.

All probation service areas now run a perpetrator programme accredited by the Correction Services Accreditation Panel (CSAP) for delivery in the community. During the beginning of 2006/07, all areas received programme sign-off by satisfying CSAPs quality standards, and for the first time targets were set by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) for programme completion. Women safety workers (WSWs) play an essential role in the programmes: NOMS has provided additional funds and run four national training events in support of them.

Developing the evidence base

We have continued to take an evidence-based approach to developing our policies on domestic violence. In September 2006, we published the findings from the 2004/05 British Crime Survey on domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking. Jointly with the Northern Rock Foundation, the Government commissioned research into male domestic violence perpetrators entering the CJS, to identify help-seeking pathways and potential opportunities for early intervention and prevention.

Other planned research includes evaluating the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004; looking at the police/family protocol for family court practitioners to approach the police for information in relation to family cases; revising the forms used for child contact and residence applications; and evaluating a pilot project that was developed for staff in 12 mental health trusts to work with patients, asking them about their experiences of violence and abuse.

In addition, we will be commissioning research into the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities. This work has been listed as a priority for the coming year.

Legislative changes

The Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 introduced a number of new powers (and amendments to existing ones) to strengthen the victim's case when brought to the attention of the criminal justice system.

Three provisions that impact on civil remedies and criminal sanctions will be implemented from 1 July 2007. These are:

• Section 1: making breach of a non-molestation order a criminal offence. Breach will be punishable by up to five years' imprisonment on indictment.
• Section 4: making couples who have never cohabited or been married eligible for non-molestation and occupation orders.
• Section 12: enabling courts to impose restraining orders when sentencing for any offence and giving any person mentioned in a restraining order the right to make representations in court if an application is made to vary or terminate the order.

In 2004 the Home Secretary asked the Sentencing Advisory Panel (SAP) to consult on guidance to the courts for dealing with domestic violence cases. In December 2006, the Sentencing Guidelines Council published Overarching Principles: Domestic Violence and Breach of a Protective Order, definitive guidelines on sentencing in domestic violence cases.

Work continues within HMCS to improve the interface between the family and criminal jurisdictions and to improve transparency and privacy in family courts. In relation to the former, the Family-Criminal Interface Committee has been established to improve the interface between the family and criminal jurisdictions and to identify areas that have not yet been addressed, enabling all stakeholders to respond more effectively to child protection, domestic violence, and private and public family law issues within the forensic arena.

Getting a copy

Download National Domestic Violence Delivery Plan - Annual Progress Report 2006/07 PDF 147Kb

In October 2008 we published the fourth national report which provides an update on our work during 2007/08 and outlines key objectives and activity for 2008/09.

Last update: Friday, October 31, 2008