From Despair to Repair...?

Recommendations

To return to the aims of the research and the main questions we wanted to ask what does the research tell us:

1. Identify gaps in service provision

   There were a number of gaps in services that were identified by participants. The development of local support groups, helplines or counselling for children that have witnessed the abuse, been victim of the abuse or those that have been perpetrators was seen as imperative. The same was reflected regarding the experiences of males. In particular support for perpetrators to manage their behaviour was recommended by a number of participants.

   Those in the Refuge that were concerned about leaving would be happy to have additional support in addition to the Outreach service a befriending service or living with another family. Crime prevention/ personal safety and home security advice at the Refuge before moving out was also a suggestion. Appropriate flexible childcare was considered important in participants being able to apply for work and to attend meetings with agencies.

2. Identify how provision should be best directed

   Existing services need to be directed flexibly and treat the family as a whole. Service provision for older people, older young people and males need developing. As many of the service are directed at women, employer's policies are usually based only on female experiences of domestic violence.

3. Investigate the reasons why victims of domestic violence left at that particular point in the relationship

   The participants left the relationship at that point for a variety of reasons: the abuse had recently escalated, the abuse affected the children, after a large incident, access to finance or the "switch had gone in their head".

4. Investigate provisions for young people affected by domestic violence

   Although 80% of young people had witnessed the abuse and 72% of the participants felt the abuse affected their children only 39% had accessed support. Many requested counselling for their children or thought their children were now ready for some support. It seems that such provision is important when reflecting on the percentage of participants and perpetrators who had lived in an abusive household when they were younger.

5. Investigate provision for men experiencing domestic violence

   Although there were only a small number of men included in the research issues were raised regarding the attitude of staff from agencies towards them. They felt that there should be some form of support for men, which would encourage others to ask for help.

   Indeed one area of future work would be to target more men into a consultation process. There were issues of accessing males for this research due to the lack of victims who had contacted agencies. To access males in future another form of sampling may be appropriate, as they seem to be harder to reach.

6. Assist in the development of future plans for domestic violence strategies and the local Crime and Disorder Strategy

   The information from the research will advise the Tameside Crime and Disorder Audit and Strategy as part of the consultation process. The information from this report will continue to inform the Domestic Violence Strategy and focus group on future actions and the work of partner agencies.

7. Inform agency decisions on future service delivery

   We hope that information within this report will help shape future services. The agencies involved have made a commitment by their participation in this study and as part of the Domestic Violence focus group continue the work and consider the recommendations incorporated in this report. Victims of domestic violence have not been consulted previously regarding their experiences of services. Hopefully this report will allow them to have their input into how they should be shaped in future.

8. What makes it difficult for men and women to leave the abusive relationship? Why do victims return to an abusive relationship?

   The participants explained that it was difficult to leave for the same reasons as to why they decide on occasion, to return.

   63% of the participants had tried to leave the relationship before. The reasons for their return included for the sake of the children; lack of finances; fear of the perpetrators consequent actions; feelings for the perpetrator; nowhere to go to; and the belief that the perpetrator would change.

9. Is the perpetrator abusive to others or involved in other crimes?

   71% of the perpetrators had been abusive to others or been involved in crime. They were usually abusive to family and friends or ex partners. Other crimes that they had been involved in included car crime, burglary, theft, criminal damage, none payment of fines and drug offences.

10. What do victims of Domestic Violence want from agencies?

    Participants wanted from most agencies a confidential, responsive, supportive non- judgmental service above all else. They felt that services should be victim orientated and quick to respond when dealing with victims of domestic violence.

11. What do they think of the level of service they received from agencies?

    With each agency there were very mixed answers to the level of service they received. Each experience was unique to each individual and it was hard to group the comments. However, the main trends seemed to be:

Health - Participants usually disclosed to either their local GP or Accident and Emergency staff. They felt that their GP was supportive but not fully informed about options for either the victim or perpetrator.

Children - 72% of the children were affected by the abuse. However many participants had been unable to access local support or counselling for the children. Participants requested access to counselling for their children, less time in changing schools and the development of domestic violence policies in local schools.

Police - When the police considered the incident to be priority participants was usually happy with the response. The police scored low on staff attitude. Some participants were not aware of the Domestic Violence Officers. Those that used the Domestic Violence Officers were happy with the service they received.

Benefits - Staff attitude was the main problem with the Benefits Agency. Participants required a confidential non- judgmental service, which they felt they did not receive. They also scored low on response time.

Housing - This was again rated low for response time. Requests were made for more offers of housing and a quicker service for victims of domestic violence.

Victim Support - If they were told about Victim Support and accessed the service they were impressed. Some participants would have liked to have VS contact them but they were unaware of their service. More awareness and information about how to leave the relationship would have been seen as helpful.

Refuge - Participants were impressed with the safety at the Tameside Refuge. However when residents were due to leave they felt vulnerable and would like more assistance and preparation before they left in addition to the outreach service.

Social Care and Health - Many were put off using the service because of the stigma attached to the service however, when used they were rated overall quite highly. An awareness of what Social Care and Health do would help more participants to come forward for help.

Main Recommendations

Children

80% of the children saw the abuse in the home and 72% were affected by it. The children had showed various signs of upset from the experience. However, many children had not received any help or support. The majority had not sought help for the children because they had not been able to access any support although they wished to access counselling for them. It is therefore recommended that any existing support is made available to children. However, localised counselling and support service for children and their parent's needs to be set up. The development of Domestic Violence policies in local schools and access to support mechanisms for families was highlighted as best practice.

• Localised counselling service be set up for children
• Local schools develop Domestic Violence policies

Male victims

It has recently been more accepted that men can be the victims in an abusive relationship and although more males are coming forward for help it is still felt that such numbers are low. For this research it was felt that males needed to be targeted for their experiences in accessing services. There was a belief that there is a lack of support for male victims. Some men felt victimised in the process of accessing help.

It is therefore recommended that agencies raise awareness to their staff that males can be victims of domestic violence and support mechanisms are put in place to support men fleeing violence.

• Appropriate support mechanisms are set up for men fleeing abuse
• The recognition of male victims is included in all domestic violence awareness training

Female victims

Women had a number of concerns about existing services. It must be remembered that although women do access services, the first initial contact with an agency determines their future actions. Many whom had accessed a Refuge felt that there was a need for more long-term support for women leaving the Refuge. As a number hadn't lived alone before and were concerned for their safety if the perpetrator found where they lived. Requests were made for:

• Increased awareness of services available for victims and what to expect from them
• A consistent approach to all victims
• A non-judgmental service for all victims
• Long term support for women leaving the Refuge in particular their safety/home security
• Ongoing consultation with victims of domestic violence to ensure they can comment on future services

Staff attitude

Participants were upset and concerned about the attitude of some staff towards them when they tried to access services. In particular the Benefits Agency and the Police. A number of participants were so upset with the attitude of some staff members at the Benefits Agency they refused to return even if they were denied money. The attitude of police officers varied. If front line officers called out, their attitude was rated as low unless it was an emergency/serious incident. Male victims did not perceive that they were believed.

Other forms of domestic violence

8% of the participants had been in an abusive relationship with someone other than their partner this included: siblings, parents and step-parents. The lack of provision or information of how to access support for these individuals seemed scarce. Support mechanisms need to be set up to effectively deal with victims of domestic violence from other family members.

• Agencies recognise that domestic violence occurs in other forms other than male versus female relationship
• Appropriate support mechanisms are developed to deal with victims of domestic violence from other family members.

Complaints

Agencies need to recognise that victims of domestic violence find it difficult to ask for help from agencies due to feelings of shame. As a result they will be reluctant to complain about services, which they feel are unsatisfactory. However, while victims will be reluctant to complain directly about the agency concerned, invariably they will remember their negative experience and will communicate it to others, such as other victims of domestic violence whom they encounter in the refuge. Our research suggests that in those situations where a victim has suffered a negative experience with an agency, they will not return again for help even in situations where assistance is desperately needed.

• Attempts should be made to ensure that either victims can complain about an agency anonymously or ongoing consultation allows such problems to be highlighted, which can then be channelled to the appropriate agency.

Perpetrators

Some of the participants had requested assistance for their ex partner or wondered if there was any support for perpetrators of the abuse. Of perpetrator's who were abusive to others such as ex partners, family and friends if they were willing to modify their behaviour both the perpetrator and victim were unaware of where to seek help. If they had already requested this assistance it was usually through their GP whom they felt was supportive but also unsure of where to seek such support.

• Some form of local support is developed for perpetrators to help modify their behaviour.
• Raise awareness with local GP's of where both perpetrators and victims can seek support

Individual Participant Recommendations

• The Benefits Agency attend the refuge to sort out claims
• A local support group is set up for mothers of sexually abused children
• That elder abuse be recognised as domestic violence
• Approaches are made to pensioners groups to raise awareness of domestic violence and the support available for older people
• The introduction of domestic violence training as part of TMBC management guidelines
• All schools in Tameside develop a domestic violence policy
• An anger management scheme is set up for perpetrators of domestic violence and other violent offenders in Tameside
• Support is given for single parents and those with ill health after leaving an abusive relationship
• Interim measures be set up to identify who in the short term is the legal guardian of the child/children

Analysis - Housing | Further Comments