Domestic Violence and Abuse

Overview

Any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour,  violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are or have been intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality. This can encompass but is not limited to the following types of abuse:

• psychological
• physical 
• sexual
• financial
• emotional

Controlling behaviour is: a range of acts designed to make a person subordinate and/or dependent by isolating them from sources of support, exploiting their resources and capacities for personal gain, depriving them of the means needed for independence, resistance and escape and regulating their everyday behaviour.

Coercive behaviour is: an act or a pattern of acts of assault, threats, humiliation and intimidation or other abuse that is used to harm, punish, or frighten their victim.” *

This definition, which is not a legal definition, includes so called ‘honour’ based violence, female genital mutilation (FGM) and forced marriage, and is clear that victims are not confined to one gender or ethnic group.

Risk assessment

In BNSSG -  Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences are held to discuss victims of Domestic Abuse who are at significant risk of death or serious harm as a result of the domestic abuse they are experiencing. Practitioners should use the Domestic Abuse Risk Indication Checklist (Safe Lives DASH RIC) to inform their professional assessment of risk. A MARAC referral should be considered for all victims who score over 14.

If a professional has concerns that a victim will be seriously harmed by the perpetrator they should also consider referring the case to MARAC under this criterion regardless of the risk assessment score. Serious harm is defined as ‘A risk which is life threatening and/or traumatic, and from which recovery, whether physical or psychological, can be expected to be difficult or impossible’ (Home Office 2002).

When deciding if a referral should be made to a MARAC, refers should consider the number of reported serious incidents to the victim of domestic violence/abuse in the past 12 months. This criterion should be used in situations where the abuse appears to be escalating and where it is appropriate to assess the situation more fully by sharing information.

Referrals should be completed on the relevant MARAC referral form and sent by secure email - see Bristol, North Somerset of South Glos section below

If a patient is in immediate danger then call 999.

There is also the 24 hour, 7 day a week National Domestic Violence Helpline:

Freephone 0808 2000 247

Services in Bristol

See the Keeping Bristol Safe Partnership website. The site includes information on help lines and local organisations such as Next Link - Bristol.

MARAC - Guidance for Bristol referrals, Bristol MARAC referral form

Services in North Somerset

See the Domestic Abuse Information for Professionals for North Somerset. The site includes information for professionals including the MARAC referral form.

North Somerset practices can refer patient to Next Link - North Somerset for support.

Services in South Gloucestershire

See the Domestic Abuse page on the South Glos Safeguarding Adults Board site. The site includes a link to the Domestic Abuse Practice Guidance and the MARAC referral form.

South Glos practices can refer patient to Next Link - South Glos for support.

IRIS

The IRIS programme provides specialist advocacy and support to patients registered at IRIS-trained practices who are affected by domestic abuse. IRIS is only currently running in Bristol and South Glos, not North Somerset.

Next Link delivers the IRIS program locally for practices that have undertaken IRIS training. IRIS trained practices can refer using the IRIS form which should be embedded in EMIS.

IRISi is a national organisation that provides domestic violence and abuse training and support for General Practice.

Male victims of domestic abuse

One in every six men will be a victim of domestic abuse in their lifetime. Over 500,000 men every year suffer abuse from their partner every year. One man per fortnight is killed by a current or ex-partner. It is estimated that there are over 3,000 male victims of domestic abuse in the Armed Forces.

See the ManKind website for advice and support for Male Victims of Domestic Abuse

Clare’s Law and requesting domestic violence offender data

The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS) is often called ‘Clare’s Law’ after the landmark case that led to it. Clare’s Law gives any member of the public the right to ask the police if their partner may pose a risk to them. Under Clare’s Law, a member of the public can also make enquiries into the partner of a close friend or family member.

The application process

Once an application is made, police and partner agencies will carry out a range of checks.

If these reveal a record of abusive offences, or suggest a risk of violence or abuse, we'll consider sharing this information.

Our aim is to help people to make a more informed decision on whether to continue a relationship and provide help and support when making that choice.

If we decide to reveal what we find, also called making a 'disclosure', this will usually be to the person at risk. This is unless, in the circumstances, someone else is better placed to use the information to protect the person at risk from abuse.

There may be occasions when we won't let you know whether a disclosure has or hasn't been made.

Any disclosure will be made in person; none of the disclosure is made in writing and you won't be given any documents.

How to make an application under Clare's Law

To make an application you'll need to call 101; we'll take the details and talk you through the next steps.

You'll need to give your:

• name
• address
• date of birth

Perpetrator Pathway

Please see the following links for sources of help for perpatrators.

Respect

The Respect website provides further details of the support they provide.

Drive Project - available across BNSSG

Drive works with high-harm perpetrators to reduce abuse and increase victim/survivor safety. Drive challenges the central narrative surrounding domestic violence, asking “Why doesn't he stop?" instead of "Why doesn't she leave?"

Please see the Working with Drive: Professional Information Leaflet 

To find out more about Drive please contact: driveadmin-bnssg@cranstoun.org.uk

Resources

Please also see the Sexual Assault/ Abuse Support page of Remedy which includes information on the Survivor Pathway.

Hourglass (older people) provide information and support to an older person or anyone concerned about an older person who is at risk of, experiencing, or recovering from any form of abuse or neglect: https://wearehourglass.org/domestic-abuse

Honour based killing/ abuse - Karma Nirvana

NHS England: Domestic Abuse Statutory Guidance: Key Messages

Home Office: Domestic Abuse Statutory Guidance July 2022 - full document

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs116/chapter/Quality-statement-1-Asking-about-domestic-violence-and-abuse

SNOMED codes for Safeguarding

www.opoka.org.uk/   Polish DV services covering Bristol and South Glos

https://www.womankindbristol.org.uk/  Bristol women’s therapy centre

Abuse and Domestic Violence | Parents Support Guide | YoungMinds

Guidelines for clinical management of non-fatal strangulation

Efforts are made to ensure the accuracy and agreement of these guidelines, including any content uploaded, referred to or linked to from the system. However, BNSSG ICB cannot guarantee this. This guidance does not override the individual responsibility of healthcare professionals to make decisions appropriate to the circumstances of the individual patient, in consultation with the patient and/or guardian or carer, in accordance with the mental capacity act, and informed by the summary of product characteristics of any drugs they are considering. Practitioners are required to perform their duties in accordance with the law and their regulators and nothing in this guidance should be interpreted in a way that would be inconsistent with compliance with those duties.

Information provided through Remedy is continually updated so please be aware any printed copies may quickly become out of date.