Support For Domestic Abuse Victims: Housing, Health, Education, Social Services And Social Security

 This briefing outlines support for victims of domestic violence and abuse. It considers social services, housing, social security benefits, health services and preventative actions in education settings.

Read link to government briefing here

COVID-19: guidance for domestic abuse safe accommodation provision

Click here for government advice

Unhealthy and unhappy: Mental toll of troubled relationships

Some forms of domestic violence double victims' risk of depression and anxiety disorders later in life, according to recent research. Click here to read ScienceDaily article

Women Who Survive Domestic Abuse Face Double the Risk of Long-Term Illnesses

Female survivors of domestic abuse are at double the risk of developing long-term illnesses that cause widespread bodily pain and extreme tiredness, according to a new study.

The study, from researchers at the University of Birmingham and the University of Warwick in the U.K., found that women who have experienced domestic abuse are almost twice as likely to develop fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) than those who have not. Click here for link to PsychCentral article

When Abuse Involves Controlling a Partner’s Education

A new study offers a closer look at a lesser-known form of psychological abuse: educational sabotage. This type of abuse involves behaviors aimed at hindering or stopping another person’s educational efforts. Click here to read PsychCentral article

Many Patients Hide Life-Threatening Issues From Their Doctors

A new study finds that many patients who have faced domestic violence, sexual assault, depression or thoughts of suicide are likely to hide this information from their healthcare providers. Read PsychCentral article here

Scars of Partner Violence Can Hinder New Relationships

The damaging effects of intimate partner violence (IPV) often continue long after the abusive relationship is over, yet few resources exist to help victims move on to form new, healthy relationships, according to a new study published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence. Click here to read PsychCentral article

Parental Conflict Can Cause Lasting Emotional Damage to Kids

Children who regularly witness parental conflict may be sustaining lasting harm to their emotional processing abilities, potentially becoming overvigilant, anxious and vulnerable to misreading even neutral human interactions, according to a new study published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships.  Click here for further details.

An uncommon approach: four organisations selected to replicate health and social care interventions

Four organisations have each been awarded £145,000 by the Health Foundation to replicate successful health and care interventions using social franchising and licensing techniques. Social franchising and licensing are methods to replicate and scale interventions that have not yet been used widely in health care in the UK.

The projects are:

Scaling and replicating IRIS through social franchising

Lead organisation: IRISi

IRIS is a successful general practice-based training, support and referral programme that improves the identification and support offered to people with experience of domestic violence and abuse (DVA). One in four women and one in six men will experience DVA during their lifetime, with DVA against women being more frequent and more severe, with long-lasting effects that also have an impact on children. IRIS will be replicated through social franchising so that the programme can be implemented more widely, and more people can be supported. IRISi, a social enterprise set up to house the programme, will support other sites to engage commissioners, and recruit and train staff.

Replicating Pathway’s homeless health hospital team model to towns and cities experiencing significant homelessness

Lead organisation: Pathway

Homeless patients attend emergency departments four times more often than the general population, are admitted eight times more often and stay three times as long. Ten hospitals have implemented Pathway’s integrated care model ensuring that homeless patients admitted to hospital have access to the health care they need and support to recover. Pathway will use social franchising or licensing to replicate the model in places with significant homeless populations that would benefit from adopting it.

Scale up, replication and licensing of the PINCER intervention

Lead organisation: The University of Nottingham

In a recent study, prescribing errors were identified in 5% of prescription items, with one in 550 items containing a severe (potentially life threatening) error. This equates to around 1.8 million serious prescribing errors in English general practices each year. PINCER is a successful pharmacist-led information technology intervention for reducing common medication errors in general practice prescribing, and has been incorporated into national guidelines to support medicines optimisation. PINCER will be replicated in GP surgeries across the country; helping them to protect patients at risk of errors, and reduce medication-related hospital admissions and deaths.

Developing a licensed, social franchising model for regional hubs to roll out effective local multi-professional maternity training

Lead organisation: PROMPT Maternity Foundation

The PRactical Obstetric Multi-Professional Training (PROMPT) programme has been associated with a significant reduction in the number of babies with a low oxygen level at birth and also babies born with a permanent nerve injury following difficulties with their shoulders. Through social franchising and using a regional hub system, it is hoped that this improved implementation model will ensure that PROMPT training may be associated with the same improvements in outcomes across the country.

The new projects are currently subject to contracts being finalised.

Strengthening health systems to respond to women subjected to intimate partner violence or sexual violence: A manual for health managers

This WHO manual aims to strengthen and enable health systems to provide confidential, effective and women-centred services to survivors of violence. It is intended for health managers at all levels of the health system and supports the implementation of the global plan of action on violence.

Co-Parenting After A Violent Marriage: What to Expect

Sadly, intimate partner violence is not uncommon among divorcing couples. And, when kids are involved, the first year after the relationship break-up is critical as this is when custody and co-parenting arrangements are being decided. Click here to read PsychCentral article

Preventing Violence, Promoting Peace A Policy Toolkit for Preventing Interpersonal, Collective and Extremist Violence

A policy tool kit for addressing interpersonal, collective and extremist violence brings together evidence on the prevention of all types of violence including interpersonal violence (child maltreatment, intimate partner violence, sexual violence, elder abuse and youth violence), collective violence (including war and gang violence) and violent extremism. It focuses largely on how to prevent individuals and groups from developing violent behaviours rather than the costly process of dealing with violence and its consequences.

Domestic abuse: a resource for health professionals

New guidance from the Department of Health to help all NHS staff and allied healthcare partners in their response to victims of domestic violence and abuse.

Social workers issued guidance on coercive control

Social workers have been issued guidance on safeguarding people who are victims of controlling and coercive behaviour.

The Department of Health has funded a set of tools to help practitioners respond to the issue, which experts say underpins domestic abuse and can be a heightened risk among people with care and support needs.

New resources help nursing staff identify victims of domestic abuse

The RCN has developed new support to help nurses and midwives identify and care for patients who have experienced domestic abuse.