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Domestic Violence

Page reviewed and refreshed November 2012.

Introduction

Domestic and gender based violence (DGBV) can have a devastating effect on individuals and the communities in which they live. It ruins lives, breaks apart families and has an impact across the generations. In some cases, tragically, it leads to loss of life. It also results in a significant financial cost to society as a whole. DV happens regardless of class, ethnicity or sexuality. Although the majority of those affected are women, it affects men too, and people in same sex relationships. It is linked to child and adult abuse. Haringey’s use of the term “domestic violence” (DV) encompasses the wider definition, including gender based violence, set out in the government’s new definition (see below).

While there is no specific offence of ‘DV’ under criminal law (external link), many forms of DV are crimes; for example, assault, false imprisonment, harassment, rape, criminal damage and attempted murder.

Gathering a comprehensive picture of the extent of DV remains a challenge as it often remains a hidden crime with general acknowledgement by agencies of significant under-reporting.

Definitions associated with DV

The revised definition of DV was announced by the Home Office (external link) in September 2012 and is due to be implemented in March 2013.

“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.”

The government has made it clear that 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.

The most significant difference is the inclusion of those aged 16 and 17, and the revised wording to reflect coercive control. The changes will have an impact on local services.

The Mayor of London’s Strategy, The Way Forward: Taking action to end violence against women and girls 2010-2013, also includes prostitution and trafficking, sexual exploitation and stalking.

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Key issues and gaps

Cost of domestic violence

Domestic violence in England (external link) costs £5.5bn a year (see footnote 1), and London has some of the highest costs at £590.5 million. According to the Trust for London and the Henry Smith Charity in 2009, the estimated annual cost of domestic and gender based violence (PDF - 162KB) in Haringey (see footnote 2) is:

  • £27.6 million. This includes the cost of physical and mental health care, criminal justice, social services, housing and refuges, civil legal services and lost economic output.
  • In addition, the human and emotional cost is estimated to be £47.6 million.

These costs are likely to be an underestimate since they do not include DV by family members who are not intimate partners.

The figures are taken from The Cost of Domestic Violence – update 2009 (Doc, 422KB), and the inclusion of human and emotional costs has been subject to debate. Their inclusion is based on the notion that people would pay something in order not to suffer the human and emotional costs of being injured. Concern with human and emotional impact, concern with justice and human rights, and concern with the cost of DV are parallel and complementary ways of making the point that DV is important. The report’s authors believe that the monetary figure, although based on a complex methodology, is more likely to increase the priority given to the problem.

Advocacy

Independent domestic violence advisers (IDVAs (external link)) provide short- to medium-term specialist intensive support to complex, high-risk victims-survivors of DV and, where applicable, their children. Hearthstone, Haringey’s domestic violence advice and support centre, supports medium, high and very high risk victims-survivors and was recently announced as the winner of the 2012 Andy Ludlow Homelessness Award. The £30,000 award will be used to fund a part-time worker to help take on more referrals, and a further part-time worker for Eastern European communities.

IDVAs have been shown to reduce the number of incidents and increase victims' safety and wellbeing (see footnote 3). In the longer-term, research suggests that the service – which provides relatively low-cost specialist support for high risk victims – will deliver considerable savings to public sector services. Islands in the Stream (external link) (see footnote 4) evaluated four schemes, including the nia Project (external link) who manage Haringey’s IDVA. The nia IDVAs include a focus on minority ethnic women and specialist domestic violence court (SDVC) cases which makes them more expensive. The report costs this at £690.28 per victim-survivor, compared with an average of £500, and £700 for community based schemes. This still appears to represent savings compared with the estimated cost of one police callout (£1,027 (see footnote 5)), social services assessment process per child (£2,300 (see footnote 6)), and one rape investigation (£73,487 (see footnote 7)).

Impact of recent public sector cuts

In November 2012, Coordinated Action for Domestic Violence and Abuse (Caada) warned that the number of IDVAs needs to increase by at least30%in order to reach the required level of support for high risk victims. According to their report, there are now only an estimated 500 IDVAs in post and estimates that at least650 are needed to support all high risk DV victims.

The report also highlights gaps in DV support for children and young people. Case analysis found that two-thirds of DV victims had children living in or visiting the home, most of whom were under five. Child protection services were involved in 35% of cases. Children living with DV are at increased risk of behavioural problems, trauma and mental health issues,

The report also recommends that dedicated IDVA support should be provided for teenage victims of DV. Young people’s services needed to have expertise in handling issues such as gangs, sexual exploitation and ‘honour’-based violence.

[Reference: A place of greater safety. Caada. November 2012

Link: CAADA Insights for domestic abuse services (external link) ]

Domestic violence disclosure scheme

In Summer 2012, the Home Office launched a one-year pilot of a DV disclosure scheme (Clare’s Law) in four police force areas within existing legislative powers. Should the pilot demonstrate a need for the introduction of a victim or potential victim’s “right to know” or “right to ask”, IDVA capacity will have to be increased to respond to the increased demand.

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Who is at risk and why

Risk factors include:

  • being female (all age groups as, where DV exists, it will continue throughout life)
  • pregnancy (the greatest risk is for teenage mothers and during the period just after a woman has given birth (Harrykissoon et al. 2002)
  • long-term illness or disability (women and men with a long-term illness or disability were almost twice as likely to experience DV as others)
  • use of any drug in the last year
  • marital status (married people had the lowest risk, while those who had previously been married had the highest risk)
  • age (women in younger age groups, in particular 16–24 year-olds are at greatest risk)
  • being in a lesbian, gay or bisexual relationship (Home Office 2010a).

Children are also affected by DV through exposure to violence perpetrated against their mothers. Children and young people may also be directly abused themselves, most commonly by a family member or other trusted adult. DV may also continue after a couple has separated.

Adult safeguarding, children safeguarding, alcohol, drugs, housing, homelessness, adult mental health and health needs of asylum seekers , refugees and migrant workers are considered elsewhere in the JSNA.

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The level of need in the population

According to reported incidents from the police and other support agencies, DV rates are seven times higher in the deprived parts of east Haringey than the level in the west of the borough. However, these figures may not reflect the full level of need as some individuals may choose not to access services, or possibly may have alternative resources to help them flee the violence (eg by independently securing accommodation or legal remedies). Nevertheless, police data shows that reported DV constitutes 30% of all violent crime in Haringey, high when compared to other London boroughs. It accounts for 6% of total recorded offences and has remained at around this average proportion for the past few years.

However, given the acknowledged under-reporting of DV issues, it could be much more significant. According to interviews undertaken for the 2010/11 British Crime Survey self-completion module, 7% of women aged 16 to 59 were victims of domestic abuse in the past year compared with 5% of men. For the past year in Haringey, this equates to approximately 5,110 women and 3,980 men.

According to reported figures, victims are predominantly young and female with the 21 to 33 age group accounting for 45% of all victims, and a peak age of 25. Sexual orientation of victims is almost exclusively heterosexual.

According to Hearthstone clients between April and December 2011, verbal was the most common type of abuse at 85.4%, followed by physical abuse (72.8%), mental abuse (66.5%), emotional abuse and sexual abuse (21.9%). Clients who provided this information were given the option to report more than one type of violence.

Domestic violence and pregnancy, babies, children and young people

  • DV is more likely to begin or escalate during pregnancy and may become worse during postpartum. It is estimated that approximately 23% of women visiting Hearthstone are pregnant (April to December 2011 figures).
  • At least 750,000 children and young people are estimated to be exposed to DV every year in England (DH 2002). Many will be traumatised by what they witness – whether it is the violence itself or the emotional and physical effects the behaviour has on someone in the household (DH 2009).
  • Nearly 75% of girls and 50% of boys nationally have reported some sort of emotional partner abuse (NSPCC and the University of Bristol 2009) with 77% of young people feeling they do not have enough information and support to deal with physical or sexual violence.

Domestic violence and child protection

There is growing concern about the impact of DV on young people.

  • Neglect, abuse and DV are factors impacting on children’s wellbeing (see footnote 9). The Local Safeguarding Children Board’s annual report 2010 (PDF, 745KB) highlights the need to ensure a widespread understanding of the risk indicators for DV and the impact that living with violence has on children. This includes violence in teenage relationships.
  • At 30 September 2011, 151 families (290 children) were subject to a child protection plan. Thirty of these 151 families (19.9%, involving 55 children) were subject to a child protection plan as a result of DV.
  • A random snapshot of child protection conference presenting issues between 14 October and 8 November 2011 shows that DV is the leading primary concern by a good margin. It is rated as the presenting issue for around 20% of the children subject to child protection plans.
  • Data on child referrals from April to September 2011 shows that:
    • Of 1,209 referrals, 348 (28.8%) identified DV as the reason.
    • 122 of those 348 have had a previous referral, of which 67 were within the last 12 months. Of those 67, 12 children had a previous referral due to DV from April to September 2011.
    • Of the 348 citing DV as the reason for the referral, 27 were aged between 13 and 18 years of age (7.8%). Almost half of these were referred by the police and 15% by their school or education service. Referrals were fairly evenly spread across the borough, but slightly higher in Northumberland Park, White Hart Lane and Woodside.
  • The highest number of child referrals across all age groups due to DV between April and September 2011 were in Tottenham Hale (42 out of 348, 12%). The number of referrals is significantly more than the next highest wards of Tottenham Green (29, 8.3%) and Northumberland Park (28, 8%).
  • The majority of child referrals identifying DV as a presenting need were in the 0-4 age group (58%), followed by the 5-10 age group (18%), and unborn (12%). Research indicates that routine enquiry or screening for partner violence in maternity services can increase the detection rate of DV.
  • Over 60% (210) of child referrals with DV as a presenting need were made by the police from April to September 2011. In the same period, the police made 31% of child referrals overall (384). No referrals with DV as a presenting need were received directly from community paediatrics, nursery/children’s centres, school nurses, consultants, mental health in-patients, prisons, youth offending or the courts. However, it may be that referrals from these agencies were made via another route.
  • According to Haringey's Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) data for 2010/11, there was a 6.4% rise in the number of cases discussed compared with 2009/10, and a 37% rise in the number of children in the households. 6.6% of the cases discussed were repeat cases, compared with 14.4% in 2009/10.

Domestic violence, mental ill health, alcohol and substance misuse

UK figures show that 75% of cases of DV result in physical injury or mental health consequences to women (Home Office, 2001) (see footnote 10). The cost of treating mental disorder in the UK due to DV is £176 million (Walby, 2004).

  • Haringey data from London Probation and Hearthstone indicate that female victims have considerable mental health problems and are at a much higher risk from a partner or ex-partner than from current or former spouse.

About half of all women being treated for mental illness will have experienced DV (see footnote 11). Hearthstone clients are more likely to suffer from mental health problems than their perpetrators; on average, over half of Hearthstone’s victims-survivors say they have mental health problems while 12% stated the perpetrator had mental health problems.

Substance use and mental health can be intrinsically linked to DV: by victims as a method of self-medication; or by perpetrators who favour substance misuse as a disinhibiting agent and as an argument for mitigation. There is a myth, often exacerbated by media accounts, that DV incidents show a lack of control or were “alcohol-fuelled” whereas it is in fact a set of behaviours linked by the exertion of power and control by one person over another.

  • Nationally, women who experience DV are 15 times more likely to abuse alcohol; it is estimated that in 37% of DV cases, alcohol is a factor. Approximately 45% of perpetrators are under the influence of alcohol.
  • Nationally, DV survivors are nine times more likely to abuse drugs.
  • Of the 379 victims-survivors using Hearthstone’s services between April and December 2011, 44% stated that the perpetrator had issues with alcohol and drugs.
  • Nationally, DV survivors are five times more likely to attempt suicide. In 2011 in Haringey, 72% of people using Hearthstone described themselves as depressed (see footnote 12) or suicidal.

Domestic violence and men

  • Men at high risk of DV may include gay and bisexual men, transgender men, men at risk of forced marriage and so-called ‘honour’-based violence, and men with disabilities.
  • National and local research on men indicates that 50% of men who identify as victims may be perpetrators – as has been evidenced by Hearthstone, as well as both parties presenting as victim-survivor. Best practice includes screening men to ensure that they are genuine victims. This helps to avoid child protection issues and other problems with housing, civil and criminal law. This figure of 50% does not necessarily apply in teenager violence where the victim/perpetrator definition cannot be applied in the same way’ care must therefore be taken not to apply this to 16 and 17 year olds under the new definition of DV. This will need to be considered further.
  • Only 4% of self-referrals to Hearthstone in 2010/11 in Haringey were from men (3.4% in the first three quarters of 2011/12). Some of these were identified as perpetrators rather than victims, although most were identified prior to assessment.

Domestic violence and disabilities

National research commissioned by Women's Aid in October 2007 (external link) reveals that people with disabilities are more vulnerable to DV and will often face additional difficulties in attempting to access support. Fifty per cent of disabled women have experienced domestic abuse compared with 25% of non disabled women. They are twice as likely to be assaulted or raped as non-disabled women. Both men and women with a limiting illness or disabilities are more likely to experience intimate partner violence; disabled women are likely to have to endure it for longer because appropriate support is not available.

Domestic violence and housing

Violence against women is a significant cause of homelessness in London, according to the Mayor’s Office (see footnote 13) and fear of losing their home can trap women in violent situations. Around 40% of young homeless women have left home because of sexual abuse and DV is cited as the direct reason for presenting as homeless by 13% of applicants to local authorities. Homelessness among women can be particularly hidden and there is often limited contact with services that provide for more accessible rough sleepers.

Although they are the minority of rough sleepers, homeless women present with specific needs that are often not met by existing hostel and day centre services. Homeless services need to develop ways of reaching homeless women who are hidden, and to develop and provide services that meet the variety of specific needs, including sexual and DV services, in settings and practices that maximise accessibility.

  • Families fleeing DV who are subject to immigration control and have no recourse to public funds are placed in appropriate accommodation. This can be a refuge; however, some of these will not take families who have no access to benefits. An alternative is to place them in private accommodation which involves paying for accommodation with all bills included and providing a weekly subsistence. In November 2011, we were supporting nine cases involving nine mothers and a total of 20 children. This assistance is funded by the Children and Young People’s Service if the client has children.
  • Residents in single adult households with children, social renters and those living in the top 20% most deprived areas are at significantly higher risk. A breakdown of data for the first three quarters of 2011 shows that just under 45% of Hearthstone clients are housed in social housing or temporary accommodation, the biggest single group living in council housing.
  • Hearthstone sees between two and four new cases per day, depending on staffing, plus any emergencies (prioritising those who are street homeless).

house moves chart

Fig 1 - Household types of Hearthstone clients

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Harmful practices [forced marriage (FM), ‘honour’-based violence (HBV) and female genital mutilation (FGM)]

  • In the 17 months from December 2008 to April 2010, 366 forced marriage incidents and 110 forced marriage offences across London were reported to the Metropolitan Police.
  • 53% of people using Hearthstone described the abuse they had suffered as “emotional/’honour’-based violence”.
  • According to the Iranian and Kurdish Women's Rights Organisation (report published December 2011), there are almost 3,000 incidents of ‘honour’-based violence every year in the UK (external link); London is the worst area with 495 police-recorded incidents, a figure which doubled from 2009 to 2010 and is now five times the national average.
  • Findings: The Missing Link - A Joined up Approach to addressing Harmful Practices affecting Black, Minority Ethnic and Refugee Women (BMER) in London (PDF 556KB), published in February 2012, addresses the lack of knowledge and inadequate accurate information on some forms of gender-based violence which have a disproportionate impact on some BMER women and girls. It includes a breakdown of numbers of BMER women by London borough, and evidence of local services to address harmful practices.
  • FGM involves partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. This is a crime in the UK even if the person is taken overseas for the mutilation. It is also sometimes known as female circumcision or ‘sunna’. It is mostly carried out on young girls at some time from around five to seven years old to about 14. More than 6,000 girls in London alone (external link) are taken abroad in the summer holidays for female genital circumcision. In September 2011, the Crown Prosecution Service launched legal guidance (external link) so that prosecutors can better understand the background of FGM-affected communities and identify evidential challenges.

Sexual offences

  • According to the British Crime Survey (BCS), around 2% of women and less than 1% of men nationally experienced some form of sexual assault (including attempts) in the last year. The majority of these are accounted for by less serious sexual assaults. In Haringey, based on population figures for the 15-59 age group, this potentially means 1,460 women and 796 men.
  • Prevalence of serious sexual assault is lower than other forms of intimate violence (BCS) (0.4% of women and 0.1% of men). In Haringey, for those in the 15-59 age group, this potentially means 292 women and 80 men.
  • The Haringey Community Safety Strategic Assessment 2010 found 56.2% of violent and sexual crime was committed by men against women.

Trafficking and prostitution

  • Between 1,000 and 10,000 women and girls are trafficked into the UK each year for sexual exploitation. Many are trafficked to or through London.
  • Around 6,000 of the estimated 8,000 women involved in off-street prostitution in London’s brothels, ‘saunas’ and ‘massage parlours’ are foreign nationals. It is believed that a significant number of them have been trafficked.
  • Women involved in prostitution are some of the most vulnerable in our communities and are likely to be victims of serious physical and sexual violence. Women in prostitution in London suffer from a mortality rate that is 12 times the national average (Home Office, 2004).

Stalking and non-sexual partner abuse

  • Nineteen per cent of women in England and Wales have experienced stalking since the age of 16. The most common perpetrator was a partner or ex-partner (39%). In Haringey, for those in the 15-59 age group, this potentially equates to 13,870 women (see footnote 14).
  • Twenty-three per cent of women and 11% of men in England and Wales said that non-sexual partner abuse was the most common experience of intimate violence they had experienced since 16.
  • In the past year, non-sexual partner abuse and stalking were the most common types of intimate violence in England and Wales, with 5% of women and 3% of men reporting non-sexual partner abuse. In Haringey, for those in the 15-59 age group, this potentially equates to 3,650 women and 2,388 men. Four per cent of women and 3% of men in England and Wales reported having experienced stalking. In Haringey, for those in the 15-59 age group, this potentially equates to 2,920 women and 2,388 men.

Use of data to establish levels of domestic violence

Cases of DV are identified by the police using flags which are added to a crime report by police officers. This means data is dependent on a DV flag being correctly applied. Compliance can vary depending on force priorities and resources.

Victims of DV are less likely to report their experiences to the authorities because of beliefs that their abuse is not a matter for police involvement, their experiences too trivial, or from fear of reprisal. According to the British Crime Survey, the police will get to know of only 39% of incidents. This estimate is reflected in Haringey where, in the 12 months to September 2011 there were 1,420 recorded DV offences (see footnote 15), ranking the borough 17th highest in London. DV police recorded offences have not differed significantly during the last 12 months and total DV offences for the last two 12 month periods are lower than for the previous three years. However, there is a significant divergence with the police call-out rate for the same period of 4,500.

Women, men and young people using The Havens (external link), London’s three sexual assault referral centres (SARCS) are not required to report the assault to the police; however, help and support will be offered if they do. Data received from two of the three Havens suggests that usage by Haringey residents is extremely low, and figures are too low to provide any reliable analysis.

Police recorded crime data shows a steady falling trend since 2006/07 of 15% (258 fewer records) which conflicts somewhat with reports from colleagues and partners who are detecting high levels of DV among their client groups. Probation data suggest very high levels of DV among their community caseload (between 70% and 82%). Domestic abuse is also a feature of the current nominals on the Gang Action Group.

Half of all offences occur over the weekends with a fifth occurring late at night and into the early hours of the morning, reflecting periods of increased contact between partners and families. No significant seasonal pattern is evident although slight increases in the average number of offences per day can be seen during the immediate pre/post Christmas period and the summer months.

DV includes a wide range of offence types; in Haringey, these overwhelmingly involve assault with injury. This is followed by common assault which is the only offence type to record a significant increase between 2009/10 and 2010/11.

Fig 2 - DV offences in Haringey

In the year to September 2011, 7.5% of DV offences were linked to alcohol (107), a reduction on the previous 12 months by 16% or 20 fewer. 4.2% used/intimated a knife (59), a nominal 5.4% increase, or an additional three offences. Both figures should be regarded as under-estimation.

Domestic violence by ward

According to recorded police data (which may be only a partial picture of the reality across the borough), DV rates are seven times higher in the deprived parts of east Haringey than the level in the west of the borough:

  • Bounds Green is the highest ranked ward in the west of the borough.
  • Tottenham Hale, Tottenham Green, Northumberland Park and Noel Park (104, 95, 91 and 90 offences respectively) have the highest number of recorded DV offences in the east of the borough. DV offences are disproportionately recorded in these four wards, each of which contributes at least 8% of offences and collectively counts for over a third (33.6%) of all DV offences in this period.
  • However, analysis using Haringey’s female population figures moves St Ann’s ward into the top four, replacing Northumberland Park.

Almost 80% of all DV offences are in the east of the borough: Northumberland Park, Tottenham Hale and Bruce Grove, plus Tottenham Green/St Ann’s border and in Noel Park.

dv hotspots

Fig 3 - DV in Haringey (click for larger map - PNG 210KB)

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Domestic violence and repeat victimisation (see footnote 16)

The green circles on the above map show the location of repeat venues (two or more offences). The size of the circle represents the number of repeat offences at each venue and shows a strong link between the more vulnerable locations and the repeat venues. The repeat incident locations account for 11.2% of all identified DV offence locations in the 12 months to September 2011 and collectively contribute almost a quarter of all offences during this period.

Historical Haringey police data identified that approximately 85% of repeat victims were victimised twice and 15% were victimised between three and seven times.

According to Probation data on the risk of repeat reconviction, over half of their 177 cases involving ‘general DV’ was categorised as having a low reconviction rate, just under half a medium risk and only 3.4% were at high risk of re-offending. The data is compiled using the Offender Assessment System (OASys), a risk assessment and management system used by the prison and probation services of England and Wales. It includes analysis of static (criminal history and demographic) and dynamic (social and personal) risk factors, risk of serious harm, sentence planning, a self-assessment (i.e. offender-completed) questionnaire and a summary sheet. The OASys Violence Predictor (OVP) then calculates the risk of violent re-offending, which has been shown to have an accuracy for both ‘general’ and ‘violent’ offences of up to 80%.

probation table

Fig 4 - Risk of reconviction - Probation data

Relationship between victim and perpetrator

According to police data where a relationship was recorded, partners/former partners or immediate family members accounted for the majority of relationships between victim and perpetrator. Boyfriend/Ex-boyfriend was the most prevalent recorded relationship at 41%, husband the second highest (16.1%). CPS data between 2002 and 2006 shows a similar pattern, as does local Hearthstone data, with an ex-partner the most likely relationship between victim and perpetrator accounting for 40% of the total. Husband is the second highest ranked relationship type (28%) followed by current partner with 9.2%.

Profile of victims-survivors

There are variations (or contradictions) in data for ethnicity of victims-survivors depending on the source of information on the resident population. In the tables below, an index score greater than 100 signifies that the ethnicity-type is over-represented in the victim population.

According to police data, White victims are more prevalent, however, they are under-represented when compared to the percentage of the White resident population overall; Black victims are also under-represented, but less so. Asian and Other victims are significantly under-represented.

victims ethnicity

Fig 5 - Ethnicity of victim - police data

School census data (a more recent dataset that provides information on the school-age population) also indicates that White victims are more prevalent, but is significantly closer to the percentage of the White resident population overall; Black victims are also under-represented, but far less so than the police data suggests. Asian victims are more prevalent than police data suggests although still significantly under-represented; Other victims are significantly under-represented.

victims ethnicity school

Fig 6 - Ethnicity of victim - schools

Hearthstone data incorporates additional non-police data to provide a more complete picture. On average over 97% of people using Hearthstone are female, higher than the police sample data. Prevalent users by age appear to confirm police data with 38% in the 20-29 year-old age group. The next most victimised age group is 30-39 year-olds at 32%. White British appear to be most victimised, accounting for 18.3% of clients, followed by Black British Caribbean and Black British African at 17.1% and 15.5% respectively. Aggregating these ethnicities to the broader categories of White and Black shows similar results to police data.

Profile of perpetrators

The Haringey Community Safety Strategic Assessment 2010 found that male on female crime makes up almost half (46.6%) of crime, more than male on male crime (40.2%). Around 81% of perpetrators are men, with over half in the 19-32 age group of all accused. This is over-representative of the local resident population, particularly for 19 and 29 year olds.

According to police data, White offenders are under-represented in relation to the borough profile, while Black offenders appear significantly over-represented. Asian and Other accused are both under-represented.

accused ethnicity

Fig 7 - Ethnicity of accused - police data

School census data shows that Black accused are proportional to the borough’s overall Black population, whereas White accused are overrepresented. Asian accused remain slightly under-represented and Other accused significantly under represented.

accused ethnicity school

Fig 8 - Ethnicity of accused - schools

However, contrary to police data, Hearthstone figures show that Black British Caribbean are the most prominent offenders accounting for 21.6%, followed by Black British African with 16.8%; White Other are the next highest offenders making up 15.4%. This means that Black perpetrators are more prevalent (44.3%) compared to White perpetrators (28.4%).

Of perpetrators who had either a drug or alcohol problem, 40% declared an alcohol-related problem, 40% a drug-related problem, and 20% cited both.

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Current services in relation to need

A list of known services has been mapped and published with the wider needs assessment (How we are tackling domestic and gender based violence: June 2012). This includes national, regional and local services, including those funded by statutory agencies in Haringey by council, police and health.

Irrespective of whether an arrest is made, all incidents where children are present in the home are scrutinised by Haringey’s multi agency screening team consisting of co-located Police Public Protection Desk, social workers and specialist health visitors supported by the DV senior practitioner, education welfare, adult mental health and housing. This results in follow up of all notified incidents by either a social worker or someone from universal services. This scrutiny will be enhanced from February 2012 when probation services, Child Abuse Investigation Team and adult safeguarding services join frontline services as part of the MASH (multi agency safeguarding hub).

Relationship abuse and DV information, services and useful links are available in a new free health and wellbeing mobile app for teens in Haringey, due to be launched towards the end of 2012.

Routine screening takes place in maternity services, with notifications going to the First Response team in Haringey’s Child Protection service. Further information is needed on the effectiveness of the screening, levels of referral and outcomes.

Hearthstone does not offer services to perpetrators, however, on occasions, self-referrals are made from both parties presenting as victims. On one occasion, involving a lack of certainty around who was the perpetrator, Hearthstone worked with the Vulnerable Adults Team to establish the primary perpetrator. Where a court decision is still pending, the individual cannot be supported by Hearthstone until/unless they have been cleared, and their status as victim-survivor has been established. However, the downside of this is where someone has lived with DV for some time and suddenly acts in self-defence. In such cases, Hearthstone will keep in touch until after the case has concluded.

Victims and witnesses of crimes are referred to Victim Support; men are referred to the national support offered by Respect’s Men’s Advice Line. For perpetrators, referrals and signposting are made to Respect-accredited perpetrator services such as the Domestic Violence Intervention Project (PDF 325KB) programme.

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Service users and carers opinion

The Domestic and Gender Based Violence Operational Group will gather feedback from its Expert User Group which will be used to help develop services in the future. The DV Operational Group, composed of providers and operational services, works closely with the DV Strategic Group to set local priorities.

Projected service use in 3-5 years and 5-10 years

  • Twenty-nine per cent of women aged 16-59 in England and Wales have experienced DV (see footnote 17). This means that, potentially, 21,170 women in Haringey have experienced DV since they were 16 compared with 12,736 men. By 2030, using age population projections from PANSI (Project Adult Needs and Service Information), the number of people aged 18-64 in Haringey who may have experienced DV is potentially 16,420 women and 13,840 men.
  • According to PANSI, the number of people aged 18-64 in Haringey predicted to be survivors of childhood sexual abuse is likely to be 18,275 in 2015, rising to 18,650 in 2030. So by 2030, it is estimated that there will be a 4.3% rise from the 2010 figure of 17,875. For women, this is a 4.4% increase over the same period (12,240 in 2010 to 12,784 in 2030), and for men, a rise of 4% (5,635 in 2010 to 5,866 in 2030). Research shows that both male and female victims of abuse have significantly higher rates of psychiatric problems than the general population. Studies demonstrate an association between child sexual abuse and a subsequent increase in rates of childhood and adult mental disorders.

Expert opinion and evidence base

Each year around 1.2 million women suffer DV. Around one in four women will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime, often accompanied by years of psychological abuse (see footnote 14). Domestic and gender based violence is a wide-ranging topic and the quantity of research reflects its impact. This chapter lists a few of the key documents containing expert opinion and evidence; a more comprehensive list will be included in the wider needs assessment that is in development.

British Crime Survey (BCS) 2010/11 (PDF 1.71MB):

  • DV is chronically under reported (particularly sexual offences).
  • More than one in four women in the UK will experience domestic abuse from the age of 16, often with years of psychological abuse.
  • Seven per cent of women aged 16 to 59 were victims of domestic abuse compared with 5% of men, and the proportion of people who were victims of domestic abuse is estimated to have decreased compared with 2004/05 for both male and female victims with no statistically significant changes in recent years.
  • Every year around 400,000 women are sexually assaulted, 80,000 are raped and around one in 25 are victims of stalking. In the 16 to 59 age group, 2.5% of women and 0.5% of men had experienced a sexual assault (including attempts) in the previous 12 months. They also showed that 0.6% of women and 0.1% of men had been the victim of a serious sexual assault (including attempts) in the year prior to interview. There was no statistically significant change in these figures compared with the 2009/10 BCS.

Research (external link) estimates that DV:

  • accounts for 16% of all violent crime (source: Crime in England & Wales 2004/05) [NB in Haringey it is 30%]
  • has more repeat victims than any other type of crime (on average there have been 35 assaults before a victim calls the police) (see footnote.18). Repeat victimisation accounted for 73% of DV. Just under one-half (44%) of those interviewed were victimised more than once and nearly one-quarter (24%) were victimised three or more times
  • is reported to the police at a rate of one incident every minute
  • costs the country in excess of £23bn per year, of which £3bn falls to public services
  • claims the lives of two women each week and 30 men per year
  • is the largest cause of morbidity worldwide in women aged 19-44, greater than war, cancer or motor vehicle accidents
  • affects one in four women and one in six men in their lifetime, with women at greater risk of repeat victimisation, serious injury and fear
  • is among the 576,000 violent crimes witnessed by children aged 10 to 15 (around two-thirds of the total number of 878,000 crimes witnessed by children.

Domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking: findings from the British Crime Survey (PDF 561KB). Walby and Allen, March 2004. Home Office Research Study 276:

  • Inter-personal violence is widespread, affecting approximately one third of the population at some time in their lives.
  • One in 20 women has experienced serious sexual assault, while one in five women and one in 10 men have been victims of DV.
  • Injuries are often sustained, to men and to women (but especially among women), resulting in physical injuries, mental or emotional problems.
  • In turn, this has a detrimental impact on employment.
  • Women subject to serious sexual assault since the age of 16 experience depression, with some attempting suicide. Among women subject since 16 to an act that met the 1994 legal definition of rape, only 43% thought of it as rape. Sixty-four per cent of women and 94% of men subject to DV did not think that what had happened to them was a crime. However, two-thirds of women who had been victimised many times did think it was a crime. These women were also more likely to think that what had happened to them was ‘DV’. There was a greater likelihood of applying the concepts of DV and crime to the incident if injuries were sustained and the acts were severe and repeated.

The cost of domestic violence. Sylvia Walby, 2004. Women & Equality Unit: London.

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100505211508/http:/sta.geo.useconnect.co.uk/PDF/Cost%20of%20domestic%20violence%20(Walby)%20Sep%2004.pdf (PDF 1.02MB) and summary (PDF 93KB).

Measuring the impact of cuts in public expenditure on the provision of services to prevent violence against women and girls (external link). Jude Towers and Sylvia Walby. UNESCO Chair in Gender Research Group, Lancaster University. Report for Northern Rock Foundation and Trust for London, February 2012.

Meeting the needs of children living with domestic violence in London (external link) suggests that local authorities are failing to respond to children’s needs; children living with or affected by DV are neglected by services that are intended to support and protect them. Lorraine Radford et al, November 2011. Refuge/NSPCC funded by the City Bridge Trust.

The Mayor of London’s Strategy, The Way Forward: Taking action to end violence against women and girls 2010-2013 (external link), has five objectives:

  1. London taking a global lead to end violence against women
  2. Improve access to support
  3. Address the health, social and economic consequences of violence
  4. Protect women at risk
  5. Get tough with perpetrators.

Standing on my own two feet: disadvantaged teenagers, intimate partner violence and coercive control (external link) is the first UK research to focus on disadvantaged young people’s experiences of violence and control in their intimate relationships. The report makes the point that teenage partner violence has more impact on disadvantaged young people, that child care professionals should routinely assess the perception of partner violence, more emphasis is needed on supporting young mothers to protect themselves and their babies, with a clear need to develop specific programmes to include the issue of intimate violence for young people in care and leaving care. Marsha Wood, Christine Barter and David Berridge, September 2011. London: NSPCC

Boys think girls are toys (PDF 464KB) evaluates the nia Project prevention programme on sexual exploitation. Its recommendations cite the need for prevention work through schools and through specialist organisations, and engagement with young people who are disengaged from schools as they are particularly vulnerable. It looks to Local Children’s Safeguarding Boards to play a significant role in the prevention work which should be aimed at both potential victims and perpetrators. Maddy Coy, Ravi Thiara and Liz Kelly, May 2011. London Metropolitan University.

Tackling child sexual exploitation (external link): the government action plan, published in November 2011.

There are still relatively few services that provide a specific service to men who have experienced domestic abuse. A 2006 evaluation (PDF 1.78MB) of the Dyn Project (external link), which provides safety planning and advocacy in Wales for gay, bisexual, transgender (GBT) and heterosexual men, explored a number of the complex issues involved.

Domestic violence perpetrators: working with the cause of the problem (PDF 76KB) is a 2011 Respect (external link) publication which makes the case for working with DV perpetrators. It points out that the cost of taking children into local authority care is estimated to be a minimum of £800 per week (over £40,000 per year); the average annual cost of keeping someone in prison is around £45,000; and the cost of domestic homicide was estimated by the Home Office to be £107,299 per homicide in 2004, a total of £13.4 million each year (based on 125 domestic homicides per year).

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Unmet needs and service gaps

Prevention

  • The estimated costs of domestic and gender based violence – both financially and in human terms – show there are benefits in a comprehensive programme of prevention. This cost is not universally recognised and more effort needs to be spent encouraging organisations to recognise this and the cost benefit which follows investment.
  • There are significant needs around the impact of DV on children and young people, a significant link between DV and mental health, alcohol and substance misuse, and a need for more help to victims-survivors to build self-esteem and confidence to help them break the cycle of violence.
  • DV is more likely to happen during pregnancy/postpartum, and in violent or unstable teenage relationships. The number of teenage pregnancies in Haringey increased in 2010 although more under 18 conceptions (62%) led to a termination with fewer young women choosing motherhood (ONS Conception Statistics, England & Wales 2010 (external link)). Consideration needs to be given to effective engagement with young people. Reducing teenage pregnancy is a priority in the forthcoming Health and Wellbeing Strategy. The strategy also specifically focuses on the need to reduce the number of late booking into maternity services by young Black African women.
  • More information needs to be provided on the effectiveness of referral pathways. Data shows that from April to September 2011, no referrals were received from community paediatrics, nursery/children’s centres, school nurses or consultants. However, it may be that the referrals were made through an alternative route, and this needs to be established.
  • Confirmation is needed of how effectively services are able to share information about perpetrators, and if this happens through the MARAC, for example, in relation to services such as mental health.
  • There were two DV-related homicides between October 2010 and September 2011; and a multi-agency review of a further case is currently under way.
  • Coordination of DV data effectively across agencies needs to be addressed; intelligence analysts from council, police and other agencies such as the MARAC will be discussing how to move this forward. More effective and timely reporting is needed on repeat crime, divergence in the number of DV callouts versus reported DV crime, and reasons behind the drop in sanctioned detections.
  • It would be useful to include a “flag” on the Council's secure electronic social care system, Frameworki so that DV issues can be identified at any point throughout the social care referral, assessment or review process. This applies to children’s and adults’ performance reporting where a reliable picture can be found only by sifting through individual records. This also applies to reporting on victims/perpetrators and any potential link to mental health issues.

Provision

  • Haringey has one IDVA (funded to the end of March 2013). Research suggests that ideally the role requires a more consistent or longer-term funding approach that provides some guarantee of continuity, and to build up effective networks and professional relationships, for example, with the magistrate’s court. We must have at least one IDVA post in order to retain our SDVC and our CAADA-registered MARAC. According to CAADA, based on levels of local need, Haringey should ideally support 2.5 IDVAs.
  • Hearthstone sees between two and four new cases per day, depending on staffing, with a standby list for emergencies prioritising those who are street homeless. Appointments are made by self-referrals, not directly from other agencies. Existing cases are referred to their caseworker. Coupled with the borough’s minimal IDVA support, it would be useful to establish how many potential service users we are not able to help, and to compare the total number of approaches to these services with the number of people who did actually receive a service.
  • Consideration may need to be given to how we link people who use our mental health services and families suffering DV into effective support, in cases where either the DV survivor or the perpetrator has mental health needs.
  • Although routine screening takes place in maternity services, partners may also be present at antenatal appointments. Some areas have therefore adopted very simple schemes to enable pregnant women to share concerns in confidence, for example, the introduction of a “sticker” scheme in the privacy of the ladies’ toilets: if the patient wants to identify an issue, she simply takes a sticker and puts it on her file.
  • The Empower project is a pan-London specialist service which aims to support vulnerable girls and young women at risk of, or experiencing, sexual exploitation or violence as result of gang/group involvement. Young women aged between 11 and 18 years are referred to a Young Person’s Advocate in Haringey via statutory, third sector or self-referral routes. A risk assessment is undertaken with each young woman, including vulnerability, risk of offending, risk of harm to themselves and to staff, and an individual action plan developed. This includes a multi-agency approach with weekly reviews, regular contact with and support from their caseworker.
  • HAGA has launched a risk calculator - Don’t bottle it up (external link) – and a similar self-assessment tool could be considered for DV.
  • Services providing help to DV victims-survivors are in the process of being mapped. This will need to be communicated to potential service users. Methods might include a comprehensive, single database in one place, which is accessible to the public, potential service users and professionals. Haringey already has online directories such as Haricare and the Family Information Services Directory. The GLA has also begun to publish a directory (external link) of local, London-wide and national DV services.
  • An overall review of information on the council’s website is required, along with a radical review of the 2010 edition of I Shall Survive, and Domestic violence help and advice. However, with resources at their current and anticipated levels, it is not possible to commit to producing printed materials in the future.

Protection

  • Following an unannounced inspection (PDF 47KB) of Haringey’s Child Protection services in October 2011, Ofsted praised a great deal of Haringey’s children’s safeguarding work. They recommended that current protocols and assessment tools for assessing risks to victims of DV be reviewed to ensure that they are able to meet the differing needs of young people who are direct victims and can be offered a service that meets their particular needs.
  • More services are needed which help to improve self-esteem and confidence for DV survivors.
  • Following the decision to change the definition of DV, the DV Coordinator is seeking to capture data for under 17 year olds in relation to DV, sexual exploitation and stalking. It is also hoped to analyse school referrals to children’s services. An analysis of DV-related cases is also to be provided by the courts.
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Recommendations for commissioning

Based on the issues identified in the previous section, a series of key priorities has been identified. These priorities will form the basis of the DV partnership’s strategic direction for 2013-2016, with a set of supporting actions:

  • Effective engagement, including with children and young people, to tackle the impact of DV
  • Addressing teenage relationship violence and sexual violence related to gang activity
  • Provision of an IDVA
  • Helping potential victims-survivors and professionals identify the need to seek help as early as possible
  • Providing services to victims-survivors to help break the cycle of violence; this includes improving self-esteem and confidence
  • Greater access to accredited programmes for perpetrators, alongside support for their victims
  • Easy to find information in a single web-based directory, with clear signposting for victims-survivors to approach the most appropriate service(s) as rapidly as possible
  • An evaluation of the effectiveness of the reporting pathway, and of awareness raising training, among health and other professionals in contact with particularly vulnerable groups, e.g. pregnant teenagers
  • A coordinated approach to collection, sharing, analysis and reporting of DGBV data across statutory agencies and other relevant groups/partners

The Audit Commission has published a web resource to help partnerships focus their commissioning. This includes demonstrating how domestic abuse services can support mainstream statutory work and save money for partners as well as helping victims. It can be found on the Audit Commission's website (external link).

Commissioners in all organisations are dealing with a scarcity of resources; greater transparency around commissioning intentions across organisational boundaries against a shared set of key priorities would help to ensure that resources are used wisely and fairly on good quality services to ensure the best outcomes for people who need help.

The reality is that fewer services will be funded from partners’ mainstream budgets or by grants via partner organisations. We are encouraging external organisations, including the voluntary and community sector, to access alternative funding sources, for example, via Funding Central (external link) (please ensure that you have an up-to-date browser before accessing this site), a website database funded by the Home Office which they describe as “the smart guide to over 4000 grants, contracts and loans”.

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Recommendations for further needs assessments

A more detailed needs assessment has also been published [http://www.haringey.gov.uk/index/community_and_leisure/communitysafety/domestic-violence/domesticviolencestrategy.htm ] which forms the basis for planning and commissioning services to meet local need. It includes suggestions for additional needs assessments.

The Gypsy, Roma and Traveller needs assessment is due to be published in the near future.

Further information is needed on the effectiveness of routine screening in maternity services, levels of referral and outcomes, with an analysis of local maternity data, including teenage mothers under 20,

Commissioners may wish to consider further needs assessments focusing on specific issues within the overall definition of domestic and gender based violence (including both victims-survivors and perpetrators). This might include: prostitution and trafficking, sexual exploitation, stalking, DV and men, older people, people who are LGBT, disabled and learning disabled people (including the impact of witnessing DV on disabled children), DV and housing, and those with no recourse to public funds. However, there is an acknowledged paucity of data on other types of DV such as harmful practices, sexual violence, forced marriage, female genital mutilation, so-called ‘honour’-based violence and trafficking.

Haringey is working with the government’s Troubled Families Unit (external link), and findings need to be shared across organisational/professional boundaries. A troubled family is one that has serious problems - including parents not working, mental health problems, children not in school, crime and anti-social behaviour. Routinely responding to these problems takes up a lot of time and money. The government has used a set of criteria to estimate the number of troubled families locally; for Haringey, the initial estimate is 850 families.

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Key Contact

Footnotes

1. Trust for London and the Henry Smith Charity, January 2011

2. Spreadsheet published by the Trust for London and the Henry Smith Charity using latest available estimates for the costs of domestic violence (Sylvia Walby 2009) to calculate an estimated cost for each local authority area, based on the size of the 16-59 year old population. This is the age range targeted by the British Crime Survey. The spreadsheet uses Office for National Statistics 2009 mid-year population estimates.

3. Safety in Numbers, A Multi-site Evaluation of Independent Domestic Violence Advisor Services.(PDF 1.12MB) Dr Emma Howarth, Louise Stimpson MRes, Diana Barran BA, Dr Amanda Robinson. The Hestia Fund The Sigrid Rausing Trust. November 2009

4. Islands in the stream: an evaluation of four London Independent Domestic Violence Advocacy Schemes. Main report (PDF 1.63MB) and summary (PDF 893KB). The Henry Smith Charity; Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit, London Metropolitan University; Trust for London. January 2011.

5. Source: Government Office for London (cited in Coy, M, Kelly, L & Foord, J (2007) Map of Gaps: The Postcode Lottery of Violence Against Women Support Services London: EVAW p45.)

6. Source: RSE consulting (2007) based on figures for three London boroughs. (Cited in Coy et al, 2007: 45.)

7. Dubourg, R, Hamed, J & Thorns, J (2005) The economic and social costs of crime against individuals and households 2003/04 London: Home Office.

8. Measuring the impact of cuts in public expenditure on the provision of services to prevent violence against women and girls. Towers, Jude and Walby, Sylvia. UNESCO Chair in Gender Research Group, Lancaster University. Report for Northern Rock Foundation and Trust for London, February 2012.

9. Children who live with domestic violence are at increased risk of behavioural problems and emotional trauma, and mental health difficulties in adult life (Kolbo, et al., 1996; Morley and Mullender, 1994; Hester et al., 2000)

10. Violence against women has serious consequences for their physical and mental health, and women who have experienced abuse from her partner may suffer from or chronic health problems of various kinds. (Stark and Flitcraft, 1996; Williamson, 2000; British Medical Association, 1998; Crisp and Stanko, 2001)

11. Department of Health, 2003; Bowstead, Janet, 2000; ReSisters, 2002

12. Domestic violence and other abuse is the most prevalent cause of depression and other mental health difficulties in women. (Astbury, 1999; O'Keane, 2000; Humphreys, 2003; Humphreys and Thiara, 2003; Vidgeon, 2003).

13. The Mayor of London’s Strategy, The Way Forward: Taking action to end violence against women and girls 2010-2013 (external link)

14. Smith (Ed.), Coleman, Eder and Hall (January 2011) Homicides, Firearm Offences and Intimate Violence 2009/10 Supplementary Volume 2 to Crime in England and Wales 2009/10, Home Office

15. Figures taken from the Financial Year End MPS TP Weekly Scorecard

16. ACPO defines repeat victimisation for DV as experiencing more than one incident of domestic violence in a 12 month period following the date when the incident was first reported to the police (ACPO, 2005).

17. Figures for domestic violence are based on the British Crime Survey British Crime Survey which measures from 16 years of age; demographic data provided by Haringey Council measures from 15 years of age.

18. Domestic violence: a resource manual for healthcare professionals (external link). Department of Health. London: HMSO (2000).

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Attached Files

Filename Filetype Size
JSNA Domestic Violence data table.xls Microsoft Excel DocumentExcel235 KB

Page Last Updated: 13 May 2013

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