CC(3) DA48

Communities and Culture Committee

Scrutiny Inquiry: Domestic Abuse

Response from Lliw Valley Women’s Aid

Lliw Valley Women’s Aid support the evidence and recommendations presented to the committee by Welsh Women’s Aid to assist the Committee’s enquiry into Domestic Abuse.

Lliw Valley Women’s Aid would also like to share the following information with the Committee for their consideration.

Delivery of the Welsh Assembly Governments Strategy for tackling domestic abuse.

The All Wales Domestic Abuse strategy sets out a framework for directing domestic abuse interventions through a multi-agency approach and has key aims.

First is increasing of women and children’s safety.

Prior to a successful Big Lottery Bid, the majority of Lliw Valley Women’s Aid services (refuge and community support) have been funded through the Supporting People Revenue Grant funding programme. This has meant that the primary function of these services has been to promote personal safety for women and children whilst reducing the risk of homelessness.  The funding is heavily weighted towards the provision of services for women and to provide adequate services for children Lliw Valley Women’s Aid remains heavily  reliant on securing funding from charities and grant givers such as Children in Need and Lloyds TSB. We do receive what can be described as a token amount from LA Children’s Social Services Dept (currently £8,500 per annum) towards provision of services for children who are deemed to be "in need”, however nearly a third of children who came into LVWA refuge with their mother were on the "child protection register”, and two thirds of children who were not with their mothers in refuge were reported to be on the "child protection register” which raises issues around children’s personal safety as most of these children were with their fathers.

Some women do not wish to leave their homes and families to enter refuge and it has long been recognised that refuges do not meet the needs of all women. Feedback from women accessing our service and presenting as homeless has indicated that, if possible, women would like to be able to remain in their own homes, provided that safety measures can be put into place. Within Neath Port Talbot this has been successful in relation to practical safety measures, but there still remains an inconsistent response by police to call outs relating to Domestic Abuse Incidents, for example the woman and children being taken from their home in the middle of the night and the abuser being allowed to stay in the family home.. There have however on balance been some very positive outcomes for women more recently in relation to Police response.

The key to increasing the safety of women and children is a joined up approach between agencies. LVWA have strong links with the local multi agency forum, such as the domestic abuse forum, Community Safety partnerships, local domestic abuse strategy development groups etc., and work closely with their Domestic Abuse co-ordinators. LVWA chairs the

Community First Domestic Abuse Partnership, an operational forum. MARACs are held in both counties and Women’s Aid are active participants. There remains the issue about promoting the understanding of the need to maintain the safety of women and children affected by Domestic Abuse with other agencies but I believe that the Strategy has enabled responsible and appropriate sharing of information to take place that enables agencies to work alongside each other to meet the needs of women and children.

Holding abusers accountable.

Holding abusers accountable has enabled a number of initiatives to be implemented locally within Neath Port Talbot. As highlighted above, Police response has improved, but there still needs to be more understanding regarding the devastating effects that result from being in an abusive relationship and that whilst it may seem logical that all a woman needs to do is leave, that the reality is not that simple. Research states that a woman is at most risk when she leaves an abuser, but it is also well known that women will often return to a relationship many times before she can finally break free. It is usually women who are known to the police as repeat victims of Domestic Abuse that are failed time and time again. It must be noted that this is more likely due to value and beliefs of individual officers rather than the commitment of the senior decision makers to the Domestic Abuse Strategy within the Police Force, the issue arises with regard to how these officers are held accountable for their actions.

The introduction of the MARAC’s has improved multi-agency relationships; the Neath Port Talbot Domestic Violence Unit is seriously under resourced. The implementation of the Specialist Domestic Violence Courts and funding to employ an Independent Domestic Violence Advocate has increased the number of perpetrators being held accountable and it would seem that more appropriate sentences are passed.  It is noted that whilst funding has been allocated from the Home Office for the IDVA post the person who undertakes this role is extremely over worked and can not independently meet her targets for seeing women. The IDVA role has improved working relationships between the Police and LVWA which is a positive thing. However, a lot of work still needs to be done. The weight of evidence required to take cases forward is too great and there can be delays in dealing with cases. Women have to be able to access legal protection measures to improve their safety and to increase the accountability of domestic abusers. Changes in legal aid have meant that it is becoming increasingly difficult for women on low incomes to access it. Even where the police are involved and saying that there is nothing further they can do, it can be difficult to obtain legal aid.

The prevention of abuse.

The Communities First Domestic Abuse Partnership has, to a degree, diluted LVWA’s and other WA groups scope to raise awareness through the provision of training to other agencies as the development workers have taken the lead on multi-agency training, thus diluting our networking opportunities. This has however meant that LVWA has been able to work more intensely with women and children who use our services. The introduction of a Specialist Domestic Abuse Support worker within the refuge has enabled more preventative work to be carried out with women and children.

There needs to be more innovative ways of promoting understanding of the impact of Domestic Abuse, there is nothing more powerful than someone who has been affected by domestic abuse relating their story to others, service users state that Women’s Aid are their preferred support provider for the following reasons:

1. They are not judged

2. They feel believed and listened to.

Access to schools is limited with regard to Domestic Abuse awareness training, feedback from teachers is that they feel ill equipped to deal with issues that may arise if the topic of domestic abuse is raised.

Discussion with health visitors and social workers indicate that some have the same anxiety as teachers. LVWA believes that there is a need to consider the complexities of domestic abuse and that domestic abuse awareness training needs to be delivered across many areas such as social services, schools, health, police and other voluntary agencies. This training is delivered but the need to raise awareness of local services.

Supporting and informing children/young people.

Whilst there have been some advances in this area, we feel that this is the weakest area of improvement. There has been no visible increase in services. Within LVWA, child work funding remains tenuous and insecure, despite child work being core to the work carried out within refuges and outreach services. Recognition that domestic abuse can have long-term effects on children does not seem to be reflected by commitment to core funding, external services continue to be sparse and difficult to access due to waiting lists (children’s counseling is a good example).

Within Women’s Aid, each group now has a designated worker with responsibility for child protection issues in line with the National Strategic Framework for Children’s Services. Welsh Women’s Aid has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with CAFCASS that outlines best practice and joint working in domestic abuse cases. In our experience however, we don’t feel that the courts are taking women and children’s views not to see the abuser seriously enough and contact is granted without a real understanding of the distress and risk this places the families under. At all times, LVWA raises awareness of child related issues in relation to domestic abuse, attendance at Child Protection Case Conferences is regularly required. We take part in the Children and Young People’s partnership and other child/youth forums. We have members of staff who are Trustees on three local groups that support children’s rights and provide support and information, namely the P.O.N.T.Y Project, The Hideout and the Children’s Rights Unit.

Lliw Valley Women’s Aid is heavily reliant upon charitable funding in order to continue to provide services for children and young people, this brings additional pressure on the need to be continuously sourcing new funding to sustain delivery. LVWA continues to pay for childwork salaries from reserves whilst waiting to hear if additional funding has been sourced. This lack of financial security places undue pressure on the child workers who are often working on annual contracts with little job security. It is important to acknowledge that despite this uncertainty staff continue to provide good quality services.

The lack of core funding also makes it very difficult for the aims of the National Service Framework and the all the recommendations of the REMS report to be fully embraced and achieved. There appears to be little financial commitment to the provision of the required services for children, that whilst groups are endeavoring to demonstrate the impact of domestic abuse on children and young people and the positive outcomes for those that receive support we are also scraping around for funding.

Children and Young Person Services are at standstill, it has become increasingly difficult to develop these services, whilst be required to adhere to and meet standards set at a national level.

There remains a divide between the theoretical framework and the practical application of services:

The transition from ACPC’s to LSCB’s for example in Neath Port Talbot remains in its infancy and it has proved impossible to date for any of the WA groups in NPT to contribute or be represented.

Neath Port Talbot is fortunate to have a dedicated Health Visitor for Domestic Abuse Services, this has proved to be beneficial in that vulnerable families do not get lost in the system and that health and development needs are noted and addressed. This worker has a deeper understanding of the issues faced by families affected by Domestic Abuse.

Working relationships with the Education Welfare officer are positive; children can be fast tracked into school which means that the education can continue, children are offered structure and are less at risk of social exclusion.

LVWA will consider women who have male children up to the age of 18, the decision to provide refuge will be based on an assessment of risk, the dynamics of the existing families and the feelings of the women currently in refuge. The age range for accepting older male children is variable throughout Wales. For example, a woman and her two sons 15 & 17yrs were recently admitted to our refuge after traveling from Liverpool as LVWA was the nearest available refuge that would offer accommodation to her and her teenage boys. Neath Port Talbot Council will provide housing benefit for two rooms if necessary which helps to make sure that we can continue to provide accommodation for such families.

Many difficulties are faced when children with additional needs, such as disability need to flee from domestic abuse. An assessment of need can take a long time before the specialist support is identified and accessed often resulting in families not being able to leave their abusive situations. Lliw Valley Women’s Aid has a recently refurbished refuge with many disabled facilities and good network links to local specialist support services.

While it has long been recognised that classical music has positive effects for unborn foetuses, the same is not socially recognised that domestic abuse has long lasting and damaging effects on children. The Children’s Act has recently added "witnessing abuse” to significant harm, so moves are being made in the right direction, but our legal system doesn’t back up the rights of the child to be free from abuse as parents are still able to smack their children. Lliw Valley Women’s Aid promotes an anti-smacking environment and provides in house activities on healthy relationships. Lliw Valley Women’s Aid would like to contribute to the local schools PSHE curriculum to promote healthy relationships and raise awareness on domestic abuse issues. There is resistance to this as it is felt that teachers would need extra training and support and there isn’t enough support for children once they have disclosed abuse. There also remains a great fear of social services involvement, with a stigma attached to this. Families often don’t access the support they need.

WWA recently secured funding for regional Children’s Services Development Workers. Part of their role is to ensure a consistency of practice and standards across groups. It is also hoped that they will raise our profile, raise awareness and gain access into schools.

Availability and accessibility of support for different groups.

It has long been recognised that the affects on women and children in relation to domestic abuse are complex and deep rooted, access for counseling for children is limited and provided by the local NCH (based in Neath Port Talbot), but demand often outweighs supply and there is always a waiting list. There are alternative arrangements available for children through the NHS but again demand outweighs supply for these services. The children element of SPRG does not reflect the work required and again is linked to housing related support.

Womens counseling services.

The money received from SPRG is purely for housing related support and the provision of counseling to women is prohibited. LVWA has two members of staff who are qualified and experienced counselors but we are unable to utilise these skills for the women and children’s benefit. It remains impossible to secure charitable funding to provide this much needed service, and to enable the women to have access to counseling the organisation has just begun to host student counselor placements. Take up for this service has been positive and feedback as part of the evaluation process indicates that the service has indeed been beneficial to the women.

The Local Domestic Abuse Partnership has applied for funding for a piloting counseling service in partnership with New Pathways and LVWA awaits the implementation of this project with interest.

It is our understanding that in North Wales Relate are piloting sessions for partners who are in abusive relationships, LVWA acknowledges that there needs to be alternative support options for victims and perpetrators, but express concern with regard to the increased risk to a woman who challenges her partner’s actions. It is accepted that when women in abusive relationships begin to challenge or respond in a different way the perpetrators behaviours CAN escalate as they feel the balance of power shifting. We would like to see additional support/safety measures offered to women using relate service.

LVWA has seen an increase in the number of women who have sought refuge as they have been fleeing their children.  Women express concern that their situation is not truly recognised and therefore little help is available for them, finding it hard to admit they are fleeing.

BAWSO services are available locally and when necessary we will refer women to their services to ensure that their cultural needs are met.

LVWA received lottery funding to improve and extend our refuge provision and now have facilities for women and children with disabilities, this has meant that we are now able to offer refuge to a wider client group than before and we have consistently used these services over the past year. There is no upper age limit for women accessing refuge, and whilst most of the women that we have accommodated have been younger, there is a need to recognise that there are many older women who have experienced domestic abuse and who are not aware of Women’s Aid services, and those who do are worried about accessing services and becoming part of the "social care system”. (see additional stats).

The introduction of SARCS has been welcomed by LVWA, a high proportion of women that we support disclose some form of sexual abuse. The access to the SARCS when needed has been a positive one, although again it seems that the funding available does not provide the resources to meet the expectations of funders, for example the Swansea SARC does not have the resources to provide open access and finding suitable premises remains challenging.

The open door policy of refuge means that women could be admitted from anywhere in the UK, the cost of transporting a woman there remains an issue, and clearer guidelines are required to ensure that funding travel is clarified. At present LVWA will pay for travel as we feel that the most important issue is the women’s (and children’s) personal safety, this is not unified despite guidance from Welsh Women’s Aid, some local authorities will pay towards transport costs and some won’t. This ultimately detracts from the real issue which is that of personal safety.

Perpetrator programmes are available but the outcome of these is not widely known, Pat Craven had adapted the Freedom Programme to deliver it to perpetrators, LVWA would like to express their concern at this development and believe that it is unwise to share the same information with perpetrators as with the victims. LVWA also believes that there needs to be further development in this area and ensure that awareness raising programmes are offered alongside counseling services as statutory. We believe that there also needs to be more work on improving self confidence and esteem to help break the cycle of abuse, in other words the Freedom programme should be one of many options and that counseling should be available to all women and children as a right.  

Financial implications of living in refuge.

Most women who enter refuge are on benefits and therefore entitled to housing benefit. This is not always straight forward as often women come to refuge with little or no belongings and therefore no id to secure housing benefit. However there are financial implications for women who are on incapacity benefit or working as they are not entitled to housing benefit (full or otherwise), the cost of providing refuge is high in terms of rent and many women who are working can not afford to pay all or even part of the rent. LVWA covers these costs from reserves because otherwise if the women were asked to leave for non payment of rent there is every likelihood that she would be considered as making herself intentionally homeless and therefore not eligible for LA support.

There are huge financial implications for women with no recourse to public funds who are fleeing domestic abuse, no money can be claimed for rent or living expenses and the women cannot be moved on to rented accommodation as she has no income. Llanelli Women’s Aid accommodated a woman for three years at a cost to the organization of £20,000 per annum; this is not a cost that can be bore by many groups particularly over that period of time.

LVWA would like to highlight that they find it surprising that specialist BME refuges in Wales do not accommodate women with no recourse to public fund.

Process for monitoring outcomes.

As Women’s Aid services have become more mainstream they have also been required to become more professional and work in partnership with other agencies - this is a good way forward.

We appear to work in a target focused arena, and this provides evidence on the hard outcomes, how many women have been in refuge, for how long, how many children etc. There needs to be more emphasis on the softer outcomes, for example what personal growth have women and children gained from using the specialist services provided by Women’s Aid Groups because this demonstrates the real long term value of breaking the cycle of domestic abuse. LVWA fully support the need to demonstrate the softer outcomes in relation to illustrating the full worth of Domestic Abuse services.

There needs to be full recognition of the complexity and the deep rooted impact of domestic abuse.  In order to raise awareness of this crime, there is still a slightly dismissive stance taken in relation to emotional, psychological and financial abuse, which if you speak to women and children will tell you that those types of abuse leave more scars than that of the violence. We need to raise awareness and challenge beliefs and values to assist the change of mindset. There is no training more powerful than a woman sharing her account of an abusive relationship with others to start this process.

Paula Hardy, Director, LVWA