Minutes:
Appendix 1 to the Minutes
Updates on Actions Relating to the Domestic Abuse Item which were raised at the Meeting
1) A detailed breakdown of where instances of domestic abuse took place within the Borough be provided at a future meeting of the Committee; -
This had been noted and will be provided at a future meeting potentially November alongside a KPI’s update.
2) The full suite of KPIs currently being developed be reported at a future meeting of the Committee; noted as above.
3) Details on the uptake and successes of the perpetrator intervention programme be circulated to the Committee;
Uptake from 1/7/2021 – 31/3/2022 there were 25 referrals received for the programme, of which 22 were offered a place on the Men & Masculinities programme; 1 was offered 1:1 support and 2 were not suitable (1 identifying as the primary victim and another referred in error). As at 31/3/2022, 17 were showing on the perpetrator worker’s caseload.
We will get a better update on the success of the programme when this current funding quarter ends (1st July) for future meetings committee may want to consider putting this item on for the September meeting – to allow for a whole 12 months of data to be available.
4) An update report be provided in 6 months’ time to update to Committee on any domestic abuse interventions that have had to take place, and any additional resources required to support Ukrainian refugees; noted this will be provided at the November meeting.
5) Performance against SLAs be circulated to the Committee; A full 12 month end of year report will be available at the end of July, I propose this is shared with the committee to consider as part of the November items.
6) An overall contract breakdown and the total cost of the service be circulated to the Committee;– After consideration of legal advice, this has been shared to members under a part 2 exemption.
7) Occupancy levels of the Wokingham refuge be circulated to the Committee;
9 women were referred into the refuge in the year 1/4/2021 – 31/3/2022 and the refuge was full as at 31st March 2022. Maximum number of adult female residents at any one time is 3.
8) Written answers be provided to the list of seven questions sent into officers and detailed within the minutes. Please see below.
1) Who has been consulted and given input into this report? e.g BWA, Kaleidoscopic, Cranstoun...The report was compiled by the Wokingham DA Coordinator and Community Safety Manager
2) The report acknowledges the need for more data and to compare it with the census results to check for representation. I would agree. Of the 2700 women and 1500 men affected annually, what else do we know e.g. age, disability, LGBTQ+, ethnicity etc. How do these demographics impact the needs of the victims?
The 4200 number is based on ONS estimates following a statistically representative sample of people’s experiences of domestic abuse (regardless of whether these incidents have been reported to the police or not) – you can find out more information about this at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/articles/domesticabuseprevalenceandtrendsenglandandwales/yearendingmarch2021 . It indicates that based on our local population 4200 residents will have been victims of domestic abuse during the past year. We use this information as a rough guide to try and understand underlying domestic abuse prevalence as the only other quantitative data we can access relates to police recorded incidents and crimes. There is higher prevalence of domestic abuse as well as specific ways in which the abuse may be experienced by those who share a protected characteristic or have complex needs. In order to gain a better understanding of the unique ways in which someone may experience abuse linked to their characteristic (eg LGBT+) as well as prevalence rates statistically within each group we use research findings (for example 80% of trans people are likely to experience domestic abuse; 25% of LGB victims) and it is estimated that between 5 – 8% of the population are LGBT. The Census returns of 2021 asked questions around sexuality, so we should hopefully be able to get a better estimate of the number of trans / gay / bi people in the borough to enable us to establish how many residents self-classify as being part of this community and therefore how many are likely to have been affected by domestic abuse over the past year as well as during their lifetime. We also need to consider where the abuse is coming from (eg intimate partners / ex-partners or family members) in order to tailor resources, literature and services to ensure that people from this demographic and increase accessibility by members of the community. Sadly members of the LGBT+ community can experience stigma, shame, threats of being outed and many other common issues and barriers to accessing support. Each demographic community faces different barriers so for example someone who is older may be being economically abused by a child or grandchild, but is worried about consequences of reporting, such as visits being stopped, care needs not being met etc. Whilst we have research to help our understanding of ‘groups’ they are not homogenous groups and each individual will have their own unique needs and concerns which need to be addressed in order for them to feel that support is realistic for them.
3) What are the different needs of male and female victims (and other demographics)? Are they being met? We heard from Cranstoun the difficulties in getting ethnic minority women to come forward. Later in the report it suggests that men are under-represented when it comes to accessing services but why is this? Perhaps their needs are different.
The basic needs for all victims are to be believed, be supported and to achieve safety but in order to achieve this, they will need to recognise that what they are experiencing is domestic abuse, be aware of services and laws which are in place and how they can access these services. Unfortunately it is only when individuals are ‘visible’ to services that they can be supported by the agencies, and there are a lot of people who are affected by domestic abuse who services aren’t aware of – for example those from ethnic minorities and male victims as well as those with other protected characteristics or complex needs. As a result, it is vital that we maximise opportunities to raise awareness of domestic abuse and reach out to communities where we know that we are not seeing statistical representation within police reported data and / or housing presentations and domestic abuse services, to educate on what domestic abuse is and what help and support is available. Concerns faced by victims from ethnic minority groups, can include cultural and / or language barriers (eg lack of laws, enforcement or support within their home country); concerns over immigration status as they may have been told (incorrectly) by their abuser that means that if they report domestic abuse they will be deported; may experience family and / or wider community pressure to stay within a marriage; or there could be many other reasons why they are nervous about voicing what is happening to them. Male victims often feel that they won’t be believed (a message which is often reinforced through media messaging); shame (that as a man they aren’t able to protect themselves); lack of ‘role models’ who have spoken up about the abuse they have experienced and many other reasons.
There are many excellent websites which provide a lot of information to help us understand more about the needs for those with different demographics and I also have loads of research papers if there is a group for which the resident would like to gain a more in-depth understanding of key barriers and concerns.
4) Refuge provision - little bit woolly on what is being provided and how it is being funded. Think it is clear that there is a need to get a long term strategy in place for this which considers current provision and future needs. Currently there is no local refuge provision for families or those with complex needs. This is a gap which we heard from Cranstoun and I've also heard this from Andrea at BWA previously. How are we currently meeting the needs of these victims?
Currently we have a 3 bed refuge within Wokingham borough for female victims of domestic abuse. This is run by BWA with the housing related costs (rent) paid by residents who are working or through housing benefit. The support element linked to the refuge is now funded by WBC through a contract with BWA, although this is only a recent development.
(Information for Sarah - Prior to the awarding of the DA contract to Cranstoun in July 2021, the support element was funded by WBC as part of the commissioned service but on contract change, BWA made the decision to retain the refuge and advised they were able to fund the support element through charitable donations, although a grant was subsequently awarded as a result of government funding being allocated to WBC linked to the Domestic Abuse Act which placed a new duty on local authorities to provide support in safe accommodation (deemed as refuge, home refuge scheme and designated DA temporary and emergency housing). The hope was, and remains to increase our refuge provision (best practice suggests 1 refuge space per 10K population) with Cranstoun seeking to secure an additional 3 refuge bed spaces. However, this has proved to be very difficult in the short term linked to the high cost of housing, lack of rental properties (would need planning permission to become a House of Multiple Occupation) and lack of suitable WBC owned properties which could be used for this purpose).
A plan is currently being worked on, in partnership with BWA and the Housing team to increase the refuge provision in Wokingham, and address the gaps in refuge provision which currently exist (eg for male, gay, trans victims as well as those who have complex needs and larger families). To ensure that any refuge provision meets the needs of the individuals it seeks to support, research has been commissioned to gain an understanding of what the needs are for male and LGBT victims of domestic abuse within refuge provision as there is currently very little research on what these needs are.
Whilst we recognise the need to increase refuge provision in the borough, it is important to re-iterate that no-one who presents to Wokingham Council as needing safe accommodation is turned away and suitable accommodation will be identified, be that a refuge in another area (victims from Wokingham wouldn’t be housed in a Wokingham based refuge due to safety issues), through home refuge scheme measures, if this would be a safe option, or alternative accommodation options.
5) Back to the data and demographics - we are funding a pilot for a support worker for older people. I'm not saying this is not needed but how do we know this is a priority and best use of available funds? All organisations were eligible to apply for funding through a grant funding scheme we offered to address local needs linked to support in safe accommodation. Hourglass made an application through this funding stream and were successful in their bid for a pilot project linked to the very low numbers of older people who are reporting domestic abuse to the police and / or accessing specialist domestic abuse services locally, especially when the indication is that around 20% of Wokingham population falls into this age bracket. In addition many older people have many barriers to accessing help and support which reduces their opportunity or ability to recognise the abuse or seek realistic (from their perspective) help. The Hourglass project involves reaching out to community groups and holding awareness raising events as well as providing an IDVA (Independent Domestic Violence Advocacy) service to support those who reach out for help and are aged over 60, which involves ongoing holistic support. The service is working very closely with Cranstoun, with most professional referrals being channelled through Cranstoun who will support the individual with safety planning and immediate support, but then referring clients who need more indepth or longer term support to Hourglass. Hourglass additionally have a 24/7 national helpline to provide advice and support and those calling the national helpline from our area will be referred into our local Hourglass service. We will be able to monitor the impact of this service through the number of older domestic abuse victims who report to the police as well as who have engaged with the domestic abuse services.
6) Would like to know more about the "networking group that has regular attendance by 30+ representatives of local DA services". What is this group, how often does it meet, who attends, what is the purpose and impact?
The group meets bi-monthly and is responsible for delivering the Domestic Abuse Action plan aspects which aren’t directly related to the council’s duties under the Domestic Abuse Act. The group has agreed terms of reference and impact is measures through outcomes linked to the action plan and reported data. Membership is open to any organisations who are supporting those affected by domestic abuse in the Wokingham borough and please contact karen.evans@wokingham.gov.uk if you are aware of any groups who would like to be part of our work. Membership currently consists of statutory agencies (including police, schools, probation, adult social care, children’s services, health); community groups (including The Cowshed, foodbanks, Citizens Advice, Flag DV, Victims First) and specialist domestic abuse services (Cranstoun, Kaleidoscopic, Support U, Hourglass, Paws Protect and Freedom Dogs Project)
Terms of reference state:
The group will continuously work to improve the quality of domestic abuse responses by:
· Developing and working as a strong multi-agency Group, allowing for information sharing, networking, collaboration and sharing of good practice.
· Enabling the ‘voices’ of those directly affected by domestic abuse to be heard and responded to.
· Working to identify and address barriers to information and support experienced as a result of having a protected characteristic or complex need.
· Providing expert advice and data to support the development and delivery of the Wokingham domestic abuse strategy, agreeing, and undertaking appropriate steps and actions to address identified issues.
· Influencing and informing local decisions by advising and making recommendations regarding gaps and opportunities in local services, using best available evidence and good practice.
· Supporting organisations to effectively engage with domestic abuse victim-survivors and expert services in order to understanding and respond to the range and complexity of each individual’s needs.
· Escalating unresolved issues with individual or collective relevant representative / bodies within the relevant organisation or if this is unsuccessful, to the Wokingham Community Safety Partnership.
· Ensuring that training and support for front line professionals is available and regularly reviewed, including learning from Domestic Homicide and Serious Case Reviews, to meet ongoing and emerging training needs.
7) Are Cranstoun delivering according to what they are contracted for? Also, what specifically are the gaps on top of currently commissioned services - what's the process to find this out?
Cranstoun are contracted to provide a helpline, outreach and IDVA support, group based support, work with children and young people and perpetrator interventions. In addition they provide multi agency training, participate in child and adult case conferences and multi agency risk management meetings. The service specification was written early 2021 and as it is for a 5 year period it is likely there will be emerging needs identified – when this happens we will put in place options to address these needs. A robust contract management process is in place to ensure that the service delivers as contracted for.
Unfortunately, the number of people needing support due to being affected by domestic abuse continues to rise both nationally and locally. The main issue is capacity as demand is significantly increasing and case levels are now higher than anticipated demand.