Children who are affected by domestic abuse are not being consistently recognised as victims despite it being a requirement of the Domestic Abuse Act, according to a new joint report by Ofsted, the Care Quality Commission, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, and HM Inspectorate of Probation.
The inspectorates have called for urgent improvements to ensure children at risk of, or victims of domestic abuse, are better protected and supported, saying they are concerned by inconsistencies in how local agencies and partnerships identify and support children affected by domestic abuse.
The four inspectorates carried out joint inspections across six local authority areas to look at the response to children who are at risk from, or are victims of, domestic abuse. Inspectors considered support provided across local partnerships and services, including children’s social care, health services, police, youth justice services and schools.
Although the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 recognises children as victims of domestic abuse if they have seen, heard or experienced the effect of the abuse, the inspections found that practice across police, health and social care services in some local areas remains focused on adults’ needs and risks, and is insufficiently focused on the needs and risks of children.
The report also warns of significant variation in how well children’s experiences are captured and how clearly the risk posed by perpetrators of domestic abuse is understood and managed by children’s services, police and probation services.
“In some local areas, there is insufficient training for professionals, such as the police and social workers, on domestic abuse and its impact on children, and the understanding of coercive control is particularly limited,” a joint statement from the inspectorates said.
“This means children do not always get the right help and protection at the right time.
“Information held by different agencies about children, adult victims and perpetrators is not always systematically shared or drawn together by the network of professionals involved with children. Concerningly, this limits professionals’ ability to form a complete picture of the risks posed to children.”
The inspectorates also found examples of excellent practice in some local areas and by individual practitioners. The report highlights strong practice in relation to unborn babies, with midwives demonstrating professional curiosity, awareness and knowledge of the potential risk of domestic abuse. Schools and early years providers were also found to play a critical role in supporting and protecting children.
The report states that the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, with its increased focus on early help, stronger multi-agency responses to child protection, and better information sharing across agencies, is an opportunity to make systemic improvements to protect children.
“It’s shocking that one in seven children in the UK will have lived with domestic abuse at some stage in their lives,” said Yvette Stanley, Ofsted’s national director for children’s social care.
“Protecting and supporting children at risk of domestic abuse needs to be viewed as a priority for society and for all services who work with children.
“Although we saw some positive work to support children affected by domestic abuse, it is worrying that we did not find more consistent improvements since our last JTAI. There must be a greater focus on recognising children as victims in their own right, and urgent improvements need to be made so that local agencies and partnerships can better support children affected by this type of abuse.”
Lucy Harte, deputy director of multiagency operations for primary and community care at CQC, added:
“This report highlights that, despite being established in law, children affected by domestic abuse are not being consistently recognised or supported as victims. The wide variation in how local agencies identify risk, share information, and respond to children’s needs, unfortunately leave some children without the protection and help they require.
“The examples of good practice in the report show that stronger strategic multi-agency working, information sharing and clear governance mean that children at risk are more likely to receive effective early intervention and safeguarding.”
The multi-agency response to children who are victims of domestic abuse
