SafeLives welcomes the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance

SafeLives welcomes the publication of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance. This supporting framework translates the Act into practical information for frontline agencies and practitioners and it’s good to see its development since the draft last year.

We welcome the Government’s acknowledgement of the poor evidence base for the theory of so-called “parental alienation” and the removal of ‘alienating behaviours’ from the guidance as a result of calls by us, other organisations and survivors.  We know too well the silencing effect that the fear of such allegations can have on adult victims of domestic abuse, who are simply trying to keep their children safe, and that allegations are too often weaponised by perpetrators to further their abuse in the family courts.

We are also grateful to see a greater focus in the guidance on the impact of domestic abuse on survivors’ physical health, including the longer-term implications which can extend beyond direct injuries. As we highlighted in our report ‘We Only Do Bones Here’ studies have shown that non-physical forms of abuse are associated with poorer physical health. It is crucial that healthcare professionals recognise when patients are experiencing domestic abuse.  Too often, we hear from survivors that health practitioners did not show enough professional curiosity or look into the reasons behind their health conditions, and did not refer or signpost them on to the specialised support they needed.

We are pleased to see an improved focus on addressing perpetrators of domestic abuse throughout the guidance, including the recognition that they can manipulate professionals and agencies to continue exerting control over their victims. However, the guidance misses an opportunity to provide clear and comprehensive information for commissioners on the benefits of a full range of quality-assured and accredited perpetrator programmes. With the ‘Pursuing Perpetrators’ strand in the recently published Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan, this statutory guidance could have aligned commissioning of perpetrator programmes as an integral part of reducing risk for victims/survivors of domestic abuse and highlighted the value of skills-based training for frontline practitioners and safeguarding teams in building confidence in responding to perpetrators.

The guidance also lacks a commitment to reduce the barriers which prevent migrant survivors of domestic abuse becoming safe, reporting the abuse, and recovering after harm has occurred. We want to see the Domestic Violence Rule and the Destitution Domestic Violence Concession extended to all migrant survivors, regardless of their immigration history, so that no migrant survivor is prevented from getting the support they need. We do not agree that the National

Referral Mechanism is an appropriate route to support for survivors of domestic abuse.
As the Victims Bill passes through Parliament, we will be continue to call for extra protections for migrant survivors so that their immigration status does not prevent them from getting help, and cannot be used by perpetrators to continue the abuse. We will also keep calling for a duty on local areas to provide community-based services, so more survivors have access to the support they need without having to uproot their life and their children’s lives by leaving their home.