Guidance for Maracs: effective chairing

This resource provides guidance for Marac chairs on the standardised process for chairing effective Marac meetings.

Marac is a high volume process that delivers a coordinated response at a single meeting to increase the safety of victims at high risk of serious harm or murder. As such chairing a Marac is a specific skill that can be different to chairing any other meeting.

This guidance for Marac chairs provides a standardised chairing format to allow representatives to expect the same process and quality of chairing at every Marac, regardless of geographical location, thereby providing a consistent response for victims of domestic abuse nationally.

The chairing format is not strictly obligatory, however adherence to the suggested Marac meeting process helps ensure that the meeting is fully multi-agency with all attendees holding equal accountability in the safeguarding of victims of domestic abuse and their children.

What this resource contains

• Why guidance?
• Suggested process
  • Commencing the meeting
  • Presenting cases
  • Sharing information
  • Risk analysis
    • Examples of possible harm to persons or property
    • Examples of possible contributory indicators
    • Examples of possible existing safety planning and/or supportive factors
    • The risk analysis
• Requesting timed actions
• Concluding the case
• In short: the chairing process