Practice blog

13th July 2015

Why go back to the dark ages? – Life before Dash and Marac

Last month, SafeLives ran a series of seminars for Maracs – celebrating the hard work of professionals up and down the country, and taking time to think about what’s next. During the London event, I had the pleasure of seeing lots of old colleagues from my time at Advance and Standing Together Against Domestic Violence. It’s been more than a decade since we worked together, and I couldn’t help but cast my mind back to what life as an Idva was like back then – before the Dash risk checklist, and before Marac.

Before Marac

And it was hard! Back then, instead of Marac, we had an operations group with the police and some other key agencies, like health and probation. We’d meet once a month and would bring the cases that we were “most worried about”. But there was no common understanding of risk. So you can imagine the heated discussions as we tried to convey why we were so concerned, and encourage our partners to share information and act.

In spite of this, the meetings were a success in many ways. They helped us develop the relationships that are so vital to a co-ordinated community response. And they paved the way for the development of some of the early Maracs in England and Wales. But they didn’t do enough to manage the risk (“worry” or “concern” as we called it then) that families were facing.

Before the Dash risk checklist

As an Idva service, we used to think – there has to be a better way. We started looking at the common features of the 20 cases we were most worried about. What we found was no surprise – escalating violence, extreme control and coercion, weapons being used, substance misuse and sexual abuse. Pregnancy and having children were factors too, as well as threats to harm them. Armed with this evidence, we could finally begin to show the operations group exactly why we were so worried about a case.

But our system was still a million miles from the robust and evidence-based approach to risk assessment that we have today. A couple of years later, I was lucky enough to be involved in the pilot of the early versions of the Dash risk checklist. It was staggering to see the change. Having this tool gave us the power (yes, power) to require agencies to act to reduce risk and improve safety. The professionals we’d struggled to engage in the past were finally sitting up and taking notice.

The road ahead

These days, as manager of SafeLives’ Marac development programme, I’m more than aware of how Marac has, to some extent, become a victim of its own success. Some areas have done such a thorough job of training professionals on risk and how to refer to Marac that they’re seeing more cases than they can manage. The number of cases being heard nationally went up by 13,000 in the last year, and it’s not uncommon for some Maracs to hear upwards of 40 cases every fortnight. Often, they simply don’t have the resources or the capacity to cope.

Over the coming months, Cardiff University’s Dr Amanda Robinson is collaborating with the What Works Centre for Crime Reduction to evaluate the Dash risk checklist and its use by the police. But if we’re to tackle the issues Maracs are facing, we need to spend time thinking not just about risk identification, but about risk thresholds too.

We’ve already begun to develop the SafeLives knowledge hub – a single port of call for any professional looking for the best advice about how to respond to a domestic abuse, and how to run an effective multi-agency response, including forums like Marac and Mash. We’re also working with local areas to develop and pilot a One Front Door approach – ensuring families can be identified and referred to the right support more quickly, reducing the burden on Maracs. Like many of the interventions we use today, this is something that will take time to get right. But, as I know from my own experience, if it’s worth doing something, it’s worth doing properly.

I would never want go back to a time when the Dash didn’t exist. Back to a “first come, first served” system, or to case management discussions which just talked about “worry” and “concern”. This tool has unlocked the multi-agency response, and means we can make lasting change for the highest risk victims of domestic abuse and their families. It’s just one of the many steps to developing a stronger response to domestic abuse – so that one day, every family will get safe and stay safe.

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By Sally Steadman-South

29th June 2015

Duluth, more than just a perpetrator programme. Risk-led approach, more than just a checklist

I have been thinking about Duluth a lot recently. For those of you young enough that it was before your time (lucky you!), Duluth is a town in Minnesota where the wonderful Ellen Pence and Michael Paymar developed a model of addressing domestic abuse in a holistic way. It required commitment from the whole community and it became known as the co-ordinated community response.

Part of that model was a project which worked with perpetrators of domestic abuse to challenge their behaviour. So when everyone in the UK was so excited at the start of the integrated domestic abuse programme (Idap) which worked with perpetrators, it sometimes got called the Duluth programme. But the Duluth model was so much more than just working with perpetrators. It brought together a package of help from across the community to keep women safe.

Everyone was responsible for tackling domestic abuse

At its simplest, that meant everyone was responsible for tackling domestic abuse. It meant that we, in voluntary services, would work in partnership with statutory agencies and, essentially, the whole community to improve their response to domestic abuse across the board. We would campaign to make statutory services realise that they needed to get better at supporting women who were experiencing domestic abuse. In short, we would make sure these women’s voices were heard.

One thing that has always stuck with me is a video with a perpetrator from Duluth. He realised he had to confront his behaviour when he felt like the whole community was linking arms and saying: “this isn’t on and we won’t accept it.” That had a real impact on me because it seemed so obvious when I thought about it: why should voluntary services have to solve the issue of domestic abuse on their own? Shouldn’t all services have a part to play in safety?

And that is one of the reasons why I like the Marac model - it made other agencies take some responsibility for doing the right things to protect victims of domestic abuse and their families. I talked about some of the other reasons I like the risk-led approach in my recent blog which many of you were kind enough to respond to (thanks for that, all responses welcome - we need to have the debate). I wrote then how using tools like the Dash checklist to stop the most serious forms of violence is just one part of a risk-led approach that keeps victims and families safe - in the same way that perpetrator projects like Idap were just one part of the Duluth community response model.

Just as Duluth was more than a perpetrator programme, a risk-led approach is so much more than a checklist.

That’s not rocket science. Anyone who lives with domestic abuse long term is impacted by that in some way - you would have to be superhuman not to be. So of course, people need longer term support to build their resilience and aid their recovery. We need to make sure that this help is there too. That’s why I am so delighted that our new strategy addresses wider issues - like the need for a clear pathway of support to move on from the trauma of domestic abuse. Of course, before anyone experiencing domestic abuse can become safe in the long term, we need to reduce the immediate danger they are in – and that’s where tools like the Dash come in. But just as Duluth was more than a perpetrator programme, a risk-led approach is so much more than a checklist.

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risk

idva

marac

By Jo Morrish

22nd June 2015

Dash - a tool for empowerment, not just risk

Anyone who works with victims of domestic abuse will know that empowerment is a key part of helping a woman stay safe long-term. This is something we cover with the independent domestic violence advisors (Idvas) we train – how they can use the tools at their disposal to empower clients wherever possible.

Part of an Idva’s case management system when they work with clients is the Dash risk checklist. The Dash is used to spot when a person is at risk of violence from a partner or family member, and get her the right help as quickly as possible. It is linked to the Duluth power and control wheels – an earlier tool developed to identify common themes in abusive relationships.

The Dash is a tool that helps women to come to terms with their experiences and to put them into context

One of the questions we ask Idvas on our training is to give four uses of the Dash risk checklist. Of course, we are looking for them to say that it helps them identify who is at highest risk of murder or serious harm, but we don’t expect Idvas to stop there. Because, as you work through the Dash checklist, as well as identifying risk you also establish the nature of the relationship. Is there physical violence? Sexual abuse? Coercive control? The Dash is a tool that helps women to come to terms with their experiences and to put them into context.

Some women, after you explain the results of the Dash to them, respond with “Thank you – it’s such a relief, I thought I was imagining it or overreacting”

It can be a shock for women to move from minimising their experience of abuse or blaming themselves to understanding the reality of it, but that is part of the journey to recovery. I find that some women, after you explain the results of the Dash to them, respond with “Thank you – it’s such a relief, I thought I was imagining it or overreacting”.

Once we have the information from the Dash, we use it to complete the individual safety and support plan. This addresses the person’s safety along with any other issues we have identified from coping strategies developed during difficult times that are hampering her ability to move forward, to difficulties left over as a result of financial abuse. When we train Idvas, we make sure that they consider how they can use the tools at their disposal to empower clients wherever possible, never doing something that a woman could do for herself. She won’t feel like the plan is hers if it is written by the Idva alone – she needs to own it herself.

Completing the Dash and safety planning are both important to reduce the risk a woman faces from domestic abuse, but they are also steps towards helping her to take back control of her life. As I’ve said before, identifying risk is a step towards empowerment.

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idva

risk

By Jo Morrish

15th June 2015

Since when did safety stop being a need?

When I first started working with women nearly 20 years ago, we didn’t talk about a risk-led approach. That isn’t to say we weren’t making decisions based on risk, we were – all the time. With only so many hours in the day, and lots of women needing our help, we made choices about who to call, which partners to involve, who needed extra support, whether to share information or not and so on.

We came from a place of wanting to empower women and make sure they stayed in control of their lives and their information. We still do, I hope.

We went to bed on a Friday night, hoping we had made the right decisions. Hoping that the incredible women we had met that week would be safe. And sometimes we got it wrong, and something bad happened.

As a domestic abuse worker you live with this reality. But, my God, that’s easier when you have some evidence to back up your decisions and it isn’t all just based on your gut feeling. That’s why I still stand by a risk-led approach.

Recently, I have heard people say that it was a mistake to go to a risk-led rather than needs-led approach and that, with hindsight, victims’ needs are getting missed.

This seems to me like a misunderstanding of the risk-led model. Our basic needs are inextricably linked to physical safety. I have trained Idvas for years using the concept of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs because it explains it so clearly:

Maslow's hierarchy of needs, domestic violence and the risk-led approach

Maslow suggested that you have to work your way up the pyramid and we are all motivated to do this. But the catch is that you can’t move up until you have met all the needs below.

So, to me, the risk-led model is just about starting on the bottom rungs. And the further down the pyramid you start, the more help you might need because these aren’t things you can go without.

My partner is a youth worker. He points out that if a young person comes in and says they have been told they will be evicted today because their housing benefit hasn’t been paid, the worker rings the housing benefit office for them. Quickly. Later on, they will work with them to develop the skills necessary so that they can fix this stuff themselves. But, right now, that young person needs to be warm and dry tonight.

It isn’t either advocacy or empowerment. It is one step at a time.

At North Devon Women’s Aid, we developed a programme from the US called Pattern Changing, which was about empowering women to achieve the top rungs of the pyramid. I don’t think we will ever really stop domestic abuse until we can offer something like this more widely – to help victims recover after abuse and be the person they want to be. But it is also just part of the solution: women can’t join a group and focus on their needs if they are terrified when they walk to and from their car.

On my office wall I have a quote from Mahatma Gandhi: “There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.”

There are victims of abuse who aren’t safe tonight. Victims who don’t have food and shelter for themselves and their kids tonight. We can’t meet women’s needs unless we help them get safe – starting by reducing the risk they face of being murdered or seriously harmed.

So let’s stop focussing on semantics. Let’s help women to get safe and feel safe and then let’s talk about developing their self-esteem – as part of an holistic set of interventions that don’t just stop the abuse, but help women get their lives back – on their own terms.

After all, since when did safety stop being a need?

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idva

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

risk

By Jo Morrish

12th June 2015

A week in the life of an Idva service

Up and down the country, Idva services work tirelessly to make sure victims of domestic abuse can be safe. The work they do is complex and varied – so we asked one of our Leading Lights services to give us a flavour of what goes on. Here, Zoe Jackson from Aurora New Dawn in Hampshire talks us through a week in the life of her service.

Monday

Monday is a particularly busy day for our Idva service, spent catching up with referrals from the weekend and getting up to date with developments on our existing cases. After a quick catch-up, someone makes the first round of tea and it’s straight down to business.

An Idva’s diary is constantly changing. We prioritise our work based on risk, so diaries often have to be re-organised in the event of an emergency. For one Idva this is exactly what happens this morning. A police officer has left a message to say the perpetrator in one of our cases was arrested overnight. The client doesn’t want to make a statement and although the police have managed to hold her partner until this morning, he will be released imminently. The Idva contacts the client straight away – she wants to leave, has packed her things and is ready to go. The Idva calls some local refuges but they don’t have space, so arranges to meet the client in 30 minutes at the local housing department. The rest of the team continue through their emails and new referrals. At lunchtime the Idva who went to support their client at the housing department checks in – accommodation has been found and the client is on their way there.

As she arrives back, another Idva leaves for a pre-arranged visit. She meets a woman at her workplace: she has recently been granted a non-molestation order and her employers are supporting her well. Before, the perpetrator had turned up at the workplace and we had incorporated work-based safety procedures into the client’s individual safety and support plan. At the client’s request, the Idva has arranged to meet with both her and her manager to offer guidance on safety in the workplace.

Tuesday

This morning one of our Idvas attends a multi-agency public protection meeting for a perpetrator who is known to the service. In the past we have worked with some of his victims whose cases are now closed, but we attend the meeting to provide domestic violence expertise and ensure that we know about any developments. At today’s meeting it becomes apparent that the individual is in a new relationship, so the meeting agrees plans to make sure the new partner is safe.

Back in the office, another member of the team receives a call from a current client. We haven’t been able to get hold of her over the last couple of weeks. She discloses that further incidents have taken place which she hasn’t reported to the police. The Idva takes her through a review of her risk assessment (which always happens after further incidents) and explains that the case will be re-referred to Marac. The Idva works with the client to update her individual safety and support plan and arranges to visit her at a safe location later in the week, when the perpetrator is at work.

Wednesday

It’s Marac day: a key part of any Idva’s role. There are Maracs running in two locations today. Our service covers both, so two of our Idvas are out of the office.

On Marac days the rest of the team covers the phones – teamwork is a crucial part of any Idva service. They update the database with any client contact and email the absent members of the team to keep them up to date. By 3.30pm both Idvas are back. I have a quick chat with one of them about a particularly complex Marac case. We run through possible actions and record the discussion and actions on the client’s file.

Thursday

One of the Idvas this morning gets a particularly high-risk, possible honour-based violence referral. They flag it with management, and the Idva and I review the referral paperwork together. One of the other Idvas who has particular expertise around honour-based violence joins the discussion and we think about what we need to explore with the client so that we understand the risks she faces. Her first language is not English so the allocated Idva finds a telephone interpreter and heads upstairs to call her.

Meanwhile, the other Idvas are updating clients about yesterday’s Marac meeting, ensuring they feel part of the process. In the afternoon we have the first of this month’s case reviews: I sit with one member of the team to talk through her cases and agree actions for the next four weeks. The Idva handling the honour-based violence case from this morning is now busy uploading their paperwork to the database, having been on the phone to the client and various other professionals throughout the day.

Friday

This morning it’s the monthly Aurora team meeting: a chance for everybody to catch up and update the rest of the team on developments. There’s a slot for recent ‘good news’ stories: one of the Idvas shares a positive experience where they worked with a local police officer to obtain a particularly robust restraining order for a client. The Idva was impressed by the officer and we agree that we’ll write to their superior to highlight their efforts.

We are a team member down at the meeting – one Idva is at court with a client who is representing themselves at a return hearing for a non-molestation order. They call in at 11am to say the court has granted the order.

After the meeting, there is an update on yesterday’s honour-based violence case – the client has been placed in a hotel temporarily. The Idva plans a joint visit with social care for next week and will call the client again later.

The team continue to work through their caseloads, calling any remaining clients before the weekend so that they have access to all the safety planning and support information they need. We are fortunate to have a volunteer-run helpline available from Friday evening to Monday morning, so the last thing the team do before leaving the office is to divert the phone to the helpline.

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idva

a week in the life

honour-based violence

Leading Lights

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By Guest blogger