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Lessons learned from domestic homicide reviews must be shared more effectively to strengthen responses Manchester Met research shows

Research led by Manchester Met is the first large scale study to analyse Domestic Homicide Reviews since their introduction a decade ago

Recommendations from Domestic Homicide Reviews – set up to learn from domestic homicides and to strengthen responses to domestic abuse – should be monitored better to boost the response to domestic abuse and prevent escalation to homicide, new research has found.

The Homicide Abuse Learning Together (HALT) study analysed the findings and processes of 302 Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs) as part of a research project – funded by the Economic and Social Science Research Council (ESRC) and led by Professor Khatidja Chantler at Manchester Metropolitan University with researchers at the University of Central Lancashire – the first large-scale national study of its kind since they were legally mandated in England and Wales over a decade ago.

DHRs were established in 2011 to understand how domestic homicides occur and the role of service responses to identify any missed opportunities for intervention and to make the victim visible.

Researchers have now created the first repository of domestic homicide reviews in England, and a series of briefings and articles aimed to help policymakers and service providers.

Films have also been created based on the experiences of current victim-survivors of domestic abuse and family members who have been bereaved by domestic homicide, as well as an anthology of poems with the Manchester Poetry Library at Manchester Metropolitan University.

The new study recommends:

  • More investment in specialist frontline domestic abuse services, as well as statutory services such as mental health, substance use, adult social care and criminal justice agencies
  • Embedded training on different forms of abuse and homicide for professionals working in relevant services,
  • Improved risk assessments particularly for older and black and minoritised victims,
  • A greater emphasis on understanding diversity and inclusion
  • Stronger multi-agency working

The HALT project, led by Prof Chantler, sought to understand DHR processes by analysing over 300 DHRs identifying possible risk factors before any homicides and recommendations to prevent them in future.

Researchers’ analyses shows that domestic homicide is predominantly carried out by men against women (80%).

In nearly three-quarters (74%) of cases there had been domestic violence and abuse (DVA) in the victim-perpetrator relationship before the murder.

Researchers have identified common risk and vulnerabilities including previous trauma of victims and problematic substance use of perpetrators.

There is also new information on the nature of adult family homicide, which involves family members over 16 years old who are not in an intimate relationship, and homicide-suicide.

The study also analysed cases involving female perpetrators and those involving black and minoritised victims or perpetrators.

The findings demonstrate the high prevalence of previous trauma and abuse for victims (83%), while highlighting the prior violent or abusive behaviour of perpetrators (84%).

They also highlight other risks identified throughout DHRs, including alcohol or drug misuse, economic and housing difficulties and diagnosed mental health conditions.

For the full study, visit the HALT website: https://domestichomicide-halt.co.uk.

The comprehensive study provides a range of findings and recommendations.

This includes:

  • In 74% of cases there was previous abuse or violence, and agencies – usually police and healthcare – were aware of the abuse in 65% of these cases
  • Just over half of these cases (55%) had some form of DVA risk assessment completed, with just under a third (31%) categorised as ‘high risk’,
  • However only 11% were reviewed at a MARAC – a special meeting of the highest risk domestic abuse cases between representatives of local police, health, child protection and other relevant agencies.
  • Black and minoritised victims were significantly less likely to be seen as ‘High risk’ compared to white British victims.
  • In 31% of cases there were children living in the home where the homicide took place.
  • They found that review panels with black and minoritised organisations largely produced more insightful findings for those communities, highlighting the importance of diverse panels in domestic homicide review panels.

Part of a longer press release at https://www.mmu.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/story/?id=15375

September 27, 2022

Vera Baird resigns as Victims’ Commissioner

Letter from Dame Vera Baird to Rt Hon Brandon Lewis CBE MP on end of term as Victims’ Commissioner

The Victims’ Commissioner wrote to the Justice Secretary to inform him of her intention to end her term as Commissioner on Friday 30 September 2022. Dame Vera is not seeking any further extension of her term.
The Rt Hon Brandon Lewis CBE MP
Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice

23 September 2022

Dear Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice,

The Victims’ Commissioner is the pre-eminent independent voice for victims. The role is to champion the interests of victims at the highest levels, to influence policy, legislation and practice on the ground. It is a unique and unrivalled office that delivers real and lasting change for victims of crime and I am immensely proud of the achievements secured under my tenure.

As you know, my first term as Commissioner was to end this June. In February, your predecessor informed me that he intended to open the post to competition. I was strongly encouraged by him, in public and in private, to apply. This was a perplexing duality: I was not to be reappointed (as my predecessor was), but I was at the same time actively encouraged to apply. Nonetheless, as suggested, I applied in good faith.

At the request of the former Lord Chancellor, I also extended my term by one month. At the time, the long-promised Victims’ Bill was finally emerging and in need of much improvement. My office had carried out a dozen victims’ roundtables and sent in abundant recommendations to officials but little of that work was reflected in the Bill. It was therefore vitally important to me that the Victims’ Commissioner make representations to the Justice Committee and I was happy to extend for this reason.

An important part of my role is access to ministers on behalf of the people I represent and serve. Prior to this year, we have made progress for victims largely through the responsive attitude of previous Secretaries of State. It was notable that the former Lord Chancellor had not met with me once since February. The lack of engagement from the top at a time of great upheaval for victims reflected poorly on the Ministry of Justice’s priorities and the government’s approach.

Early in July, I was phoned by officials and brusquely informed that there would be no appointment from the recruitment process after all. Subsequently, I sought and received assurances from the Ministry of Justice that I had in fact been an appointable candidate. Nevertheless, the recruitment exercise was still to be aborted and rerun. Months of additional uncertainty were heaped on an already disrupted and destabilised office and my excellent staff. Once more I was urged to apply. Once more I was asked to extend my term – this time until the end of the year. With the Victims’ Bill still in draft, I made arrangements as best as I could to stay until at least 30 September and to consider any further extension in due course.

Asking me to re-apply given that two opportunities to re-appoint me have already passed and my office is no longer given much access to ministers seems more a ploy to keep me in place as a nominal post-holder in the short-term than a genuine invitation. Coupled with this, the Victims’ Bill remains inadequate and the ‘British Bill of Rights’ so severely threatens victims’ human rights that it undermines what little progress the Victims’ Bill is set to bring. I am told the Bill of Rights is set to return in some form and that its withdrawal was only temporary.

Further, little has been done to effectively tackle the enormous and catastrophic backlog of cases, particularly in the Crown Court where the most serious crimes are tried. This has exposed victims of these crimes to intolerable delay, anguish and uncertainty. It is no exaggeration to say that the criminal justice system is in chaos.

This downgrading of victims’ interests in the government’s priorities, along with the side-lining of the Victims’ Commissioner’s office and the curious recruitment process make clear to me that there is nothing to be gained for victims by my staying in post beyond the current extension. As such, my term will end on 30 September.

I want to underline how significant this role is in driving forward much-needed change for victims. As Victims’ Commissioner, I have shone a spotlight on the dire state of rape investigations and prosecutions. I secured new privacy safeguards against intrusive and excessive requests for personal mobile phone data in rape investigations. I successfully campaigned for rape victims to pre-record their evidence and cross-examination, sparing them years of anguish awaiting their day in court. I continue to push for increased protections restricting the disclosure of victim therapy notes and third-party victim data. And I have maintained pressure on agencies to increase their shamefully low charging rates. I urge you to reaffirm the government’s commitment to the ambitions of the rape review to drive charging rates back to 2016 levels by the end of this Parliament.

I have consistently advocated for the victims’ sector at the highest levels, most notably ensuring emergency funds were directed to support services straining under the extraordinary pressures of the pandemic. Furthermore, I have spearheaded important research in much-neglected areas such as fraud, online abuse, and the rights of families bereaved from homicide abroad. This research has instigated much needed change. The Victims’ Bill must build on this and afford my successor the authority to make recommendations and compel relevant authorities to respond.

It has been an honour to represent victims’ interests during a period of immense and unprecedented challenges, most notably COVID-19. While the pandemic is abating, the criminal justice system has only sunk deeper into crisis. A strong, independent Victims’ Commissioner has never been more important. The role must not be allowed to lie dormant like the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner.

I am grateful to the former Secretary of State, David Gauke, and Prime Minister, Theresa May MP, for appointing me to this role. I pay tribute to the professionalism and dedication of officials and of the victims’ sector who work tirelessly to improve the position of victims. And I pay thanks to those Justice Secretaries and multiple Victims’ Ministers who have worked in good faith with me during my tenure.

My contract ends on 30 September. I seek no further renewal and will leave my post on that date.

Yours sincerely,

Dame Vera Baird KC
Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales

As is normal practice for my office, and in the interests of transparency, I will publish this letter on my website.

https://victimscommissioner.org.uk/document/letter-from-dame-vera-baird-to-rt-hon-brandon-lewis-cbe-mp-on-end-of-term-as-victims-commissioner/

 

September 23, 2022

New Minister for Women Appointed

Katherine Fletcher was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport and Parliamentary Secretary (Minister for Women) at the Cabinet Office on 20 September 2022.

She was elected Conservative MP for South Ribble in 2019.

More about Katherine Fletcher at https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers/parliamentary-secretary-minister-for-women

Liz Truss’ original appointments had indicated there would no longer be a Minister for Women – see http://www.womensgrid.org.uk/?p=20248

September 23, 2022

Maternity sector calls on Government to make the NHS the ‘best place in the world to give birth’ – Birthrights

Over 30 organisations sign letter to the Government calling for ‘urgent and meaningful intervention’

Organisations representing the maternity sector have called for an ‘urgent and meaningful intervention from the Government’ to make their 2019 manifesto commitment of making the ‘NHS the ‘best place in the world to give birth’ a reality.

In a letter to the Secretary of State for Health & Social Care, the Rt Hon Dr Thérèse Coffey, coordinated by Birthrights and signed by over 30 organisations, the sector urges the Government to address critical issues facing the delivery of safe maternity care.

This letter come after former Secretary of State for Health & Social Care Steve Barclay suggested that maternity services should be ‘deprioritised’, and the publication of the final report from the independent investigation into East Kent maternity services, due on 21 September 2022 was delayed by the Government. The BBC has also reported that more than half of maternity units in England are failing to meet safety standards, with 48% of units rated as requiring improvement and 7% rated as posing a high risk of avoidable harm by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Francesca Treadaway, Policy & Engagement Director at Birthrights said:

‘The crisis facing maternity services, in particular the long-standing staffing shortages across the maternity workforce, must be a high priority for the new Secretary of State for Health & Social Care. Poor maternity care has well-evidenced long term and ongoing physical and mental health implications for those giving birth, their babies, and their families – the Ockenden report, for example, outlined how short staffing played a significant role in the scandals that occurred at Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital.

‘For the NHS to be truly the ‘best place in the world to give birth’ and ensure the delivery of a world leading, safe, personalised, equitable, and high-quality rights respecting maternity service, the Government must act.’

To read the letter and full and the list of signatories go to https://www.birthrights.org.uk/2022/09/21/maternity-sector-calls-on-government-to-make-the-nhs-the-best-place-in-the-world-to-give-birth/

 

September 22, 2022

3 October 2022 ~ Women’s Census: Rough Sleeping – St Mungo’s, Solace & SHP – until 7 October 2022

London Women’s Rough Sleeping Census: can you help us evidence the extent of women’s rough sleeping?

Research, lived experience and the experiences of services tell us that women are some of the most vulnerable within the rough sleeping and homeless population, yet we also know that women are under-represented in rough sleeping statistics and provision.

The Women’s Development Unit is part of the Life Off the Streets women’s workstream which has been tasked with organising a women’s census, aiming to better capture data about the extent of women’s rough sleeping. The census is being delivered by a sub-group led by the Women’s Development Unit, SHP and St Mungo’s and has the support of DLUHC, the GLA, London Councils and the Life Off the Streets Core Group.

The methodology used will differ from the normal snapshot count in recognition of the fact that women sleep rough less visibly and are less likely to meet outreach teams as a result.

We hope the findings will tell us about the scale of hidden rough sleeping among women; services they have encountered prior to rough sleeping; and the needs of women. This data will help to increase understanding of women’s experiences and inform future provision.

This will take place across a full working week 3rd-7th October. Please note this date has changed from the date originally advertised.

We are working collaboratively with organisations across London to help deliver this work. Can you be involved?

On this page we will post updated information, guidance and training sessions over the next months.

Sign up to our mailing list to make sure you receive all the latest information, including how to get involved.

Watch the recorded outreach session on the census here, as delivered on 30th August. You can find the accompanying slides with information on what the census is, how it will work and how you can carry out your gender informed outreach shifts here.

Watch the recorded information session on the census here, as delivered on 15th August. You can find the accompanying slides with information on what the census is, how it will work and how you can be involved here.

The census team have produced guidance to support services to take part in the census:

Read our Gender-informed outreach guidance here for outreach teams planning their census shift. All those taking part in the shift should be familiar with this guidance.

Read our Survey guidance for non-outreach services for services who will be conducting the survey with their service users. All team members taking part should be familiar with this guidance.

Training sessions to run alongside this guidance took place at the end of August – recordings of these sessions will be available shortly.

We have created a template which services can fill in with local information in case you need to signpost anyone during census week. Download the template for completion here.

Contact Us: Womens.census@cstm.org.uk

Check details and updates at https://www.connection-at-stmartins.org.uk/womens-census/

 

September 21, 2022