Background
to the Research
- Whilst
some research has been done to investigate the ways in which children
may be affected by domestic violence, there is no widely available
information regarding the extent of the problem in NI. This research
aimed to comprehensively review the available quantitative information
on domestic violence and to gather data and information regarding
the extent of domestic violence affecting children in NI.
Research
Approach
- Baseline
data were collected from relevant organisations and agencies that
come into contact with people experiencing domestic violence. The
project involved a number of key stages: an information and literature
review; in-depth interviews with relevant key informants; a survey
of health professionals; a survey of organisations involved in childcare;
and a data collection snapshot amongst RUC Domestic Violence Liaison
Units, Senior Social Workers and Health Visitors.
Main
Findings
- Almost
half of the health professionals and two-thirds of the childcare organisations
did not have an agreed and consistent definition of domestic violence.
Health professionals were using a wide range of different definitions
- no less than twelve were quoted. Although a clear definition for
use by all relevant agencies and organisations had been developed,
levels of awareness of this definition were relatively low. In-depth
interviews with health professionals confirmed the need for the application
of a consistent definition and revealed a significant level of misunderstanding
and confusion in relation to domestic violence.
- More
than half of health professionals had no clear procedures laid down
on what to do if they suspect that a child has been a victim of domestic
violence. Amongst those that did have procedures, there was a general
lack of consistency of approach. In addition, the majority of health
professionals (85%) did not have or were not aware of any systematic
questions to enable routine screening for domestic violence.
- GPs
were an important frontline contact, whereas contact with social workers
or health visitors was less common. It is therefore interesting to
note the very limited screening awareness and activity that was reported
by GPs.
- Whilst
the majority (65%) of health professionals did keep a record of all
the domestic violence cases that they encounter, the remainder did
not. The qualitative findings highlighted the need for recording as
a means of protecting and making the necessary provisions for victims.
Those who did keep records document a wide range of information, including
the nature and severity of the violence, the relationship of the perpetrator
to the child and the number of children affected.
- Whilst
potentially valuable data on domestic violence is being collected
by a variety of sources, there is a lack of consistency in the data
collection methods being used, and in many cases the data are not
being collated or analysed.
- Most
of the health professionals agreed that it is feasible for members
of their profession to record certain information for each incident
of domestic violence encountered, such as the number of adults and
children in the household experiencing domestic violence, the gender
and age of each child and adult in the household, whether or not the
children are on the child protection register or known to social services
and the type and severity of violence.
- Barriers
to systematic evidence gathering were identified as the desire to
respect confidentiality; lack of time and resources; denial on the
part of the victim; concerns over the risk of further violence as
a result of disclosure; the absence of effective data collection systems;
and the lack of computerised data collation. The in-depth interviews
highlighted the need for additional training in the area of data collection
and screening.
- Less
than half (46%) of the health professionals had received training
on how to deal with individuals that are believed to be victims of
domestic violence. Amongst those who had received training, the main
courses attended were organised by Women's Aid and the RUC.
- Most
(79%) health professionals stated that they need more support to assist
them to handle domestic violence cases more effectively. The support
requested was largely in relation to training, particularly screening,
data collection and monitoring. A number of health and childcare professionals
stated that their patients/clients could benefit from having access
to specialists, e.g. counsellors.
- A range
of problems were identified by childcare organisations in respect
of the day to day provision of services. One key problem was a lack
of resources to provide a specialist service and there was also considered
to be a lack of specialist advice available on working with children,
families and perpetrators.
- At
the time, there were limited domestic violence related services available
for children and certainly none developed in any strategic fashion.
- The
absence of awareness of a regional strategy for providing services
to organisations working with children and families in domestic violence
situations was cause for concern amongst childcare organisations.
- The
quantitative research findings indicate that a minimum of 11,000 children
were known to be living in a domestic violence situation in NI at
the time. This figure should be treated with caution, as only a limited
proportion of all domestic violence cases present to statutory agencies.
- Based
upon survey responses, on average, each senior social worker comes
in contact with 10.4 cases of domestic violence involving children
in a year. Amongst General Practitioners, an average of 5.8 patients
per year present with obvious symptoms of domestic violence. Each
health visitor encounters an average of 4.9 domestic violence cases
per year.
- Amongst
the individual respondents in each health professional group, the
numbers of cases encountered varied considerably. One in 10 stated
that they had no clients in the past year who had been involved in
domestic violence, whilst 2% recorded around 100 cases in the same
time period. The vast majority encountered between 3 and 7 cases per
annum.
- Very
few cases of domestic violence were being encountered in private day
care nurseries and child minder settings.
- Domestic
violence appeared to be equally as likely to be witnessed or experienced
by boys and girls. However, as highlighted in the literature review,
the impact could be distinctly different depending upon a number of
factors such as context, society and the individuals themselves.
- The
majority of social workers, health visitors, GP's and childcare organisations
did not keep detailed records of the gender and ages of children involved
in domestic violence incidents.
- Physical
domestic violence was the most prevalent type experienced or witnessed
by children. Three quarters of the domestic violence incidents recorded
in the RUC snapshot data collection exercise involved physical violence,
a quarter was classified as emotional violence and 1% as sexual.
Conclusions
- This
research highlighted a number of areas where improvement is required
under the following headings: defining domestic violence; screening;
data collection, collation and monitoring; confidentiality; training
and support; inter-agency co-operation; and further research.
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