There was an average of 669 referrals a day from police to children’s services about domestic abuse in 2020-21, analysis by the NSPCC has found.
Police made almost 245,000 referrals to social services for domestic abuse, an 8% increase on the previous year, with the charity fearing this could be the tip of the iceberg.
The NSPCC helpline last year also saw a record number of calls from people worried about domestic abuse.
Anna Edmundson, NSPCC Head of Policy and Public Affairs: “Sadly, we know these figures are the tip of the iceberg as domestic abuse often goes unreported. Domestic abuse can derail a childhood and it is unacceptable that support to recover remains patchy across the country, and what is available risks being axed by cash-strapped councils.”
During the pandemic children experiencing abuse were trapped at home and largely cut off from their support networks during lockdowns, which increased the risk they were experiencing.
In January 2022, children started to be officially recognised as victims of domestic abuse in the Domestic Abuse Act. However, the children’s charity remains concerned that this may not be enough to ensure support is in place for children.
The NSPCC highlights:
“Support is already patchy across the country and without a legal duty things could get worse if cash-strapped councils divert more resources to accommodation-based services, even though community-based services are better used,” said the children’s charity.
The government consultation for Victim’s Law closes this week and the NSPCC is urging Dominic Raab, Deputy Prime Minister and Lord Chancellor, to ensure all children affected by domestic abuse in England and Wales have access to local specialist and therapeutic services to support their recovery.
“We urge Dominic Raab to use the Victim’s Law to address this and ensure young victims of domestic abuse have easy access to professional services within their community so they can rebuild their lives no matter where they live,” concluded Anna Edmundson, NSPCC Head of Policy and Public Affairs.
New Deprivation of Liberty court launch for children
A National Deprivation of Liberty Court dealing specifically with applications relating to deprive children of their liberty has been announced by Sir Andrew McFarlane, president of the family division.
The court will deal with applications seeking authorisation to deprive children of their liberty and will be based at the Royal Courts of Justice under the [...]
Independent review into CSE in Oldham finds child protection procedures were not followed
Some children have been failed by the agencies that were meant to protect them because child protection procedures had not been properly followed, an independent assurance review into historic child sexual exploitation (CSE) in Oldham has found.
Evidence of poor practice was attributed to a structural flaw the review team found in the multi-agency system [...]
Sixty Second Interview with Chloe Bach
Find out more about our Business Administrator Chloe Bach who has been with WillisPalmer since 2009.
Tea or coffee?
Coffee (oat milk latte)
What 3 things would you put in Room 101?
Migraines, slugs and war
What is your favourite place in the world?
Wherever my family is (but I do love New York)
If you were on death row what [...]
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