Clare Seth Kinship Consultant with Coram BAAF drew attention to the Nuffield research project which was the focus of discussion at a recent Quality Circle meeting attended by over 160 participants. The session was chaired by Gemma Taylor KC and Professor Brid Featherstone who is part of research project team.
Ms. Seth summarised the key findings of the research shared by Professor Featherstone as follows:
- Inadequate knowledge base – Service providers rely on a knowledge base that is not sufficiently robust. Without solid evidence, services risk adopting ineffective strategies.
- Intersectionality and the need for tailored services – Domestic abuse responses have historically taken a “one size fits all” approach, failing to account for the complex ways gender, race, class, and other social factors intersect. Services should understand and reflect the nuances of how men’s and women’s lives are shaped by these dynamics.
- Lack of curiosity about the nature of domestic abuse – There have been some practice innovations but there is still resistance to critically examining what constitutes domestic abuse and how different communities perceive safety. A shift toward co-producing practice frameworks that involve both practitioners and families was called for.
The project drew on lessons from safeguarding reviews and took account of international perspectives from South Africa, the US and Australia.
During the Quality Circle discussion the following challenges were identified:
- Persistent practice orthodoxies
- Flaws in multi-agency approaches
- The role of families and communities
- The impact of poverty
The research identifies four actions for progress:
- Strengthen evidence-based approaches
- Reframe multi-agency working
- Training and policy development
- Listening to children’s voices
For the press release see here
For the research project webpage see here
For information on the Quality Circle see here
Original reporting by Family Law Week