Cymorth i Ferched CymruChildren Matter

Protecting Children from

Domestic Abuse

David Spicer, LLB, Barrister

© David Spicer

Working Together

Inter-agency Co-operation

• 60 years from the first government circular encouraging inter-agency working (Dennis O’Neil) and 30 years since detailed guidance (Maria Colwell -ARCs to ACPCs).

Analysis of Serious Case Reviews 2005-2007 (2009)

• Some of the worst failures of the system have occurred when professionals have lost sight of the child and concentrated instead on their relationship with the adults.

• From within the spectrum of inter-connecting factors, one overarching theme dominates – the enduring problem of the child being ‘lost’.

Learning lessons from SCRs : year 2 (Ofsted (2009))

• Distressing to read, for example, how often nobody thought to ask a child who was clearly unhappy what was wrong.

Picture

• What is it like living in the household?

• 24 hours a day

• 7 days a week

• 52 weeks a year

Child Welfare Policy to Practice

Government Formulates Policy▼

Legislation to Implement Policy▼

Guidance to Assist Implementation of Legislation▼

Procedures/Protocols ▼

Practice

What are the legal, policy and practice imperatives

underpinning a procedural requirement?

What are they expected to deliver?

Harm

• To reflect growing recognition of the overlap between domestic abuse and the abuse of children,

• Legal definition of “harm” within the Children Act 1989 extended in 2002.

• To include seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another person.

Research Driving Policy

Risk of abuse

• High proportion of children living with domestic violence are themselves being abused, either physically or sexually, by the same perpetrator.

• 40 per cent of cases - Walby and Allen (2004)

• In 90 per cent of incidents, children are witnesses to the violence - Mullender et al (2003, 2005)

Child witnesses to domestic violence

• More aggressive and fearful;• More often suffer from severe anxiety,

depression and other trauma-related symptoms.

• Live with constant anxiety; • May be at a higher risk of alcohol or drug

abuse; • Experience cognitive problems or stress-

related ailments (headaches, rashes); • Have difficulties in school. • Silvern et al (1995) and Singer et al (1998).

Domestic Abuse and Family Proceedings

• CAFCASS CYMRU research.• 52% children in care had experienced

household with domestic violence.• 51% care proceedings children had

experienced household with domestic abuse.

• CAFCASS research.• 67% private family law cases included

allegations of domestic violence.

Impact of s28 Children Act 2004

Safeguarding Children is Everyone’s Responsibility

Children Act 2004

Government expects:• Radical and fundamental cultural change.• Whole system change.• Programme of fundamental reform. • Step change in how safeguard and protect

children. • Strengthening child protection.• Involving transformation of children’s

services.• Shift emphasis to prevention and early

intervention.

Arrangements to safeguard and promote welfare s28

• List of public agencies.

s28 Duties

• Each person and body to whom this section applies must make arrangements for ensuring that—

• all their functions are discharged having regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children;

Safeguarding and Promoting Welfare

• Duties include:• Acquiring necessary information to

form judgments and shape services.• Ensuring others have information

necessary to inform their judgements and shape services.

• Knowing there should be a plan.• Know what the plan is and part to play

in achieving objectives.

s28 Duties

• Each person and body to whom this section applies must make arrangements for ensuring that—

• If they make arrangements for any person to provide any services – they are provided having regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children .

Arrangements?

• Funding for services.

• Commissioning a service related to individual children or adults.

• Any other arrangements for services.

Related to needs of particular children?

• expectations of service should be clear; • agency to be sufficiently informed

about the issues and background to contribute effectively

• to the framework of services, • to the formation of judgments and

making decisions, • to ensure safety of its own staff.

Policy

Stop seeing ourselves as working for different services –

But as different parts of a

single service for vulnerable children

Stressful

• Risky.• No room for lack of clarity or certainty about roles

and responsibilities.• Or what is required to form judgments and make

decisions.• Involvement of those who know.• Relevant facts and expertise.• Those who know what their contribution should be.• Appropriate contributions to form sound judgments • Focused and appropriate services • For all the individuals that need them.

Serious Case Review

Serious Case Review

• Abuser routinely joined household of women alone with children

• Assaulted and abused them.• Abused mother of subject children.• Never convicted for any of this.• Lived next door to subject children.• Known to social worker involved with

children there.• Unknown to social worker for subject

children.

Serious Case Review

• Serious persistent neglect.

• Also persistent exposure to culture of violence against their mother.

• Fled to Women’s Refuges.

• Mother contacted abuser.

• Lived together – more violence.

• This time involving serious assaults and abuse of children.

Prison

• 3 years.

• Still no conviction for offences against women.

Older Child

• Aged 1 year and 10 months.

• Described as “miserable”.

• “grubby dirty and clingy”.

• “dirty again”.

Younger Child

• Aged 2 years 11 months.

• Described as “his usual weary self”.

Systems

MAPPA

• Assessment of risk.

• Intelligence.

• Where and who with.

• Ensuring all who need to know do know.

• Difficult.

Dangerous Times

• Christmas

• Holiday periods

• Weekends

• When services at their weakest.

Reaching Sound Judgements• Reasonableness• Properly reasoned.• Taking account of all

relevant factors.• Giving appropriate weight.• Considering all options /

alternatives.• Keeping an open mind.• Knowing and acting in

accordance with law. • Considering relevant

guidance.

• Knowing and applying procedures or why deviated.

• Consulting appropriately.• Acknowledging lack of

information or expertise and its impact.

• If provisional - what more needed.

• Human Rights perspective

• Accurate recording of above

© 2006 David Spicer

Context

• Little training on the impact of domestic abuse.

• Training tends to be around basic awareness.

• There is a lack of training on how to work with parental denial or resistance.

Involve the people who know

Dr Henry Kempe

• “If you do not understand someone’s behaviour, you do not have enough history.”

Complexity

• May be increased by

• Emotional and mental health issues.

Serious Case Review

• Discussions suggested that when children are referred to services, the referral documentation may not be completed and it is “not usual” for the agencies to be informed fully about concerns.

• Had Refuge staff known history of child protection concerns, “they would have been more aware and vigilant”.

Serious Case Review

• Level of risk of abuser not sufficiently communicated.

• “Not uncommon” for Women’s Aid groups to have poor communication with social service departments, where relevant information is not shared.

• Inappropriate reliance on Refuge as a significant protective factor.

Involvement in processes

• Agency should be sufficiently involved in inter agency processes

• To be appropriately informed and

• To ensure it contributes effectively.

• By information.

• And judgments and opinions.

Serious Case Review

• Information and opinions held by the Third Sector agencies were not sufficiently taken into account when judgments were formed and decisions made.

• LA staff not sufficiently aware of the value of ensuring a full contribution and involvement of Third Sector agencies.

Specialist Expertise

• Extensive experience of women who are traumatized,

• Who find it difficult to separate from the inflictor of violence,

• Suffer from fear or inadequacy or emotional or mental health difficulties and

• Lack alternative choices.

Specialist Expertise

• Children and the impact upon them.

• Information and opinion on motivation.

• Witness attitudes and approach to the children and children of others and other victims.

• Awareness that most dangerous time can be when women and children leave a Refuge.

Specialist Expertise

• Predatory nature of abuser.• Social, emotional and psychological

impact of violence upon women can seriously affect their parenting capacity.

Specialist Expertise

• Victim capacity to lie.

• Self deception.

• Attract sympathy.

• Inability to make decisions in own interests or child’s interests.

• Loneliness.

• Lack of prospects.

Groupthink

“Groupthink”

• Tendency of groups to avoid dissension is a hazard.

• (Janis (1982) Groupthink: psychological studies of policy decisions and fiascos, Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, second edn)

Conformity

• High level of conformity in case conferences.

• Group leaders therefore have to challenge themselves to encourage dissent and be open to challenge, sometimes even appointing a ‘devil’s advocate’ to diminish this tendency.

(Corby 1987; Birchall and Hallett 1995; Farmer and Owen1995) Working with child abuse, Milton Keynes: Open University Press.)

“Honour” killings

Welsh Women’s Aid Website

• At least 12 women die each year in the UK as a result of ‘honour’-based killing.

(Fawcett Society (2009))

AM v Local Authority and B-M (2009) EWCA Civ 205

• Women formed relationship with man outside her culture and had his children.

AM v Local Authority and B-M (2009) EWCA Civ 205

• “…. any identification of the children concerned ran the risk of them suffering serious physical harm. In my judgment, that includes abduction and even death.”

• History included murder of a baby.• Foster parents moved house six times

to secure the safety of the children from the mother’s extended family.

AM v Local Authority and B-M (2009) EWCA Civ 205

• Remorseless pursuit of baby’s mother.

• Fleeing from domestic violence;

• Night clothes of child sprayed with white spirit and her house set fire.

• Mother not identify brothers for fear of reprisals;

• Grandfather believes death of baby was an accident and the will of God.

AM v Local Authority and B-M (2009) EWCA Civ 205

• “these things have nothing to do with any concept of honour known to … law.”

• “… the time has surely come to re-think the phrase “honour killings”.

• This is “… to distort the word “honour” to describe what is, in reality, sordid criminal behaviour” and

• “a refusal to acknowledge them as such”.

AM v Local Authority and B-M (2009) EWCA Civ 205

• None of this, in my judgment, has anything to do with any concept of “honour” and all of it is manifestly contrary to the best interests of children.

Dangerous Men

Housing Policy

• Single men not within housing priority groups.

• Join single women with children.

• Leads to more children being exposed to violent men.

What will the protected child look like?