MPA Response Mayoral London Violence Against Women Strategy

Report: 8
Date: 16 July 2009
By: Chief Executive

Summary

The report welcomes The Way Forward; A call for action to end violence against women. An integrated response to violence against women is a necessary step towards improving prevention efforts, service provision and ensuring a safer capital city for women.

Section two of the report outlines the proposed MPA response to the Mayoral Violence Against Women Strategy for London. In section three the report also outlines options for ensuring that the MPA fulfils its role as a key stakeholder in delivering the strategy.

A. Recommendation

That Members

1. endorse section two of this paper as the MPA corporate response to the Mayoral Violence Against Women Strategy for London (see Appendix 1).

B. Supporting information

Section one - context

1. In 2001 the first pan-London domestic violence (DV) strategy was launched, and with it came a process of standardisation and professionalisation of services in London to victims of domestic abuse. The second DV strategy, launched in 2005, built on the success of the first and cemented the coordinated community response to domestic abuse across London, including Specialist Domestic Violence Courts (SDVCs), Independent Domestic Violence Advocates (IDVAs), and Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARACs).

2. The Mayoral Violence Against Women [1] (VAW) Strategy goes several steps further in developing and building upon the work that has gone before. The most obvious and wide-reaching of these steps is the inclusion of sexual violence and other forms of violence against women [2] as defined by the United Nations (UN). Violence against women is defined as ‘any act of gender-based violence that is directed against women or affects women disproportionately’. The report therefore recognises that men can be victims of a number of the acts defined under VAW, but that women are at greater risk of such crimes and that VAW is both a cause and consequence of gender inequality.

3. Members will recall that the MPA recently responded to a National VAW Strategy, the overall content of which had similar aims to the London strategy; for example a greater emphasis on prevention of abuse and a drive to extend service provision from the women’s voluntary sector and the criminal justice system where it currently primarily lies. However it should be noted that the National and Mayoral strategies have been independently developed and that the MPA has considerably more responsibility in the latter, both in ensuring that the MPS meets its obligations and in its own role as a key stakeholder in the governance of the strategy and member of the GLA family.

4. Original research conducted by the Child and Women Abuse Studies Unit (CWASU) for the report found that there are a number of factors relevant to London, notably the diversity of the city in terms of ethnicity, religion, language and culture which can impact on the type of violence women are likely to suffer as well as the accessibility of services. Compared to the national average, London has a higher prevalence of younger women and higher levels of poverty - both of which are associated with risk of violence.

5. The MPA response to follow will respond to the five key objectives outlined the report.

Section two - MPA response

Objective one: London taking a global lead to end violence against women.

6. The adoption of a pan-London definition of VAW is welcomed, as it will support services to identify an appropriate sphere of activity and expand where necessary. The MPA has already adopted this definition and appointed an officer whose remit is gender-based violence and who will monitor and scrutinise the MPS across all forms of violence against women. The types of violence against women as outlined in the strategy are clear and specific.

7. The establishment of a VAW steering group to oversee delivery of the strategy would be the key element of the governance structure and should drive the delivery of the strategy. The consultation with London boroughs on how to adopt an integrated approach must also take into account that most boroughs have domestic violence specific support service and an expansion of remit would need to be met with appropriate training, and resources to help meet increased client numbers and other demands. It is therefore suggested that part of the steering group or governance structure includes senior level buy-in from key individuals who are able to support this agenda across local authorities and in Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs).

8. London is well-placed to be a global leader in the field of violence against women. The strategy notes the UN recommendation on a VAW prevalence survey every ten years – London could demonstrate global leadership by ensuring that these surveys are carried out across the capital.

9. The recognition that violence against women does not occur in a vacuum but is compounded by and intersects with a number of other areas is welcomed. Any adaptation or amendments to the Mayoral Youth Crime Strategy [3] that would integrate actions which address VAW would be welcomed. The Mayoral London Housing Strategy [4] intends to support victims of domestic violence safely and quickly and it could be extended for victims of other forms of VAW who may feel threatened and unsafe in their properties due to the nature or impact of the offence.

10. Shifting the focus of activity around VAW towards preventative measures is a logical step intended to minimise future incidence of VAW. The integration of VAW into messages to young people, through faith-based groups, and community engagement initiatives could also support the delivery of the strategy.

11. The 2012 Olympic Games provides another opportunity for London to demonstrate its proactive and preventative work on VAW, and the GLA has already fulfilled its intentions to set up a network of organisations to support this goal in relation to 2012. The intention to get tough on trafficking is less clear and whilst the MPA would support such an aim, we would also look forward to a specific outline of how this is intended to be carried out. It is accepted that an Action Plan to accompany the Strategy has not yet been completed.

Objective two: Improving access to support

12. A pledge to ensure equitable access to suitable services across London for women is welcomed, along with recognition that specialist support is crucial to provide a equally accessible and appropriate service for London’s diverse communities. However it is clear that this agenda has conflicted in the past with a community cohesion agenda which seeks to provide generalised services that are suitable for all [5]. The current economic climate means that funding for specialised services will be even harder to sustain and therefore the identification of long-term funding strategies is an excellent recommendation. Training needs identified are also significant and the MPA supports the Mayor in calling for improved training across front line service deliverers.

13. The claim (on page 31) that the Havens are under-used by the MPS is of concern. It should be noted that the data used in the rape reviews as noted in the strategy document was the same data in both cases and was from 2004 when two of the three Havens in London were not well-established, so a more recent assessment of the referral data would be useful. However the Havens are examples of best practice for Sexual Assault Referral Centres and ensuring that as many individuals as possible are able to access their services must be a priority. The MPA therefore pledges to work closely with the MPS and the Havens to support increased referrals wherever possible. We could achieve this by routinely requesting referral data from boroughs via the MPA Domestic and Sexual Violence Board (DSVB).

14. Key to improving VAW service provision across London is the confidence of women to come forward and report crimes. The MPA supports any efforts to increase awareness of success in challenging VAW. Central to ensuring confidence is to support the voices of women to be heard. Ensuring that agencies collate feedback on services and incorporate lessons learned into their practice must be a priority of the Mayor. For example, the ongoing work of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in identifying a tool for agencies to safely collate feedback from victims could be expanded across the VAW steering group so that partner agencies adopt similar practice and therefore access comparable data. Such a tool might also support the collation of information for a London-wide prevalence survey as mentioned earlier.

Objective three: Addressing the health, social, and economic consequences of violence

15. It is recognised that the impact of VAW is extensive and can encompass most aspects of a victims’ life and wellbeing. The suggested use (on page 37) of a similar system to the economic empowerment programs of the USA would be of enormous benefit. Large employers and the private sector have in the past engaged with supporting victims within their organisations by signing up to the Corporate Alliance Against Domestic Violence [6], however this now appears to be defunct.

16. The revival of responsibility in the private sector via such an alliance could encourage agencies to provide support to service users, for example financial institutions to support women fleeing abuse or HR departments ensuring that employee policies reflect women’s needs with regards to being stalked or harassed in the workplace. This could be extended to partners as many agencies have in place policies to support employees who are victims of domestic abuse, but many will not include the impact of sexual abuse or any other forms of VAW [7].

Objective four: Protecting women at risk

17. The CPS is rightly recognised for its internal VAW strategy and it is hoped that the presence of a London VAW strategy will support the development of existing strategies within other criminal justice system agencies to support an integrated approach. It is recognised over and over again in serious case reviews, domestic violence homicide reviews and child death reviews that information held by individual agencies could and should be shared more widely to manage risk to identified individuals and the public [8]. Consideration should be given to supporting intelligence sharing processes specifically in relation to VAW and could include youth justice agencies in addition to the agencies identified in the strategy document.

18. The GLA will be aware that since the publication of the strategy the MPS have clarified [9] the process of restructuring sexual assault investigation teams (Sapphire teams) into a bespoke Command within the Specialist Crime Directorate. Though there will be 24-hour Sapphire team cover in all boroughs, teams may be brigaded across boroughs and therefore though all boroughs will have the same access to the Sapphire teams, teams will not be based in all 32 London boroughs.

19. The recommendation to make significant improvements to protection and support at a local level is welcomed and the role of the MPA in supporting that process will be fulfilled by the DSVB. Members of the DSVB are drawn from a number of statutory and voluntary sector agencies with expertise and responsibility around addressing domestic and sexual violence. The GLA is represented at the DSVB. The remit of the Board does not currently extend to forced child marriage; however the MPA can address this elsewhere.

20. The MPA commends the recommendation to increase public confidence, victim support and satisfaction, and pledges to support the MPS in the process of engaging with women on this issue, and of accessing feedback to support improvements in service delivery. The DSVB already monitors this at a local and corporate level and it is clear that more could be done to ensure womens voices are heard as they progress through the criminal justice system. The robust application of the Victims Code of Practice [10] also supports this recommendation.

21. A review of suicides and homicides in the context of so-called ‘honour’ based violence by the Domestic Violence Homicide Review Group could glean more information to allow service providers to respond more appropriately to vulnerable individuals. As the strategy document states, the links between child protection and domestic violence are well established, as are the links between those that commit crimes of violence against women and their involvement in broader criminality.

22. There could also be scope for a review across domestic violence homicides, serious case reviews and child death reviews, where they apply to violence against women. An overarching collation of the recommendations of such case reviews could draw together issues that cut across VAW crimes and support cross-agency organisational learning.

23. The New York City Police initiative described in the document (page 44) is in place across some areas in London and is led by the Safer Neighbourhood teams. It is possible that this could be expanded to provide such ‘reassurance’ visits to victims of other forms of VAW who may feel unsafe and whose fear of crime may have escalated.

Objective five: Getting tough with perpetrators

24. The possibility of addressing VAW at Joint Engagement Meetings (JEMs) may lead to duplication of work with the DSVB and it is felt at this stage that the DSVB should remain the specialist mechanism by which the MPA scrutinises the work of the MPS across violence against women and delivers on the Mayoral strategy recommendations and actions.

25. The MPS Human Trafficking Team conducts a number of operations across London and works successfully with regional, national and international partners including those identified in the strategy. Anti-trafficking operations are also conducted by the MPS Clubs and Vice unit and Operation Paladin, the MPS Child Trafficking unit. It could therefore be stated that the MPS already has a sustained operation to combat trafficking, though it is across a number of units.

26. Work to integrate the safety of women who may be involved in gangs or experience abuse by gangs with wider efforts to manage serious youth violence is welcomed. The MPA supports the recognition that these issues can be intertwined. However whilst restorative justice has been increasingly adopted as a victim-centred solution to crime and a method to ensure offenders take responsibility for their actions [11], the consideration of use of restorative justice by youth justice agencies in the types of crimes that constitute violence against women should be treated with extreme caution. There could be considerable scope for linking in such key messages about sexual violence and respect with ongoing projects that the MPS engage in, such as Kickz [12].

27. The document states that child abuse and domestic abuse have well-established links and the inclusion of support for mothers in the parenting strand of Time for Action page (on page 56) is welcomed. As the document also points out, there is an overwhelming focus of statutory agencies on mothers in the context of managing domestic abuse – any inclusion of challenging abusive fathers in the parenting strand would also be welcome.

28. The call for evaluation of the effectiveness of the Integrated Domestic Abuse Programme (IDAP) run by Probation is welcomed. An independent evaluation of other community-based perpetrator interventions and a call for such programmes to meet the minimum standards of Respect [13] would also be welcomed. Probation also runs the Community Sex Offender Groupwork Programme which has been evaluated but unlike IDAP does not have an accompanying support service integrated into the programme delivery. A review or evaluation of the contact that victims do receive as part of the Victim Liaison Units within Probation would also be welcomed.

29. Finally, a clear outline of how the intended outcomes of the strategy will be measured and monitored would provide clarity for stakeholders and the public alike.

Section three - Meeting the proposed responsibilities for the MPA

30. Proposed responsibilities for the MPA are identified in the Summary of Actions by Violence Type section following the main content of the strategy. The two specific recommendations for the MPA are;
The Mayor, through the MPA will consider a number of specific areas of work aimed at improving the police’s response to violence against women including:

• receiving regular reporting across violence against women
• auditing recording and reporting practices
• Quarterly monitoring of the Home Office minimum standards for reporting sexual offences at borough level
• monitoring withdrawals and no-criming across violence against women
• monitoring disproportionality
• monitoring responses to honour based violence, forced and child marriage and FGM
• improving front desk delivery in relation to violence against women
• Police training on violence against women.

And; Addressing violence against women through JEMs

31. The MPA Domestic and Sexual Violence Board already monitor and scrutinises the MPS across the above issues, with the exception of forced child marriage. However this can be monitored at officer level. The MPA Strategic and Operational Policing and Communities, Equalities and People committees also receive reports on performance on a number of issues relating to VAW such as rape, child abuse and domestic violence.

32. As stated above, the possibility of addressing VAW at joint engagement meetings (JEMs) may lead to duplication of work with the DSVB and it is felt at this stage that the DSVB should remain the specialist mechanism by which the MPA scrutinises the work of the MPS across violence against women and delivers on the Mayoral strategy recommendations and actions. However a clear pathway for information sharing could be developed to support integrated outcomes and enhance partnership working.

33. There are of course a number of recommendations relating to the MPS which the MPA could have oversight of as a scrutiny body, as well as part of the governance structure for the strategy.

C. Race and equality impact

1. The Strategy recognises that London is the UK’s most diverse city and that responding to the needs of women in London must also take into account such diversity. It is clear that considerable demographic research has taken place to assess the needs of women in terms of different ethnicities, ages, and social backgrounds. The document recognises that crime of VAW disproportionately impact and are directed towards vulnerable women and those who experience compound discrimination.

2. Though the strategy and the definition of VAW are welcomed by the MPA, there could be some consideration of the impact of VAW on men and boys – for example positive interventions for boys who may have witnessed domestic violence perpetrated against their mothers and who could go on to repeat the behaviour they may have learnt at home.

3. The MPA would support the process of a full Equality Impact Assessment being completed in the context of the recommendations and any forthcoming action plan, to assess the impact of those recommendations across the diversity strands.

4. The possibility of a undertaking a study on the extent of violence linked to ‘harmful traditional practices’ in London and the number of women and girls ‘at risk’ acknowledges that some women in particular communities are more at risk of certain types of VAW than others, most notably female genital mutilation.

5. The document notes that meeting the needs of London’s diverse communities is a priority and that many women face additional barriers to accessing safety and justice, such as disabled women, older women, or those with uncertain immigration status. It is less clear how these needs will be met by the strategy. It could be added that more could be done to provide specialist support and direct preventative and protective services towards them where possible, and that the steering group for the strategy will strive to ensure that service provision is more accessible to these women. 

D. Financial implications

The MPA already has in place the structures and mechanisms to support the delivery of this strategy in terms of officer and committee resources. There will be additional resourcing in terms of time required as the MPA will form a key stakeholder in the governance of the strategy, but it is hoped this will be assimilated as part of officer and Member roles.

E. Background papers

• DSVB restructure, CEP, Nov 08
• MPA response to National Strategy, May 09

F. Contact details

Report author(s): Lynne Abrams, Oversight and Review, MPA

For information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

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