Training needed to deal with violence

A women’s aid group report has called for a shake-up of
procedures for identifying, recording and referring domestic
violence cases.

An investigation into service provision in the Doncaster area,
found social workers were under-trained and under-resourced when it
came to dealing with domestic violence.

Police, health and housing workers said they had little
confidence in the way social services handled and referred
cases.

The group’s report noted that a “lack of clarity has resulted in
some external workers feeling dissatisfied and frustrated when
making referrals. It is recommended that social services need to
clearly define their role with reference to domestic violence.”

Researchers interviewed 19 Doncaster social workers. Eight out
of 10 said they were not confident about their level of training on
the issue, and less than half were confident they had the resources
to properly deal with and refer cases.

Cath Alborough, author of the report, said she was optimistic
that the issues raised in the report would be addressed.

– National Women’s Aid has launched a campaign to help medical
professionals do more to identify and support women experiencing
violence at home.

“The health service is the one service that almost all women
survivors of domestic violence do contact at some point in their
lives,” said a spokesperson.

National Women’s Aid research revealed that less than one in 10
primary care groups and less than a third of health authorities had
a written policy on domestic violence.