White Ribbon Day: Charity Hampton Trust calls for better engagement with domestic abuse perpetrators

25th November 2022

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Bryony Rogers

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On White Ribbon Day this year, domestic abuse charity Hampton Trust is calling on professionals from all frontline services to play their part and engage with perpetrators to end the cycle of domestic abuse.

Only 20% of frontline professionals across housing, health and social work felt confident to have conversations with domestic abuse perpetrators as part of their work, a recent evaluation by the University of Southampton showed. Using Hampton Trust’s Domestic Abuse Routine Enquiries (DARE) Toolkit, this figure rose to 72%.

Chantal Hughes, CEO of Hampton Trust, said: “For every victim and survivor of domestic abuse, there is a perpetrator. For far too long we have placed the burden of responsibility on victims to leave an abusive relationship to protect her child, or else face the consequences. It is our professional and moral duty to these victims, beyond policing and the criminal justice system, to also actively identify and engage offenders so that they can be referred to specialist services and break the cycle of abuse.”

During the 16 Days of Action following White Ribbon Day, Hampton Trust is offering a free webinar on Thursday, 8 December for professionals across sectors, including housing, health, police, social work, and safeguarding. The webinar will be exploring how simple strategies can help remove barriers to engagement with perpetrators and give professionals the confidence to start those important conversations.

Chantal Hughes: “Using a range of simple tools and strategies, anyone working with families affected by domestic abuse can evoke discussion and reflection on behaviour, which can set the scene for referrals to specialist perpetrator services. In the same way that pregnant women are asked about their relationship at midwife appointments and parents about their children when presenting at A&E, we want to see routine relationship enquiries and curious questioning across all services.”

The DARE toolkit is designed to upskill professionals and provide a standardised approach to identification and initial engagement with perpetrators. DARE aims to build professional confidence in talking ‘domestic abuse’ with all clients accessing services, whether it be for housing, substance misuse, mental health, or any other types of support.

Anyone interested in the webinar can register at www.daretoolkit.org.uk