We wanted to know what people thought of the
draft domestic abuse accommodation and support strategy for Sussex
and whether we have got the priorities right.
The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 requires local
authorities to publish a strategy setting out how they will protect
and assist survivors of domestic abuse in safe accommodation. In
Sussex we have developed a draft strategy that covers East and West
Sussex and Brighton & Hove.
Over 70 stakeholders, professionals, service
providers and survivors took part in engagement meetings to inform
a needs assessment. This helped us to understand current provision,
and identify gaps and opportunities for improving the offer.
In response to the findings of the needs
assessment we have identified six strategic priorities. Each
priority is supported by a number of recommendations.
The priorities are:
·
Consistent and
Collaborative:Promoting
multi-agency and partnership commissioning and working to ensure a
consistent offer across Sussex.
·
Diverse and
Appropriate:Providing a wide
range of appropriate safe accommodation and support
options.
·
Accessible and
Inclusive:Ensuring services
are accessible to all victims/survivors and meet the specific needs
of those with the full range of protected
characteristics.
·
Responsive:
Establishing
specialist provision to support victims/survivors with Multiple
Complex Needs.
·
Victim-centred:
Empowering
victims/survivors through expanding choices and enabling more
victims/survivors to remain in their own homes.
·
Trauma-informed:
Embedding
trauma-informed practice in services and processes through training
and specialist knowledge.
We believe the proposed strategy will make a
real difference to the lives of survivors and their children. What
people told us in the consultation will help us ensure we get it
right and make the most of the additional funding that is being
provided.
The draft strategy has been updated based on
people's comments ready for the final version to be published in
January. We will then have a duty to deliver on the commitments we
have made and report our progress to the Secretary of State each
year.
The Domestic Abuse Partnership Board will
oversee the delivery of our annual Action Plans. The Strategy
itself will be reviewed and refreshed every three years in response
to the changing needs of victims and survivors of domestic violence
and abuse.
The final draft of the strategy will be
reviewed and approved by the Domestic Abuse Partnership Board and
the Department Management Team for Adult Social Care &
Health.
The consultation ran for eight weeks, opening
on 25 October and closing on 19 December.
The consultation was shared with people and
organisations who took part in the engagement work to develop the
strategy. We also promoted it through established Council channels
including: our consultation website; social media accounts;
engagement groups; our People Bank volunteers; various newsletters
such as the Public Health Bulletin, Provider Bulletin, Health and
Social Care News, staff updates To the Point and Reach; and we
asked local partners to share it with their networks.
44 people completed the survey, and the topic
was also discussed at an East Sussex Seniors Association meeting
(see appendix 4 for details). Most people who took part live or
work in East Sussex (42 people). The biggest groups of respondents
were survivors of domestic abuse (12 people), people who ticked the
‘other’ option (11 people), and people who work in
services (10 people).
All the comment themes were mentioned by fewer
than 10 people. The summary below covers the top themes for each
question. You can find more details in appendix 2 of all the other
issues raised.
Summary
While the results were broadly positive,
particularly for the priorities, there were lots of detailed
comments and suggestions for improving the strategy. Quite a few
people shared personal experiences and told us about the challenges
they, or family members, have faced in accessing support.
Views on the six priorities
86% of respondents (38 people) agree that the
priorities set out in the strategy are the right ones. The top
comment themes for people who disagreed and others who added
comments were: involve victims/survivors when devising service
provision (3 comments) and some areas in the county lack service
provision (2 comments).
Views on the recommendations
We asked people which of the recommendations
they would prioritise.
More accommodation for women with children was the most popular top
choice with 10 votes. It also scored well in total votes, getting
18.
Offering a broader menu of accommodation
options was second in the top choice vote with eight. It also
received the most votes across the board, with 23.
Three other categories also got more than 15
votes when all the choices were totalled up: support for children
and young people (17 votes), exploring having a single point of
contact (17), and offering a minimum standard of care and support
(16 votes).
The top comment themes relating to
people’s choices were:
·
Victim-centred
approach is preferable (6 comments)
·
Accommodation:
should not be accessible to some at the expense of others (6
comments)
·
Set
minimum standards (5)
·
Early-stage
support, eg, legal and housing, for victims is crucial
(5)
·
Holistic approach
needed – all parties and multiple agencies (4)
·
More
than five of the recommendations are important (4)
·
Single point of
contact as the starting point for everyone (3)
What needs to change
Half the respondents said something needed to
change. The top comment themes, with three comments each, were:
·
greater support
for victims,
·
the
views and knowledge of people using services should be
included,
·
the
strategy document approaches the issue from perspective of local
authorities rather than victims/survivors, and
·
the
limitations of the strategy should be highlighted in the
document.
What is missing
Nearly half the respondents said something is
missing. The top comment themes were: ensure certain
victim/survivor groups aren't overlooked (6 comments), inter-agency
communication is vital (3 comments), and safe provision for victim
accommodation is needed via councils (3 comments).
Other comments and suggestions
Over a third of respondents added a final
comment or suggestion. The top comment themes were:
·
Positive comment:
consultation deserves good number of responses (4
comments)
·
Suggestion:
increase focus on perpetrator behaviour change (3)
·
Suggestion:
having one key worker aids the process of gaining their trust
(2)
·
Negative comment:
consultation when drafting strategy was not wide-ranging enough
(2)
·
Suggestion:
prioritise safe spaces for women (2)
Q1) Do you live or work in East Sussex?
Yes
No
Q2) Are you filling the survey in as:
A survivor of domestic abuse
A family member or friend of a
survivor
Someone who works in services
Other individual (please provide details
below)
An organisation (please provide your name
and job title below)
Other individual:
Your organisation name:
Your job title:
Q3) How much do you agree or disagree that
the six priorities set out in the strategy are the right ones?
[Note: A list of
the priorities was included within the questionnaire.]
Strongly agree
Agree
Neither agree nor disagree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
If you disagree, what would you suggest?
Q4) Which recommendations would you
prioritise?
[Note: A list of
shortened versions of the recommendations was included within the
questionnaire.]
Your top choice: [selected from a
drop-down menu]
Choice 2: [selected from a drop-down
menu]
Choice 3: [selected from a drop-down
menu]
Choice 4: [selected from a drop-down
menu]
Choice 5: [selected from a drop-down
menu]
If you ticked 'other' please provide details
here:
Your comments about your choices:
Q5) Is there anything that needs to change in
the strategy?
Yes
No
If you said yes, please tell us what:
Q6) Is there anything missing from the
strategy?
Yes
No
If you said yes, please tell us what:
Q6) Any other comments or suggestions you
would like to make?
Respondents also had
the option of completing the optional ‘About you’
questions. (See appendix 3 for the questions asked in this
section.)
We received 44 completed surveys.
Whether they live or work in East Sussex
|
Answer
|
Number
|
|
Yes
|
42
|
|
No
|
2
|
Who took part
|
Completing as…
|
Number
|
|
A survivor of
domestic abuse
|
12
|
|
A family member or
friend of a survivor
|
5
|
|
Someone who works in
services
|
10
|
|
Other individual
|
11
|
|
An organisation
|
6
|
12 people provided
additional information in the ‘other individual box, with the
following breakdown: Practitioner (6); Volunteer (4); Practitioner
– lived experience (2); Survivor (2); Name given (2); Forum
volunteer (1); and Member of the public (1).
Organisation:
Six people ticked that they were completing the survey on behalf of
an organisation, although one of the names given wasn’t an
organisation. The five that remained were: Hastings Borough
Council, Hastings Women’s Voice, Optivo, Rother District
Council, Wealden District Council.
Are the six priorities set out in the strategy the
right ones?
Comments on the priorities
We asked people if they disagreed to tell us
what they would suggest instead. There were 10 comments for this
question, which is more people than ticked disagree.
The themes were:
·
Involve
victims/survivors when devising service provision (3
comments)
·
Location: some
areas lack provision (2)
·
Accessible and
inclusive – appears to be positive comment based on other
responses (1)
·
All
agencies need to be responsive (1)
·
Emphasis should
be on actively ensuring improvements rather than passively
promoting (1)
·
Involve loved
ones of victims/survivors when devising service provision
(1)
·
Measure the
impact of the priorities (1)
·
Preventative
educational work is important (1)
·
Safe
spaces are especially essential for certain groups (1)
·
The
strategy does not support the priorities (1)
Which recommendations would you prioritise?
Not everyone answered this question: 43 people
chose their top choice; 40 their second choice; 39 their third
choice; 37 people their fourth; and 36 their fifth choices.
The recommendations that received the most top
choice votes were:
·
More
accommodation for women with children (10)
·
Broader menu of
accommodation options (8)
·
Offer
a minimum standard of care and support (5)
The recommendations that received the most
votes overall were:
·
Broader menu of
accommodation options (23)
·
More
accommodation for women with children (18)
·
Support for
children and young people (17)
·
Explore offering
a single point of contact (17)
·
Offer
a minimum standard of care and support (16)
Chart of combined votes for recommendations they would
prioritise
Table of votes for recommendations they would prioritise
|
Recommendation
|
Top
choice
|
2nd choice
|
3rd choice
|
4th choice
|
5th choice
|
|
Diverse and
appropriate: more accommodation for women with children
|
10
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
2
|
|
Diverse and
appropriate: broader menu of accommodation options
|
8
|
5
|
3
|
3
|
4
|
|
Accessible and
Inclusive: dedicated, personalised, and holistic support for
children & young people
|
0
|
4
|
9
|
2
|
2
|
|
Accessible and
Inclusive: tailored for victims/survivors aged 16-25
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
4
|
1
|
|
Accessible and
Inclusive: tailored more directly to older people
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
5
|
3
|
|
Accessible and
Inclusive: offer minimum standard of care and support
|
5
|
3
|
3
|
1
|
4
|
|
Accessible and
Inclusive: consider units for male victims/survivors
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
1
|
|
Accessible and
Inclusive: increase services for LGBTQ+ victims/survivors
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
|
Accessible and
Inclusive: improve services for disabled victims/survivors
|
1
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
|
Accessible and
Inclusive: offer accessible housing application process
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
3
|
0
|
|
Accessible and
Inclusive: options for victims/survivors from marginalised ethnic
groups
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
|
Accessible and
Inclusive: cultural and immigration rights awareness training
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
Responsive: holistic
support for those with multiple complex needs
|
0
|
2
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
|
Responsive: explore
service options for those with multiple complex needs
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
|
Victim-centred: help
people to remain at home if they wish
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
4
|
|
Victim-centred:
re-housing of perpetrators
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
|
Victim-centred:
promote and invest in ‘Whole Family’ intervention
|
4
|
4
|
3
|
3
|
1
|
|
Trauma-informed:
consistent trauma-informed practice training
|
2
|
3
|
2
|
0
|
4
|
|
Trauma-informed:
explore a single point of contact approach
|
4
|
4
|
5
|
3
|
1
|
|
Trauma-informed:
consider co-locating housing specialists
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
|
Other
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
Other
Two people ticked ‘other’ and made
the following suggestions:
·
Ensure victims
are supported to prevent further abuse.
·
Two
additional priorities on 1. Participatory approaches 2. Prevention
– develop and early help and system.
Comments about their choices
There were 21 comments for this question.
The themes were:
·
Victim-centred
approach is preferable (6 comments)
·
Accommodation:
should not be accessible to some at the expense of others (6
comments)
·
Set
minimum standards (5)
·
Early-stage
support (e.g., legal; housing) for victims is crucial
(5)
·
Holistic approach
needed – all parties and multiple agencies (4)
·
More
than five of the recommendations are important (4)
·
Single point of
contact as the starting point for everyone (3)
·
Accommodation:
some should be non-child centred (2)
·
Strategy lacks
reference to published research (2)
·
Victim group:
specific provision for men needed (2)
·
Adequate
resourcing and time for work is required (2)
·
Perpetrators:
importance of rehousing them (2)
·
Add
recommendation: disaggregate data by specific characteristics, eg,
sex (1)
·
Add
recommendation: funding should be sustainable, long-term, and
independent of other monies (1)
·
Add
recommendation: meet needs of women and girls (1)
·
Add
recommendation: Trauma-informed services must include single-sex
provision for women (1)
·
Consultation
document feedback: greater clarity needed in presenting choices of
recommendations (1)
·
Cross-county work
needed
(1)
·
Focus
on what is achievable (1)
·
No
indulgence of discriminatory language or attitudes towards
particular groups, eg, trans people) (1)
·
Preventative work
is needed (1)
·
Remove/reduce
jargon (1)
·
Victim group:
specific provision for women and delivered by women (1)
·
Victim group:
specific provision for substance misusers needed (1)
·
Victim group:
specific provision for those with mental health needs required
(1)
Whether anything needs to change
Six people didn’t answer the
question.
|
Answer
|
Number
|
|
Yes
|
22
|
|
No
|
16
|
There were 23
comments for this question.
The themes were:
·
Greater support
for victims – general (3 comments)
·
The
views and knowledge of people using services should be included
(3)
·
Strategy
document: approaches issue from perspective of local authorities
rather than victims/survivors (3)
·
Strategy
document: highlight its limitations (3)
·
Inter-agency
communication is vital (2)
·
Perpetrator: as
appropriate, remove from family home (2)
·
Perpetrators:
importance of working with them (2)
·
Single point of
contact as start point for everyone (2)
·
Strategy
document: improve accessibility and remove jargon (2)
·
Strategy
document: include a summary (2)
·
Strategy
document: no mention of community-based approaches (2)
·
Accommodation:
avoid use of temporary places (1)
·
Early
intervention necessary (1)
·
Ensure
investigation of allegations is thorough (1)
·
Greater support
for victims to press charges (1)
·
Maximise services
to take account of geographic location, public transport
accessibility and concentration of facilities/activities
(1)
·
More
health intervention needed (1)
·
No
indulgence of discriminatory language or attitudes towards
particular groups, eg, trans people (1)
·
Strategy
document: does not locate domestic abuse within wider societal
norms (1)
·
Strategy
document: excludes women who have experienced domestic abuse
(1)
·
Strategy
document: include more statistics (1)
·
Training needed:
of staff, by councils (1)
·
Accommodation:
more needed (1)
·
Accommodation:
single sex needs to be available (1)
Whether anything is missing
Six people didn’t answer the
question.
|
Answer
|
Number
|
|
Yes
|
21
|
|
No
|
17
|
There were 21
comments for this question.
The themes were:
·
Ensure certain
victim/survivor groups aren't overlooked (6 comments)
·
Inter-agency
communication is vital (3)
·
Victim
accommodation – safe provision needed via councils
(3)
·
Cultural
attitudes need addressing – in various settings
(2)
·
Perpetrator work:
consider stability factors, eg, housing (2)
·
Victim health
intervention – more needs to be done (2)
·
Inter-agency
involvement – ensure all relevant groups are involved, eg, in
the risk assessment (2)
·
Strategy is
missing reference to single-sex services (2)
·
Access to support
as soon as possible (1)
·
Ensure
investigation of allegations is thorough (1)
·
Greater support
for victims to press charges (1)
·
Locate services
in appropriate settings/buildings (1)
·
Measure the
impact of the priorities (1)
·
Strategy document
does not acknowledge disproportionate need for different victim
groups (1)
·
Strategy document
does not recognise women’s expertise on trauma-informed
services (1)
·
Strategy document
omits references to educational and therapeutic programmes focused
on power/control (1)
·
Strategy
document: contains insufficient data (1)
·
Strategy
document: highlight its limitations (1)
·
Strategy
document: include a summary (1)
·
Support to be
free (1)
·
Training for a
wide range of public sector workers is necessary (1)
·
Maximise coverage
to include outside Sussex (1)
·
Widen
access to specialist support (1)
Other comments and suggestions
There were 17 comments for this question.
The themes were:
·
Positive comment:
consultation deserves good number of responses (4
comments)
·
Suggestion:
increase focus on perpetrator behaviour change (3)
·
Suggestion:
having one key worker aids the process of gaining their trust
(2)
·
Negative comment:
consultation when drafting strategy was not wide-ranging enough
(2)
·
Suggestion:
prioritise safe spaces for women (2)
·
Negative comment:
consultation does not include sufficient About You gender options
(1)
·
Negative comment:
presentation of document could be clearer (1)
·
Negative comment:
single door access to services in Sussex has been replaced by a
more homogenous approach which is less satisfactory (1)
·
Negative comment:
top-down commissioning is not working (1)
·
Positive comment:
holistic approach (1)
·
Suggestion: avoid
victims having to leave home and then being penalised for returning
(1)
·
Suggestion:
highlight strategy limitations (1)
·
Suggestion:
services to adopt less judgmental approach (1)
Please note that the
number of people who answered each question varied.
|
Gender
|
Respondent number
|
Respondent percentage
|
Census percentage
|
|
Male
|
6
|
14%
|
48%
|
|
Female
|
32
|
73%
|
52%
|
|
Prefer not to say
|
0
|
0%
|
N/A
|
|
Not answered
|
6
|
14%
|
N/A
|
Two people identify as transgender, 36
don’t, and six people didn’t answer.
|
Age
|
Respondent number
|
Respondent percentage
|
Census percentage
|
|
under 18
|
0
|
0%
|
19.8%
|
|
18-24
|
0
|
0%
|
7.3%
|
|
25-34
|
3
|
7%
|
9.6%
|
|
35-44
|
7
|
16%
|
12.5%
|
|
45-54
|
10
|
23%
|
14.2%
|
|
55-59
|
9
|
20%
|
6.3%
|
|
60-64
|
3
|
7%
|
7.5%
|
|
65+
|
6
|
13%
|
11.2%
|
|
Prefer not to say
|
0
|
0%
|
N/A
|
|
Not answered
|
6
|
14%
|
N/A
|
Post codes
24 people provided their post code, one the
area they live, 13 chose ‘prefer not to say’, and six
didn’t answer.
|
Area
|
Number
|
|
Bexhill
|
7
|
|
Brighton
|
3
|
|
Eastbourne
|
3
|
|
Hailsham
|
2
|
|
Hastings
|
3
|
|
Lewes
|
2
|
|
Peacehaven
|
2
|
|
Rye
|
1
|
Ethnicity table
|
Ethnicity
|
Respondent number
|
Respondent percentage
|
Census percentage
|
|
White British
|
30
|
68%
|
83%
(all White categories
combined)
|
|
White Irish
|
1
|
2%
|
83%
|
|
White
Gypsy/Roma
|
0
|
0%
|
83%
|
|
White Irish
Traveller
|
0
|
0%
|
83%
|
|
White other
|
2
|
5%
|
83%
|
|
Mixed White and
Black Caribbean
|
2
|
5%
|
1%
(all Mixed categories combined)
|
|
Mixed White and
Black African
|
0
|
0%
|
1%
|
|
Mixed White and
Asian
|
2
|
5%
|
1%
|
|
Mixed other
|
0
|
0%
|
1%
|
|
Asian or Asian
British Indian
|
0
|
0%
|
0.4%
(all Asian categories combined)
|
|
Asian or Asian
British Pakistani
|
0
|
0%
|
0.4%
|
|
Asian or Asian
British Bangladeshi
|
0
|
0%
|
0.4%
|
|
Asian or Asian
British other
|
0
|
0%
|
0.4%
|
|
Black or Black
British Caribbean
|
0
|
0%
|
0.4%
(all Black categories combined)
|
|
Black or Black
British African
|
0
|
0%
|
0.4%
|
|
Black or Black
British other
|
0
|
0%
|
0.4%
|
|
Arab
|
0
|
0%
|
0.1%
|
|
Chinese
|
0
|
0%
|
0.2%
|
|
Prefer not to
say
|
1
|
2%
|
0.3%
|
|
Other
|
0
|
0%
|
N/A
|
|
Not answered
|
6
|
14%
|
N/A
|
16 people consider themselves to have a
disability, while 22 do not, and six did not answer.
Please note: People may have multiple
impairments and more people answered this question than said
‘yes’ for considering themselves disabled.
|
Impairment
type
|
Respondent number
|
Respondent percentage
|
|
Physical impairment
|
7
|
16%
|
|
Sensory impairment (hearing and sight)
|
0
|
0%
|
|
Longstanding illness or health condition, such
as cancer, HIV, heart disease, diabetes or epilepsy
|
6
|
14%
|
|
Mental health condition
|
9
|
20%
|
|
Learning disability
|
2
|
5%
|
|
Prefer not to say
|
1
|
2%
|
|
Other
|
3
|
7%
|
|
Not answered
|
27
|
61%
|
13 people consider themselves to have a
religion or belief, while 24 do not, and six did not answer.
Type of religion or belief
|
Religion
|
Respondent number
|
Respondent percentage
|
Census percentage
|
|
Christian
|
9
|
20%
|
0.4%
|
|
Buddhist
|
1
|
2%
|
60%
|
|
Hindu
|
0
|
0%
|
0.3%
|
|
Jewish
|
0
|
0%
|
0.2%
|
|
Muslim
|
0
|
0%
|
0.8%
|
|
Sikh
|
0
|
0%
|
0.3%
|
|
Other
|
1
|
2%
|
0.7%
|
|
Not answered
|
33
|
75%
|
N/A
|
Sexuality table
|
Sexuality
|
Respondent number
|
Respondent percentage
|
|
Bi/Bisexual
|
1
|
2%
|
|
Heterosexual/Straight
|
30
|
68%
|
|
Gay woman/Lesbian
|
0
|
0%
|
|
Gay man
|
0
|
0%
|
|
Other
|
6
|
14%
|
|
Prefer not to say
|
1
|
2%
|
|
Not answered
|
6
|
14%
|
20 people are married or in a civil
partnership, while 17 are not, and seven did not answer.
Pregnancy
One person said yes, 36 said they are not
pregnant and haven’t been in the last year, and seven did not
answer.
East Sussex Seniors Association (ESSA) meeting
The consultation was discussed at the ESSA
health and community care theme group meeting on 12 November 2021.
Included below is the relevant section of the minutes.
East Sussex County
Council’s Joint Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse
Partnership Officer (N) outlined her presentation…
Questions and
comments from the meeting
P mentioned that
abuse is not always evident, and it would be very difficult to find
someone to ask their opinion or views. N replied that the public
consultation is for every member of the public and has been
developed by involving people with lived experience of domestic
abuse in all strategic work and in the work of the Saving
Communities Partnership. There is a statutory duty to do this. A
lot of development work is going on re outreach to communities
within generic services. However, some abuse is hidden, and the key
issue is to address this.
A is happy to
support this through newsletters and distribution lists and
suggested putting paper copies in foodbanks. Abuse is often linked
to financial difficulties. A asked if it is known who is accessing
the service and if the survey has been translated. N replied that
there is no translated version, but a phone number is on the
website for support which includes connecting people to the
relevant interpreting companies in East Sussex. Information has
been sent out to those isolating, but the consultation was not made
available for various reasons. N will feed this back to other
colleagues to see if some targeted work can be done, if
possible.
S asked what
proportion of users are in the 60 plus age range. N replied that
funding has been awarded to Hourglass, an elderly abuse recovery
service and she outlined how this funding would be used. CGL are
developing outreach with organisations that work with older people
in those services.
K mentioned that
families are relocated to Newhaven and asked if support is
available to help children and families in the Newhaven area. N
replied that support is provided, but work is to be done to improve
this. The Domestic Abuse Act now includes those who are 16 plus.
There is still a lot of victim blaming and support must be provided
in schools and youth centres to those relocating, including taking
a trauma informed approach. Training is being provided to staff in
schools through East Sussex County Council, the Safeguarding
Council, and Children’s services.
D asked how often
referrals are received from schools with evidence of a child
experiencing domestic abuse. N gave details of Operation Encompass
in Sussex, how this works and the support provided to the child.
There are also educational support specialists in schools to
provide support to children. Domestic abuse can affect their
emotional wellbeing. She does not have statistics of the number of
children referred by schools.
K asked N to update
us in a meeting after January 2022 when the final version of the
consultation has been received and to answer any questions.
