Children’s safeguarding update: Domestic abuse

August 3, 2018

Domestic abuse is a priority for the government and public health.

The police recorded 1.1 million domestic abuse incidents in the year ending March 2017 in England and Wales, an increase from the previous year.

Sandwell statistics show 4,128 domestic abuse incidents referred to the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH), an increase of 24%. 572 high risk victims of domestic abuse and 747 children were discussed at the Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) year ending March 2017 which is an increase of 26% on the previous year.

We’re a ‘domestic abuse awareness’ Trust so be sure to look out for our posters displayed across the different departments. ED’s Independent Domestic Violence Advocate (IDVA) project which commenced in November 2015 employs two specialist workers based across both sites in ED.

They support colleagues to identify victims and refer to appropriate agencies. Over 286 victims have been identified by the IDVA workers since implementation. We would like to thank all colleagues who continues to support our domestic abuse initiatives.

For more information, you can contact the service on 0121 507 2844.

For Sandwell Children’s Social Care referral please call 0121 569 3100 and for Birmingham Children’s Social Care referral please call 0121 303 1888.