In 2018 the government committed to publish a draft Domestic Violence and Abuse Bill to improve protections for victims, linking to the broader work of the Home Office on Violence Against Women and Girls. The consultation set out the government’s approach to tackling domestic abuse seeking to address domestic abuse at every stage from prevention through to rehabilitation, and reinforced their aim to make domestic abuse everyone’s business.

Health visitor and school nursing services embed public health and prevention across health service pathways. They promote a whole system approach to provide safer, personalised, accessible support and individualised care to improve outcomes for children, young people and families. Public Health England has identified safety, including domestic violence and abuse as a key cross cutting priority for health visitors and school nurses (Public Health England, 2019 – Best start in life and beyond: Guidance to support the commissioning of the Healthy Child Programme 0-19).

The recently updated “Health for All Children: fifth edition” makes numerous evidence-based recommendations for practice to support those affected by domestic violence and abuse, including:

“All health and social care practitioners involved in assessing, caring for, and supporting people experiencing or perpetrating intimate partner violence (IPV) and abuse should have sufficient and appropriate training and competencies in IPV”.

(Emond (eds), 2019)

In order to develop safe and effective practice it is important that practitioners develop a full appreciation of what domestic violence and abuse involves and how it impacts upon everyday family life, parenting, child wellbeing and safety.  This elearning programme discusses how it is defined and understood and some of the key practical and theoretical issues linked with this. An overview of the extent of the problem, groups at increased risk of domestic violence and abuse, linked issues, the wider legal and policy framework, as well as the overall impact on communities, victims and their children is also provided. Each module also contains references to support further reading and wider learning. Identification of need and early intervention/work with families can significantly reduce risk of ongoing harm and is important not only for the wellbeing of the child, but to the health and wellbeing of the children and families affected.

The four elearning modules, each lasting around 30-45 minutes, were developed by the Institute for Health Visiting and Health Education England.

• Module one – Understanding domestic violence and abuse
• Module two – Identification of domestic violence and abuse
• Module three – Risk assessment for victims of domestic violence and abuse
• Module four – Safety planning and support for families

The modules include videos, case studies, links to aid learning and questions to test your knowledge of the subjects and reflect on your learning.

Aims

• To equip health visitors and nurses with the skills and knowledge that will enable them to provide a proactive, responsive and safe service to families experiencing domestic violence and abuse. (Due to the transferable nature of the content, the modules will also be relevant to practitioners working with children and families across the wider healthcare system).

Objectives

To increase participants knowledge of:

• The concept of domestic violence and abuse, the differing forms that this may take and the policy imperative for responding
• the prevalence and risk factors for domestic violence and abuse and the impact on the health and well-being of the child, family and community
• the use of ‘routine’ and ‘selective enquiry’ in practice; and the challenge of overcoming barriers to their use
• high risk factors linked to domestic violence and abuse and the paramount principle in prioritising the safety and well-being of children within the family
• timely and appropriate referral pathways for victims and children who are at risk of or are experiencing domestic violence and abuse
• professional requirements for record keeping, confidentiality and information sharing and the importance of supervision for the delivery of safe and effective practice in this field.

To be confident and able to:

• Recognise and assess situations that may be indicative of domestic violence and abuse
• use formal tools and processes to support early intervention and the provision of a timely and sensitive response to disclosure of domestic violence and abuse that also ensures the safety and well-being of children
• work safely and effectively with families where domestic violence and abuse is an issue, taking into account the needs of victims, their child(ren) and perpetrators.

• Lead author: Dr Sue Peckover, Reader in Public Health Nursing, Sheffield Hallam University. RN, HV, PhD, MMedSci, PGCE, BSc Econ. (Hons).

Other contributors:

• Dr Caroline Bradbury-Jones, Reader in Nursing; Caroline is a registered nurse, midwife and health visitor who has undertaken extensive research into domestic violence and abuse in the context of healthcare. Much of her research has focused on health visitor responses to domestic violence and abuse
• Dr Tanya Dennis, HV Specialist/Domestic Violence Lead, Central and North West London Foundation Trust, 0-19 services /Marac representative. PhD BSc, MSc, RGN, Dip N, RHV, FETC, FIHV
• Helen Foad, Domestic Abuse Lead Health Visitor and MARAC representative, Kent Community Health Foundation Trust. HV, FiHV, RGN, RMN, RM​. Freedom and Recovery tool Kit Programme Facilitator, and previously Chair of the Ashford Domestic Abuse Forum. iHV Domestic Violence and Abuse trainer
• Jacqui Kilburn, Manager of National Training Centre, Women’s Aid Federation, England. Practitioner and development lead for Domestic Violence and Abuse
• Melanie Lumbers, MSc, HV, PG Dip, CNP, BSc (Hons), RGN, DIp HE (Nursing) Currently working independently in both acute and community settings
• Dr Jasna Magić, Research and policy officer at Galop, where she leads on a national project raising awareness on LGBT+ people’s experiences with domestic violence
• Alison Morton, Director of Policy and Quality at the Institute of Health Visiting. RGN, RHV, DN, BSc(hons), MRes, FiHV
• Michelle Moseley, Lecturer, Primary Care and Public Health Nursing, School of Healthcare Sciences (HCARE), Cardiff University
• Judith Rees, Director For Baby’s Sake, The Stefanou Foundation. RN, RM, RHV, BSc (Hons) Community Specialist Practitioner, MSc Child Protection & Child Welfare
• Justine Rooke. Health Visitor Advisor, Public Health England; Service Manager in the East Riding of Yorkshire for Humber Teaching Foundation Trust. RHV, FiHV
• Sarah Tyndall, Clinical Quality Lead at the Family Nurse Partnership National Unit.

RGN, BA (Hons) Primary Care, MA (child protection and complex child care).