Our approach to domestic abuse
We will take a public health approach to domestic abuse, focusing on prevention, early intervention, and recovery, underpinned by national legislation and policy (appendix 1). This requires us to understand the root causes and risk factors of abuse, such as poverty, trauma, equality, and inequality, and implement evidence-based action to reduce these across the city. We will work in collaboration, ensuring that communities, healthcare, education, housing, social care, and employers work together to support both survivors and those who cause harm. By shifting the focus from crisis response to prevention and systemic change, this approach aims to break the cycle of abuse and improve outcomes for entire families across our city.
Preventing domestic abuse requires a whole city approach which looks at the needs and assets of the entire population. The socio-ecological model enables us to act at several levels and considers the risk factors at each level (Figure 1). Our approach will take city-wide, community based, and service-based interventions to prevent domestic abuse.
Early years intervention is critical in ensuring that stable and nurturing beginnings last through pregnancy, childhood, and adolescence, into adulthood, where intergenerational cycles of domestic abuse can be broken. Children are survivors in their own right, and their needs should be recognised and supported. Therefore, the partnership will advocate for societal and community change, as well as oversight for specialist services to support survivors of domestic abuse and recognise the contributions that other programmes, such as Family Matters, and community wealth building contributes to domestic abuse reduction