The Family Rights Group are developing principles for good practice when children’s services are working with families, where there is, or has been, domestic abuse. 

24% of all callers to Family Rights Group advice line, and 68% of mothers contacting the line, state domestic abuse is a reason why children’s services are involved with their family. Many callers say that they feel unsupported by children’s services and that the child protection process can compound their feelings of victimisation, because the onus is on them to demonstrate they can protect their child, with the perpetrator neither engaged nor held to account.

Family Rights Group has been working together with Rights of Women since 2014 on the Keeping Safe project, funded by the Trust for London. The project aims to enhance the knowledge and skills of both domestic violence practitioners, early help practitioners and children and family social workers, in supporting mothers to participate and engage more effectively when children’s services are working with them because of domestic abuse.

FRG now want to work with children, women and men, and with practitioners, managers, commissioners and academics, to develop principles for good practice for children’s social care services (including early help, child protection and pre-proceedings) working with families with children, where there is, or has been, domestic abuse. Their ambition is that this will drive respectful, effective work with families that recognises the needs and wishes of adult and child victims (including their safety), that holds perpetrators to account and ensures children are safeguarded.

Read the FRG's draft principles and our response to them below.

READ THE FRG's DRAFT PRINCIPLES

WRC RESPONSE 

We encourage women's organisations to respond to these draft principles. 

This work is being undertaken by Mary Ryan and Robert Tapsfield. If you would like to be involved or have any views which you think they should take into account please get in touch by emailing [email protected]

Find out more about Family Rights Group here.