Domestic Abuse

Recommendations

  1. The North Tyneside Domestic Abuse Partnership Board should align its strategic priorities with those of the Home Office Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan.
     
  2. North Tyneside should review its provision of safe accommodation amid the context of increasing demand for this service. The promotion and use of sanctuary schemes should continue in instances where it is safe for victims to remain at home.
     
  3. North Tyneside should review its commissioning and provision of domestic abuse services for adults, children and perpetrators in light of increasing demand.
     
  4. Prevention should be a strategic priority in North Tyneside. Around 20% of children grow up with domestic abuse in their home. This significantly damages the economy and society. By preventing domestic abuse, future demand for and pressure on services can be reduced.
     
  5. North Tyneside should ensure domestic abuse among older people is proactively and effectively identified. There appears to be underreporting of domestic abuse among those aged 65 and over.
     
  6. North Tyneside should expand and improve the support offered to male victims of domestic abuse. Few males currently use North Tyneside’s services but there undoubtedly male victims in the borough.
     
  7. North Tyneside should use the domestic abuse data dashboard to inform the targeting of campaigns, interventions and resources in certain wards. North Tyneside’s most deprived wards exhibit a stubbornly high rate of recorded domestic abuse-related incidents and crimes. There also appears to be underreporting of domestic abuse in the borough’s least deprived wards.
     
  8. North Tyneside should consider the provision of specialist support for those with protected characteristics as defined by the Equality Act 2010. Currently there is a lack of understanding of the needs of certain groups including ethnic minorities and LGBTQ+ individuals, and improved data recording could help to remedy this.
     
  9. DAP Board members should review multi-agency attendance of domestic abuse-related training courses and multi-agency support for facilitation of such courses.