Case studies

The councils in the Humberside area have developed an emergency housing protocol to provide accommodation for victims of modern slavery in the period before they enter the National Referral Mechanism (NRM).

This protocol is backed up by the development of a multi-agency case conference (MACC) approach to supporting victims of modern slavery identified through homelessness services. Last year, the approach was supplemented through the creation of a dedicated navigator post, based in The Passage, to support victims.

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) and My Cheshire Without Abuse (My CWA) wanted to improve domestic abuse services across Cheshire with an emphasis on challenging perpetrators.

In 2017 Manchester set out to shift the culture and practice of children’s social care to become more domestic abuse informed and enable practitioners to have greater confidence in challenging the perpetrator and holding them to account.

Hertfordshire County Council’s Strategic Partnerships Team identified that there needed to be a stronger representation of voices from victims and survivors of domestic abuse within their approach to commissioning domestic abuse services.

In 2019, Central Bedfordshire identified that domestic abuse was part of a complex picture of need, with at least 30 per cent of all children’s services assessments carried out having an element of domestic abuse.

Chelmsford City Council implemented a local support hub for domestic abuse which co-located community safety, public protection, business compliance and housing with greater integration into public health and the local police.

In 2018, Northumberland County Council identified significant gaps in their multi-agency approach to tackling Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (DAandSV).

In response to the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) board in Warwickshire sought to review and understand the emerging needs of victims and survivors to prioritise resources and determine their strategic focus.

Brighton and Hove City Council have a diverse community with varying needs and have long valued engaging with victims and survivors to inform their domestic abuse service provision. In 2019/20, they wanted to ensure that their future local service provision would be truly inclusive of all victims and survivors.