Research: Domestic abuse safeguarding during the Covid-19 pandemic
Investigating how the pandemic has affected policies and practices, with testimony from survivors.
Summary
Research summary
- September 2020 to March 2022
The study aims to inform new national approaches to protecting people from domestic abuse during pandemics and other emergencies.
In the UK, public sector agencies must have safeguarding policies and procedures.
Agencies such as the police, local authorities and other service providers have a legal duty to identify and support families experiencing domestic abuse but little is known about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected that responsibility.
The study’s objectives are to:
-
investigate how the pandemic has affected domestic abuse safeguarding interventions, roles and processes
-
identify examples of good practice, challenges, multi-agency relationships, new work arrangements and innovation during the lockdown and other restrictions
-
analyse the effect of the pandemic on the identification of victims and the support offered to them
-
document survivor perspectives and their experiences of seeking help, including those from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities
-
contribute to the development of national safeguarding policy and guidance during pandemics and other emergencies
We will survey strategic safeguarding leads in health, policing, and local authorities, and follow up with interviews.
In two case study areas - Greater Manchester and Lancashire - we will also interview strategic safeguarding leads and practitioners in domestic abuse organisations, and survivors who have sought help for domestic abuse during the pandemic. And we will analyse data about domestic abuse incidents before and during the pandemic from police forces in these areas.
Outputs
Research outputs
-
Academic papers, reports and other research outputs will be linked from here when they are published.
-
Findings will be published in a series of briefing papers from March 2021. A final report will be available in April 2022.
Research team
Research team
Lead researcher
Co-researchers
-
Margaret Struthers, for Manchester Met
-
Dr Debbie Thackray, for Manchester Met
-
Dr Gayatri Nambiar-Greenwood, for Manchester Met
-
Dr Michelle McManus, for Liverpool John Moores
-
Dr Lis Bates, for the Open University
Collaborating with:
Funding
With funding from
Economic & Social Research Council
In partnership with
Liverpool John Moores University
Centre for Policing Research
Contact
Contact us
For general enquiries about our Global Perspectives, Marginalisation and Thriving Communities cluster, you can contact research leads Prof Khatidja Chantler and Prof Laura Serrant.
