My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Meacher, for moving this amendment and pay tribute to her vast experience in this area and her constant fight to ensure that early intervention is part of our psychological landscape.
Psychological therapy is an essential cornerstone of our domestic abuse response and Amendment 27 is potentially one of the most important we shall have a chance to debate today. It places a requirement on the commissioner to ensure nationwide access to psychological therapy services for couples experiencing conflict and potential domestic abuse. As we have already heard, the vast majority of victims—an estimated 70%—never set foot in a refuge and remain at home or in alternative housing. Many go beyond the care of psychological therapy. A SafeLives report highlights that 80% of survivors think that interventions for perpetrators are a good idea—and not just for those experiencing domestic abuse themselves.
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A main conclusion of Breaking Down the Barriers: Findings of the National Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence and Multiple Disadvantage was the call from survivors for trauma-informed support to break traumatic cycles. Here we should be looking—[Inaudible]—parent and child victims to receive trauma-informed support while the perpetrators of domestic abuse access a programme which is designed to change behaviour, rebuild relationships and keep families safe. Perpetrators can take part in a 20-week programme focusing on behaviour change. Their adult victims benefit from a mix of one-to-one sessions and group
work through the 10-week integrated women’s support programme, where they look at their past experiences and build resilience. Confidence-building and well-being groups are also held. Children and young people have their own 10-week programme, which looks at the trauma they may have suffered, self-esteem issues, coping strategies, safety planning and support networks. They receive help to talk about their feelings and have a chance to meet other children who have been through similar traumas.
Although the Barnardo’s programme is more involved than the couples therapy suggested in the amendment, and includes programmes for children as well, the Barnardo’s model illustrates how effective intervention and therapy focused on the turbulence in the relationship are in addressing the scourge of domestic abuse and in changing behaviours.
Another programme I would like to mention is For Baby’s Sake, which rightly highlights that early intervention is the most effective way to break the cycle of domestic abuse. As I argued in the debate on my own amendment, early childhood—conception to age two—is an optimum time to intervene. Intervention during the first 1,001 days is not just crucial for the baby but trauma-informed support for the parents can prevent further toxic deterioration of their relationship as well.
This is also an effective time for intervention—we want to be pragmatic with this Bill. An evaluation by King’s College London of the For Baby’s Sake programme identified that the first 1,001 days of a baby’s life are the optimal time for intervention in the cycle of domestic abuse. Pregnancy and childbirth are major milestones in the lives of many mothers and fathers and the time when there is motivation to change. The transition to parenthood brings rewards as well as challenges for both parents. Support at this time can harness parents’ motivation and empower them to make changes for their baby and themselves.
As For Baby’s Sake highlights, present interventions have focused generally on supporting the needs of victims and survivors alone, and few seek also to target the causes and environments of domestic abuse, and its associated consequences, in conjunction with perpetrators and children. Even fewer interventions adopt a whole-family approach that seeks to address the mental health problems experienced by parents and protects and supports the mental health of the baby and other children in the family.
This amendment is about changing the cultural and social landscape around domestic abuse for the next generation. If we focus only on refuge and not intervention and rehabilitation, especially in the form of psychological therapy for couples, we miss out on a crucial piece of the weaponry for breaking the cycle of domestic abuse.