1.  BACKGROUND

  1.1  Women's Aid Federation of England (Women's Aid) is the national domestic violence charity which co-ordinates and supports a network of over 300 local organisations in England, providing over 500 refuges, helplines, advocacy, outreach services and advice services to women and children experiencing domestic violence. Women's Aid's work is built on 30 years of campaigning and working in partnership with national and local government, health authorities, the justice system and voluntary organisations to promote the need for an integrated approach to prevent domestic violence and to protect abused women and children.

  1.2  Local Women's Aid organisations work annually with thousands of children and mothers who have experienced domestic violence, and for whom contact problems and post-separation violence are everyday concerns. Last year these local Women's Aid services accommodated approximately 23,500 children and supported over 110,000 children.

  1.3  We welcome the opportunity to submit evidence to the Select Committee on Every Child Matters, because children who have experienced domestic violence urgently need protection and emotional support particularly in the high-risk period during and after the separation of their parents. It is this knowledge and experience that informs the concerns and recommendations set out in this paper.

  1.4  Due to the pressure of responding to several other Government initiatives at this time, we can only comment on three of the issues specified by the Select Committee and of most relevance to our work: listening to children, working with parents and sharing information. First, however we want to set out our key concerns and to highlight the serious risks for children who are living with or fleeing from domestic violence.

2.  KEY CONCERNS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

  2.1  Women's Aid is concerned that domestic violence was hardly mentioned in the Green Paper, Every Child Matters. We recommend that the Government address the specific needs of children who have experienced domestic violence, so that they too can benefit from initiatives to improve the protection and welfare of all children.

  2.2  Women's Aid is concerned that the establishment of children's services under the current Children Bill is likely to reinforce the idea that the child's safety should be considered separately from the safety of the mother, even when both are at risk from the same domestic violence perpetrator. We recommend that Government issue a clear directive to all professionals working in statutory agencies and within the criminal, civil and family justice system of the need to support non-violent parents in making safe arrangements for themselves and their children in cases of domestic violence.

  2.3  Women's Aid is concerned that electronic databases specified in the current Children Bill could be used by abusers to track down women and children fleeing from domestic violence, and we recommend that appropriate safeguards are introduced into these systems as a matter of urgency.

  2.4  Women's Aid is concerned about the increasing numbers of women and children being killed by domestic violence perpetrators. In 2001-02 there were 116 women who were killed by current or former partners[12]. We also know of 10 children killed as a result of contact or residence arrangements since 2002. The Government has not kept statistics on this, so the actual figure may be higher. Women's Aid recommends that all professionals in statutory agencies and in the criminal and family justice systems have mandatory training to enable them to understand the dynamics of domestic violence and how to respond appropriately. Without such training we fear that the implementation of Section 120 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 could result in more abused women being prosecuted for failing to protect their children from domestic violence perpetrators.

  2.5  Women's Aid is concerned that government initiatives are effectively reducing the availability of specialist domestic violence support services for children affected by domestic violence. We recommend that the Government provides statutory funding for children's services in local refuges. Doing so would help children affected by domestic violence to achieve the five desirable outcomes set out in Every Child Matters. As support services can help these children to recover from trauma and to recognise that violence is not acceptable, we would also expect to see a reduction in emotional and behavioural problems and an improvement in educational attainment.

  2.6  Women's Aid is concerned that the serious child protection issues relating to child contact and domestic violence were not addressed in the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Bill or the Children Bill. We urgently need legislation to tackle this issue. We recommend that courts are required to conduct a mandatory risk assessment and to prioritise the safety of the child in private law contact and residence cases involving allegations of abuse, and it is essential that this is introduced before new measures to enforce contact more rigorously. We are not calling for a ban on contact in domestic violence cases, but we want safe contact.

  2.7  Women's Aid is concerned that children who do not want contact with a violent parent are often not listened to or taken seriously. We recommend that the separate representation clause in Section 122, Children and Adoption Act 2002 is implemented without further delay.

  2.8  Women's Aid is concerned that children are very unlikely to disclose abuse during a one-off interview with a social worker, psychiatrist or psychologist. We recommend that the procedures for investigating allegations of abuse in private law family proceedings are reviewed and replaced by arrangements which enable children to be assessed in a child friendly environment using child-friendly techniques and with sessions taking place over several weeks so there is an opportunity to build up trust.

  2.9  Women's Aid is concerned about the acute shortage of supervised contact facilities, as this means that contact arrangements are often unsafe in cases of domestic violence. We recommend that all parts of the country have at least one accessible contact centre offering supervision for high risk cases.

  2.10  Women's Aid also recommends the establishment of a national strategic framework that introduces minimum standards for both Children's Trusts and Children's Centres, including standards to meet the specific needs of children who have experienced domestic violence.

3.  THE RISKS FACING CHILDREN AFFECTED BY DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

  3.1  In 2003 the Department of Health stated: "At least 750,000 children a year witness domestic violence. Nearly three quarters of children on the `at risk' register live in households where domestic violence occurs."[13]

  3.2  Research commissioned by the Department of Health shows that domestic violence is a major indicator of risk of harm to children, and that children are often abused physically sexually or emotionally by the same perpetrator who has abused their mother.[14] Children whose mothers experience domestic violence tend to have the worst outcomes in child protection cases.[15]

  3.3  Research indicates that domestic violence accounts for about half of all child deaths.[16] Women's Aid has compiled a list of 29 children in 13 families who have been killed as a result of contact (or in one case residence) arrangements in England and Wales over the last 10 years. Ten of these children were killed during the last two years, and domestic violence was involved in each of these cases.[17]

  3.4  In 1999 a survey of 130 abused parents found that out of 148 children who were ordered by the courts to have contact with a violent parent, 76% were said to have been abused in the following ways during contact visits:

—  10% sexually abused.

—  15% physically assaulted.

—  62% emotionally harmed.

—  36% neglected.

—  26% abducted or involved in an abduction attempt.

—  Most of these children were under the age of five.[18]

  3.5  In 2001 research revealed that children involved in private law contact proceedings "were highly distressed (46% had significant levels of emotional and behavioural difficulties). Levels for children who were interviewed were comparable with those reported for children subject to child protection proceedings and nearly twice the level expected in the general child population. Distress in children was linked to distress in the resident parent and to domestic violence. For boys, it did not alleviate once proceedings were over and it remained high for girls".[19]

  3.6  In 2003 a survey involving 178 refuge organisations in England & Wales considered court practice with regard to child contact and domestic violence in private law family proceedings and found that:

—  15% (27 refuge organisations) reported cases where a contact visit with a violent parent had resulted in a child suffering significant harm.

—  12% reported cases where contact orders were granted to parents whose behaviour had caused children to be placed on the Child Protection Register, and 6% reported cases where contact orders were granted to Schedule 1 offenders. This involved a total of 82 children, and 21 of these were ordered to have unsupervised contact with the known abuser.

—  20% knew of cases where residence orders had been granted to abusive parents, often because the abuser had remained in the family home and could offer "stability";

—  Respondents knew of 175 women who had been threatened with sanctions to make them comply with contact orders. In many of these cases there was evidence of police involvement, breached injunctions or convictions for violence to the mother or child. The most common threat used was that residence would be granted to the abusive parent, and in some cases this is what happened.[20]

4.  LISTENING TO CHILDREN

  4.1  Serious case reviews into child homicides have repeatedly stressed the importance of listening to children and taking their concerns seriously. This message is repeated again in our forthcoming report, Twenty Nine Child Homicides: The Lessons that Need to be Learnt.[21]

  4.2  However, having an opportunity to talk to children and find out their wishes and feelings is often very difficult in cases of domestic violence, because perpetrators typically maintain power and control over their victims (including children) by isolating, intimidating and humiliating them.[22] Usually the perpetrator will make sure that there is no opportunity for the non-violent parent or the children to speak freely, and often they will be too frightened or too ashamed to say anything, even when the perpetrator is not there.[23]

  4.3  It is essential that statutory and voluntary agencies dealing with cases of domestic violence should be able to recognise controlling behaviour and to respond in a way that enables abused women and children to speak freely. More fundamentally, there is a need to build up trust with children and with the non-violent parent, so that they can feel confident enough to disclose what is happening within the family. This can be a slow and painful process, because most mothers who experience domestic violence say that their greatest fear is that their children will be taken into care,[24] and for this reason they are likely to be very distrustful of statutory agencies.

  4.4  Frontline staff also need to be aware that abusers often monitor every interaction involving their partner, including phone-calls and letters, so any attempt to communicate in this way could potentially endanger both the non-violent parent and the children.

  4.5  When asked what children living with domestic violence need, children involved in a recent study "were astonishingly clear and consistent". Most commonly cited was safety, closely followed by someone to talk to. One or both of these themes featured in every response to this question.[25]

  4.6  However, the findings of the 2003 survey involving 178 refuge organisations in England Wales raise serious concerns about the extent to which children's wishes and safety are taken into account in family proceedings involving child contact and domestic violence:

—  Only 3% of respondents thought that appropriate measures are now being taken to ensure the safety of the child and the resident parent in most contact cases involving domestic violence;

—  Only 6% believed that children who do not want contact with a violent parent are being listened to and taken seriously in most cases.[26]

  4.7  The need for safety was also emphasised repeatedly by children taking part in a Listening to Children event on 16 June 2004 at Portcullis House, Westminster, which was organised by Women's Aid with the help of the Ragdoll Foundation. Fifty children and young people attended this event and put questions to Paul Goggins, the Home Officer Minister responsible for dealing with the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Bill. This included several very challenging questions about the family justice system:

  Why do the courts force children to see their dads when they are frightened of them?

  My father was given unsupervised access after I had given my views to CAFCASS of why I didn't feel safe. I was asked my views and not listened to. They didn't understand my views, can you do anything to change this for others?

  Will the government help my mum and me be safe from my dad? He beat us and we don't want to see him.

  Why aren't we allowed to go to court with our mums? We may be young but we still have a right to show our own feelings and wishes.

  Why don't the courts make sure it is safe for mums and children when they know the dads are violent?

  Who tells the judge off when he doesn't listen to the children?

  4.8  As family court decisions are supposed to be made in the best interests of children, it is vitally important that the views of children who do not want contact with a violent parent are taken into account. Women's Aid recommends that Section 122 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 should be implemented without further delay, so that the courts have to consider whether children involved in private law family proceedings need separate representation.

  4.9  Statutory agencies also have a crucial role to play in investigating allegations of abuse and making sure that concerns about child protection are raised in private law family proceedings. As abuse usually occurs behind closed doors, it can be very difficult to prove allegations and unfortunately the standard procedure for investigating allegations of abuse cannot be described as "child-friendly". At present, if an allegation of child abuse is made during private law family proceedings, the judge will usually order social services to investigate the situation and prepare a report under Section 37 of the Children Act 1989. Often this will involve a home visit lasting for perhaps an hour and including a private discussion with the child(ren). In many of these cases young children do not mention the abuse, the social worker reports that s/he could find no evidence to substantiate the allegations, and the court then concludes that there is no reason to refuse contact.

  4.10  The survey involving 178 refuge organisations found that 83 percent say that young children are not likely to disclose abuse during a one-off interview with a professional (such as a social worker, psychiatrist or psychologist). This is because abuse is a very sensitive issue, and there is no time to build a trusting relationship with the child.[27]

  4.11  In these cases specialist assessments are needed, because it is only by assessing the child in a child-friendly environment over several weeks that professionals are likely to gain an insight into how the child views his or her family. To our knowledge, very few organisations provide specialist assessments of children involved in private law family proceedings, and those who do (eg Barnardo's Keeping Children Safe Project in Liverpool) are heavily oversubscribed. As this service is vital for the protection of children in cases of abuse, it should be made available throughout the country. We strongly recommend that the Department for Education and Skills encourages children's trusts and children's centres to address this urgent need.

  4.12  There is also an urgent need for ring-fenced funding to be provided to enable children's services in refuges to meet the National Standards for Under 8s Day Care. These are the only nationwide dedicated support services for children who have experienced domestic violence, but there is no statutory funding framework for these services. Refuge organisations currently provide accommodation for approximately 23,500 children a year and support services for over 110,000 children a year.[28] As so many of these children are in need and at risk, it is essential that refuge organisations should be able to provide appropriate support for them. However, the requirement to comply with the National Standards for Under 8s Day Care has resulted in support services being reduced in many refuges, because they cannot afford to meet the staffing ratios or the minimum space standards.[29]

5.  WORKING WITH PARENTS

  5.1  A key finding of our forthcoming report on Twenty Nine Child Homicides is that Government guidance on multi-agency work to tackle domestic violence seems to have been ignored in some of these cases, particularly with regard to working with parents.[30]

  5.2  The Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families sets out procedures for assessing if children are in need or at risk of significant harm, but it says very little about domestic violence. More detailed guidance for statutory agencies is provided in Working Together to Safeguard Children, which states:

"Domestic violence is likely to have a damaging effect on the health and development of children, and it will often be appropriate for such children to be regarded as children in need. Everyone working with women and children should be alert to the frequent inter-relationship between domestic violence and the abuse and neglect of children.[31]

"Often supporting a non-violent parent is likely to be the most effective way of promoting the child's welfare".[32]

  5.3  This last point is critical because, in the experience of Women's Aid, abused women will usually be able to care for their children adequately, if they are given appropriate information, advice and support to enable them to be safe and to recover from their experiences of abuse. Although the mother and child will need different kinds of emotional support, they both need to be physically safe and usually they need to be safe together. As most abused women are afraid that their children might be taken into care,[33] agencies which focus on the safety of the child without considering the safety of the non-violent parent, may make the problem worse, because they are likely to be feared rather than trusted by that parent.

5.4  Working Together to Safeguard Children also lists the following "considerations" for statutory agencies when responding to situations where domestic violence is present:

—  asking direct questions about domestic violence;

—  checking whether domestic violence has occurred whenever child abuse is suspected and considering the impact of this at all stages of assessment, enquiries and intervention;

—  identifying those who are responsible for domestic violence in order that relevant criminal justice responses may be made:

—  providing women with full information about their legal rights and the extent and limits of statutory duties and powers

—  assisting women and children to escape from violence by providing relevant practical and other assistance;

—  supporting non-abusing parents in making safe choices for themselves and their children; and

—  working separately with each parent where domestic violence prevents non-abusing parents from speaking freely and participating without fear of retribution.[34]

  5.5  Identifying the perpetrator is crucial in dealing with domestic violence, but in some of the child homicide cases there seems to be a reluctance to do this, even when it is abundantly clear who has been violent. For example, two Serious Case Reviews use terms that suggest that both parents are responsible for the violence. One executive summary states that the parents "appear to have had a physically, sexually and emotionally abusive relationship." Another refers to "marital conflict" and "marital violence". This approach means that not only is the perpetrator not identified and prosecuted, but there is also no recognition of the need to provide support for the non-violent parent.

  5.6  In another case where the mother disclosed extreme abuse, there was nothing to indicate that anyone had given her information about her legal rights or provided practical assistance to enable her and the children to escape to a women's refuge or to apply as homeless to the local authority.

  5.7  In several of the cases it is clear that the safety of the children was considered as a separate issue from the safety of the mother, and that even when the mother was facing potentially lethal violence this was not recognised as a child protection issue.

  5.8  Women's Aid recommends that Government issues guidance, reminding professionals working in statutory agencies and within the family justice system of the need to support non-violent parents in making safe choices for themselves and their children in cases of domestic violence. This is particularly necessary as the establishment of children's services under the current Children Bill is likely to reinforce the idea that the child's safety should be considered separately from the safety of the mother, even when both are at risk from the same domestic violence perpetrator. We hope that this will be emphasised when the Government brings out new guidance, combining the information contained in the Assessment Framework and also Working Together.

  5.9  Women's Aid also recommends that professionals working in statutory agencies and in the family justice system should have appropriate training to enable them to understand the dynamics of domestic violence and how to respond appropriately. This will be needed even more when Section 120 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 is implemented, as that could exacerbate abused women's fears about their children being taken into care.[35] Without such training we fear that the implementation of Section 120 could result in more abused women being prosecuted for failing to protect their children from domestic violence perpetrators.

6.  THE CREATION, MANAGEMENT AND SHARING OF RECORDS, INCLUDING ELECTRONIC DATABASES

  6.1  Women's Aid welcomes the move toward a "common approach to needs assessment that can be used by the whole children's workforce". We believe that thist will facilitate earlier intervention and provided it includes specific questions assessing for domestic violence, it will provide an opportunity to support children and their non-abusing parent at an earlier stage.

  6.2  The Common Assessment Framework is an opportune place to include screening and risk assessment for domestic violence so that these children no longer slip through the gaps. Women's Aid is concerned that the working group for the development of the Common Assessment Framework does not include a representative from specialist domestic violence services in the voluntary sector, despite domestic violence being such a cross-cutting issue for children. We strongly recommend that specialist domestic violence service providers like Women's Aid are involved in this work in future.

  6.3  However, we also need to consider the implications that the Common Assessment Framework may have for voluntary organisations providing specialist domestic violence services to children. Research has shown that the vast majority of mothers who have experienced domestic violence say that their greatest fear is that their children will be taken into care[36] For this reason many abused women are distrustful of statutory agencies and are more likely to turn to the voluntary sector for help and support for themselves and their children. However we are concerned that if domestic violence services in the voluntary sector (eg. children's support services in refuges) are required to use the Common Assessment Framework, this may deter some abused women from turning to these services for support - particularly as confidentiality is so crucial for their safety. These issues need to be discussed with the national network of refuge organisations and local and national government, so that we can find ways of working together, which provide reassurance and protection for survivors of domestic violence.

  Electronic databases for information sharing:

  6.4  With regard to the electronic databases on all children in England, Women's Aid recognises that these should help to improve information sharing in multi-agency work, and we hope that this will contribute to the recording and collating of evidence of abuse so that perpetrators can be prosecuted and victims protected more effectively. In particular, we believe it is essential that CAFCASS should have access to the databases, so that they can collect relevant information for welfare reports more easily.

  6.5  However, Women's Aid is also concerned that instead of protecting children who have experienced domestic violence the databases could place them in greater danger, if appropriate safeguards are not put in place. This is because:

—  The databases will include such information as the child's name and address and which school s/he is attending. This is all the information that a domestic violence perpetrator would need in order to track down his victims.

—  The information contained on the databases will be accessed and shared by millions of employees in the key statutory agencies. Given the widespread prevalence of domestic violence, it is inconceivable that no perpetrators are employed by these agencies.

—  Knowledge of the databases may deter abused women and children from seeking help from statutory agencies.

—  There are no measures in the Children Bill to ensure the confidentiality of high risk cases or refuge addresses.

  6.6  Women's Aid is continuing to discuss these issues with the Department for Education and Skills. We have put forward the following suggestions for safeguards:

  A.  Policy on checking requests for information

—  The major concern is that in cases where abused women and children have fled from the family home, a perpetrator with parental responsibility would be able to go into the office of any participating agency and demand to know where their child is living, insisting that they have a right to this information under the Data Protection Act.

—  A solution has been put forward by Sheffield City Council who have put in place the following policy regarding requests for information held on their SafetyNET system:

—  A request needs to be made, in writing, to the Chief Executive of the Council. This would then be passed to the designated administrator of the SafetyNET system. The council has 40 (forty) days to respond to any request and therefore there is time for checks to be made against the defined criteria (eg. a child known to be involved in a domestic abusive situation). Under clause 29 of the Data Protection Act no-one need disclose personal information where to do so would be likely to result in the commission of a crime or where it would impede detection of a crime. This covers suspicions as well, so in a case of domestic abuse the information could legitimately be refused.

—  This is very helpful but some issues still need to be resolved. There would need to be a national quality assurance procedure followed by all participating agencies to ensure a reliable response, and it would be vital to have good procedures for identifying cases of domestic abuse, when children are registering with a new school or GP.

—  There are also questions about who should do the checks and how should checks be made. Sheffield Council suggests checking with Social Services or service providers such as women's refuges - but this would not help the majority of abused women who flee to a place of safety (perhaps staying with a friend or relative) without involving statutory or voluntary agencies. If a parent is asking for information about their child, then the fundamental question has to be, why do they need to ask in the first place? Clearly it would be important for the other parent to be informed and given the chance to respond - but would agencies do this, if a perpetrator claimed convincingly that the mother had mental health problems and had abducted the child?

—  There is also the possibility of an abusive parent obtaining an ex parte recovery order and interim residence order, the information being made immediately available through the database and the police having to return the child to the abuser. The use of the database in such circumstances would mean that the local authority and the police would be directly involved in actions would could result in serious harm to a child. How would statutory agencies resolve this conflict of interest?

  B.  A central agency to establish and control the database:

—  Despite enhanced CRB checks and password protection there is a huge opportunity for misuse of the system, given the number of people who will have access to the database and the right to change information.

—  For this reason we suggest that in each area there should be a central agency responsible for setting it up the database, making changes to the data and giving access rights to interested parties. This would at least provide some accountability and protection. If a national database is set up, it would be even more important to have a central agency to establish and control the use of the database.

  C.  System design and operation:

—  Women's Aid's considers it is essential that there should also be some way of identifying or "flagging" high risk cases and ensuring that the basic information including addresses does not appear on the screen in such cases.

—  We would also suggest that each form within the database should be password protected, preferably not using the child's NHS or NI number as that could be known to an abusive parent.

—  Another possibility would be to have biometrically based log ins and/or very short time display properties (to minimise the risk of casual viewers coming into the room and looking at the screen while someone is at the photocopier, etc).

—  While electronic records present the possibility of an unbreakable audit trail, it should be noted that this is not likely to be much comfort to a mother or child who has been tracked down by a domestic violence perpetrator due to misuse of the database.

  D.  Ensuring safety when information is electronically transferred:

—  If information is transferred electronically to the database every time a child moves to a new school or registers with a new GP, women who have fled from an abusive partner may not even be aware that their new address is being recorded on the database.

—  Women's Aid suggests that participating agencies, who are recording new basic details of families, should do so confidentially using a standard form which requires them to ask if there is any reason why they need to be extra careful about confidentiality (eg if this person is fleeing from domestic abuse or is a victim or witness of a crime).

—  Another possibility would be to require the central agency managing the database to send the resident parent(s) a copy of the basic information entered on the database for their child with a letter asking if the information is correct and if there is any reason (such as domestic violence) for needing to be extra vigilant about ensuring confidentiality.

—  We understand that the greatest risk of error occurs when transferring data from existing files into new databases. Putting the youngest children on the database first would reduce the possibility of historic error creeping in, although all children in the qualifying group would need to go on eventually. Another possibility would be to devote more time and resources to checking the entries that contain any flags.

  E.  The need to limit "flags" on the system:

—  There have been suggestions that professionals should be encouraged to put a flag on the system whenever a child or young person appears to be in difficulty eg failing their SATs or becoming pregnant. However, such widespread reporting could deter children and young people from disclosing abuse or seeking help with regard to other sensitive issues such as contraception or involvement in crime. This could also make it harder for social workers to distinguish high risk cases from less serious cases.

—  Women's Aid shares the view that the term "cause for concern" (used in the Children Bill) is far too wide and that there is no common understanding of what it means. We urge the Government to reconsider this urgently.

  F.  Limiting direct access to the database:

—  The danger of information being misused to the detriment of survivors of abuse will be proportionate to the number of people who have direct access to the database. For this reason Women's Aid suggests that only a few appropriate persons (having passed the highest level of CRB check) should have access to all the information on the database.

—  We would also suggest that the Government should give urgent consideration to limiting the number of agencies who have direct access to the database.

  G.  The common law duty of confidentiality

—  Confidentiality is crucial for children and mothers who disclose abuse, because they need to know that this information will be handled sensitively in ways which do not put them in greater danger. They also need reassurance that information will not be shared indiscriminately or irresponsibly.

—  For this reason Women's Aid supported moves to delete the wording in the Children Bill overruling the common law duty of confidentiality and to require the sharing of information to be "consonant with the common law duty of confidentiality". We urge the Government to consider how the confidentiality needs of domestic violence survivors can be met within the new arrangements for information sharing.

November 2004

13   Department of Health (2003) Into the Mainstream-Strategic Development of Mental Health Care for Women p 16. Back

14   Hester, Pearson & Harwin (1999) Making an Impact. Jessica Kingsley Publications. Back

15   Farmer & Owen (1995) Child Protection Practice: Private Risks & Public Remedies. London, HMSO. Back

16   Sinclair, R & Bullock, R. (2002) Learning from Past Experience-A Review of Serious Case Reviews. Department of Health; Brandon, M & Lewis, A (1996) "Significant harm and children: experiences of domestic violence", Child & Family Social Work, I, pp 33-42. Back

17   Saunders, H (2004 forthcoming) Twenty Nine Child Homicides: The Lessons that Need to be Learnt. Bristol, Women's Aid Federation of England. Back

18   Radford, Sayer & AMICA (1999) Unreasonable Fears? Women's Aid Federation of England, p 20. Back

19   Buchanan, Hunt, Bretherton & Bream (2001) Families in Conflict. Bristol, The Policy Press (quote from executive summary). Back

20   Saunders, H & Barron, J (2003) Failure to Protect? Bristol, Women's Aid Federation of England. Back

21   Saunders, H (2004 forthcoming) Twenty Nine Child Homicides: The Lessons that Need to be Learnt. Bristol, Women's Aid Federation of England. Back

22   Pence, E (1985) Coordinated Community Response to Domestic Assault Cases. Duluth, Minnesota, Domestic Abuse Intervention Project. Back

23   Saunders, H (2004 forthcoming) Twenty Nine Child Homicides: The Lessons that Need to be Learnt. Bristol, Women's Aid Federation of England. Back

24   Abrahams, C (1994) The Hidden Victims. London, NCH Action for Children. Back

25   Mullender et al (2002) Children's Perspectives on Domestic Violence. London, Sage Publications. (p 107) Back

26   Saunders, H. & Barron, J (2003) Failure to Protect? Women's Aid Federation of England, p 5. Back

27   Saunders, H. & Barron, J (2003) Failure to Protect? Bristol, Women's Aid Federation of England. Back

28   Women's Aid Federation of England (2003) Survey of Domestic Violence Services. Back

29   Women's Aid Federation of England (2004) One Year On: the status of children's services in refuge organisations since the implementation of the National Standards for Under 8s Day Care. Back

30   Saunders, H (2004 forthcoming) Twenty Nine Child Homicides: The Lessons that Need to be Learnt. Bristol, Women's Aid Federation of England. Back

31   Department of Health (1999) Working Together to Safeguard Children. London, The Stationery Office. (para 6.38) Back

32   Ibid (para 6.40). Back

33   Abrahams, C. (1994) The Hidden Victims. London, NCH Action for Children. Back

34   Department of Health (1999) Working Together to Safeguard Children. (para 6.41.) Back

35   Abrahams, C (1994) The Hidden Victims. NCH Action for Children. Back

36   Abrahams, C (1994) The Hidden Victims. NCH Action for Children. Back