A Review to Reduce Harm to Child Survivors of Domestic Abuse in Medway

Task 

In 2021, the Domestic Abuse Act officially recognised children as victims of domestic abuse in their own right; this specifically includes reference to children who see, hear, or experience the effects of abuse and are related to either the victim or the perpetrator. Such recognition has placed a greater responsibility on local authority areas to have a robust response to children who are victims of domestic abuse. 

To ensure local authorities maintain accountability for their responsibilities highting the Domestic Abuse Act (2021), Joint Targeted Area Inspections (JTAI) evaluate the multi-agency safeguarding arrangements put in place by relevant partners in a local authority area to respond to, and support, child victims of domestic abuse. JTAI inspectors assess the multi-agency response in a local authority under 20 specific criteria. For more information about JTAIs click here.

In 2018, a JTAI was conducted in Medway to assess the response and support available to child victims of domestic abuse. This investigation revealed several areas of high priority and improvement to be addressed. TONIC was commissioned by Medway Council in 2024 to gather feedback from professionals that could evidence the progress made since the 2018 JTAI and assess how Medway might perform if they were to be inspected in the future.    

Our Approach 

When approaching this task, TONIC initially condensed the 20 JTAI criteria into 5 core themes which were:  

  • Child Centred Practice and Direct Support for Children 

  • Support and Protection for Adults 

  • Multi-Agency and Partnership Collaboration  

  • Effective intervention, Risk Management and Criminal Justice  

  • Leadership, Strategic Planning and Continuous Intervention   

This allowed materials to be structured in a coherent and accessible manner, while ensuring that the scope of the research was aligned with the project aims.  

TONIC utilised a mixed-methods approach, primarily collecting qualitative data using both an online survey and semi-structured in-depth interviews with a total of 29 professionals. Quantitative data was also collected via the survey and a literature summary was conducted to provide context around prevalence, needs and current best practice.  

Qualitative data was analysed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-step approach to thematic analysis, using an inductive method to review themes that emerged from the data in line with the JTAI criteria and compare these to the 2018 inspection. The findings were then triangulated with the Independent Scrutineer for the Safeguarding Children Partnership Board who was undertaking a desktop review of relevant documents to assist with this project.     

Outcome 

TONIC produced a comprehensive written report detailing the findings of the review and suggesting 5 key recommendations to the commissioners. The findings were first presented in table format, that allowed for an analysis of each of the JTAI criteria, before the overarching themes were explored in further depth with examples of good practice highlighted throughout the narrative. From these findings, TONIC produced and presented recommendations for action that aligned with the gaps in provision and opportunities for improvement identified throughout the review.