The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Morrow on 2014-04-01.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the trial use of victim support workers in accident and emergency settings in England to identify potential victims of domestic violence; and whether they plan to extend the scheme on a permanent and wider basis.
Lord Taylor of Holbeach
The Home Office is working closely with Co-ordinated Action Against Domestic Abuse which is conducting an in-depth evaluation of the effectiveness of basing Independent Domestic Violence Advocates in both hospital accident and emergency and maternity units. The report is due in 2015-16. Six services are taking part in the evaluation:
• Worth Services (based in West Sussex)
• Bristol Royal Infirmary IDVA service
• Domestic Violence: Health and Maternity Project (Imperial College, Standing Together and Advance Advocacy)
• Cambridge Addenbrooke’s IDVA service
• North Devon Women’s Aid
• Newcastle Victim Support
Emerging evidence from the evaluation can be found at:
www.caada.org.uk/policy/CAADA_Themis_Research_Briefing_1.pdf.
The Coalition Government will study the full findings from the evaluation before making a decision on whether the scheme is extended on a permanent and wider basis.