Child Abuse Review Vol. 10: 183-197 (2001) DOI: 10.1002/car.686 Domestic Violence and Child Abuse: Developing Sensitive Policies and Guidance Domestic violence is everywhere and nowhere. No statutory organization or health service has work with either perpetrators or survivors of domestic violence (usually women and children) as the primary focus of their service, yet all agencies will have very significant numbers among their clients/service users. It is therefore crucial that the policy framework is developed both within and between agencies to address the need, and scope, of intervention in this area and particularly the impact on children. Currently, significant steps have been taken by some agencies in the UK to address this previously neglected issue, though the developments are patchy. This paper draws on a UK-wide research study which mapped the extent and range of service provision for families where there is domestic violence and also developed a framework of good practice indicators for provision in this area. This article examines one of the indicators of good practice arising from the research - that of policy development - within social service departments and within the multi-agency arena. Copyright @ 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. KEY WORDS: domestic violence; child abuse; policy development; good practice indicators W orkers in the UK child care sector are currently reel- ing from the impact of major changes and workforce pressures. Responding to the Quality Protects agenda, absorb- ing the new assessment framework (Department of Health, 2000) and struggling with the expectation to refocus services to provide a better balance between family support and child protection are all currently demanded of social workers and their managers. Moreover, rising to the demands of SSI inspections and joint reviews, attending to the implications of the McPherson Catherine Humphreys* Audrey Mullender Pam Lowe Centre for the Study of Safety and Well-Being University of Warwick Gill Hague Hilary Abrahams Domestic Violence Research Group University of Bristol Marianne Hester International Centre for the Study of Violence and Abuse University of Sunderland 'Mapped the extent and range of service provision for families where there is domestic violence and also developed a framework of good practice indicators' * Correspondence to: Dr C. Humphreys, School of Health and Social Studies, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK. Tel: 024 76524922. Fax: 024 76524414. E-mail: C.F.Humphreys@warwick.ac.uk Contract/grant sponsor: Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Copyright @ 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Accepted 23 April 2001
184 C. Humphreys et al. 'Refocusing services to emphasize family support is a strategy strongly advocated by Women's Aid and children's charities' 'The majority of children living in situations of domestic violence witness the incidents of violence' report and coping with constant restructuring bring further changes and pressures. Government preoccupation with performance indicators and the 'blame culture' in the media provide little respite for hard-pressed workers, particularly in the context of a recruitment crisis. This paper argues that domestic violence is a central issue for statutory child care work. However, if it is seen as yet another new and separate issue