Safeguarding Victims of Domestic Abuse during Covid-19: Challenges and Opportunities

来自中国、意大利、法国和英国的新证据表明，在《新冠肺炎》期间(世界卫生组织2020年)，家庭暴力发生率上升了高达30%。新冠肺炎期间的社交距离被认为增加了DA的风险，同时获得支持也更加困难。经济压力增加、家庭成员同住一户的距离更近、与世隔绝、家务劳动负担加重以及照顾妇女的责任增加，这些都是导致残疾发生率上升的潜在风险因素。发展援助受害者向专业人员披露虐待行为或向家人和朋友寻求支持的机会较少(《妇女援助》，2020年)。在英国，家庭凶杀案自英国封锁以来上升了50%，拨打全国家庭暴力帮助热线的电话激增(《卫报》2020)。对禁闭期间幸存者的一项调查显示，67%的幸存者表示，禁闭期间家庭暴力变得更加严重(妇女援助，2020)。在新冠肺炎之前，获得发展援助支持已经受到影响发展援助非政府部门和其他相关服务的紧缩政策的影响，如精神健康服务以及成人和儿童社会护理(Sanders-McDonagh，2016)。随着封锁的缓解，这些挑战可能会在封锁期间(安全生活，2020)加剧，目前正在第二波新冠肺炎期间。对于黑人、亚洲和少数民族妇女及其子女来说，获得发展援助支持的问题可能会加剧(Imkaan，2020年)，特别是在黑人、亚洲和少数民族社区中，新冠肺炎的负担更重(Khunti等人，2020年)。无法获得公共资金是BAME妇女获得发展援助的长期障碍。保护是保护妇女及其子女免受进一步虐待的关键过程。这项研究将调查：1.新冠肺炎如何改变不同机构的保护措施和流程，在战略和操作层面？2.新冠肺炎对DA幸存者及其儿童的身份识别以及他们在封锁期间得到的支持、保护和保障有什么影响？3.在大流行期间，为了能够有效地识别、记录和应对DA受害者，特别是来自BAME团体的DA受害者，有哪些持续的经验教训？调查我们的研究问题，这项研究分为两个工作包。工作包1(WP1)-国家保护背景(英格兰)：将在网上分发一份全英格兰范围的调查，以保护基于地方当局、卫生、警察、MARAC主席和发展议程协调员的线索。它将确定新冠肺炎期间如何进行保障实践，以及这可能与以前的保障程序和实践有何不同。它将特别侧重于确定和应对发展议程、良好做法的范例、挑战、多机构关系和在国家一级封锁期间的创新，以及确定在新冠肺炎之后将继续存在的良好做法。将与20-25名保障负责人和发展援助协调员进行电话访谈，以获得更深入的数据，了解有关保障方面变化的背景和预期影响，特别是对BAME妇女和儿童的影响。工作包2：选择了两个案例研究地区(大曼彻斯特和兰开夏郡)，以产生关于实地保障的深入知识。将与发展援助非政府组织提供者进行20次访谈，以确定挑战和良好做法；与发展援助幸存者进行20次访谈，以了解新冠肺炎期间的求助情况，并分析新冠肺炎之前和期间的警察数据库，以确定保障程序。我们的交付成果包括：简报和信息图表；互动项目网站；期末会议；学术论文和会议报告；网络研讨会和圆桌讨论，以支持和培养从业者，并帮助制定政策，以管理流行病及其他方面的家庭暴力。

Emerging evidence from China, Italy, France and the UK indicates that domestic abuse (DA) rates have increased by up to 30% during Covid-19 (WHO 2020). Social distancing during Covid-19 is thought to increase the risk of DA whilst accessing support is more difficult. Increased financial pressures, increased proximity of family members living in the same household, isolation, the increased burden of domestic labour and caring responsibilities for women are all potentially risk factors for increased rates of DA. Victims of DA have less opportunity to disclose abuse to professionals or to seek support from family and friends (Women's Aid, 2020). In the UK, domestic homicides have risen by 50% since the UK lockdown with a surge in calls to a national domestic abuse helpline (The Guardian 2020). A survey of survivors during lockdown showed that 67% of survivors said that domestic abuse had got worse in lockdown (Women's Aid, 2020). Pre-Covid-19, accessing DA support was already compromised by austerity policies affecting the DA NGO sector and other related services such as mental health services and adults and children's social care (Sanders-McDonagh, 2016). These challenges are likely to be exacerbated during lockdown (Safe Lives, 2020), as lockdown eases and currently during the second wave of Covid-19. Accessing DA support is likely to be aggravated for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) women and their children (Imkaan, 2020), particularly as the Covid-19 burden is higher in BAME communities (Khunti et al, 2020). No recourse to public funds is a long-standing barrier for BAME women accessing DA support. Safeguarding is a key process for protecting women and their children from further abuse.The study will investigate:1. How have DA safeguarding interventions and processes in different agencies changed due to Covid-19, at strategic and operational levels? 2. What is the effect of Covid-19 on the identification of DA survivors and their children and on the support, protection and safeguarding they have received during lockdown? 3. What ongoing lessons are there for multi-agency arrangements during a pandemic to enable effective identification, recording and response to safeguard DA victims from abuse, especially from BAME groups?To investigate our research questions, the study is organised into two work packages.Work Package 1 (WP1)- National Safeguarding Context (England): An England-wide survey will be distributed online to safeguarding leads based in local authorities, health, policing, MARAC chairs and DA coordinators. It will establish how safeguarding practice is being conducted during Covid-19 and how this may differ from previous safeguarding procedures and practice. It will focus specifically on the identification and response to DA, examples of good practice, challenges, multi-agency relationships, and innovations during lockdown at a national level and identification of good practices to be continued post-Covid-19. Telephone interviews will be conducted with 20-25 safeguarding leads and DA coordinators to gain more in-depth data about the context, and perceived impact of changes on safeguarding, particularly for BAME women and children. Work Package 2: Two case study areas (Greater Manchester and Lancashire) have been selected to generate in-depth knowledge of safeguarding on the ground. 20 interviews will be conducted with DA NGO providers to identify challenges and good practice; 20 interviews with survivors of DA to understand help-seeking during Covid-19 and analysis of police databases pre and during Covid-19 to identify safeguarding processes. Our deliverables include: briefing reports and infographics; interactive project website; final conference; academic papers and conference presentations; webinars and round table discussions to support and develop practitioners and aid policy development for managing domestic abuse in pandemics and beyond.