Exclusive: Child victims of domestic abuse ‘being failed and left in danger'
Child victims of domestic abuse are being failed and left in unsafe situations with nowhere to turn, the domestic abuse commissioner for England and Wales has told Channel 4 News.
In a significant intervention on children's experiences of domestic abuse, Dame Nicole Jacobs labelled the landscape for the very youngest victims as 'dire', with thousands being turned away from support services because of funding shortages.
Provision for child victims across policing, the judicial system, education, social services and healthcare had dramatically failed to match the commitment to enshrine children as victims in their own right in law through the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, she said.
Over a quarter of domestic abuse services surveyed in England and Wales were having to turn children away due to soaring demand, Dame Nicole's new report said, with nearly 30% revealing they have had to stop providing specialist support to children altogether because of financial pressures.
'In some cases, this may have left children in unsafe situations and at risk of further harm,' the report, seen first by Channel 4 News, stated.
More than 800,000 children in England and Wales are believed to be living in a home where a parent is enduring domestic abuse, according to a recent study.
'We simply don't have the services for children and the services that do exist are really struggling,' Dame Nicole said. 'This is an issue that has been ignored for decades and children deserve so much more.'
Dame Nicole said she had written to the prime minister to demand support for children affected by domestic abuse is made 'a priority' in upcoming spending decisions.
'We simply don't have the services for children and the services that do exist are really struggling. This is an issue that has been ignored for decades and children deserve so much more.'
– Dame Nicole Jacobs
In response, a spokesperson for the Department for Education told Channel 4 News:
'The government welcomes this report and a formal response to it will follow in the coming months.'
'Lack of empathy'
Dame Nicole said her report – the culmination of two years' research – found children's experiences had been defined by a 'lack of empathy', with their 'voices marginalised'.
One child, recalling the police response to a domestic abuse incident, told researchers: 'Sitting in a policeman's car, he said, 'can you stay at your friend's because I need to go soon?''
The family court system was also highlighted, with children describing being ignored in their pleas not to see an abusive parent.
Another child victim said: 'I wanted the court to listen to me because I don't want to see my Dad.'
Funding concerns
Dame Nicole said funding for domestic abuse services had prioritised adults and the criminal justice system response, with support for children 'near to non-existent.'
'It's pretty dire,' she said. 'Children usually have nowhere to turn. That is not good enough for children who are really suffering.
'They're growing up in an environment where they're under stress, constant surveillance, subject to coercion and controlling behaviour, exposed to that feeling of walking on eggshells.'
'Children usually have nowhere to turn. That is not good enough for children who are really suffering.'
– Dame Nicole Jacobs
Support services
The failings of statutory services – such as health, education and social care – to provide adequate support had compelled 'already overburdened' community services to step in, Dame Nicole said.
Acorns Project, a specialist domestic abuse support service based in North Tyneside and Northumberland, has been forced to make staff redundant and prioritise 'core services' in efforts to address significant financial difficulties.
The waiting list for therapeutic support in Northumberland is currently over 12 months.
'This is a reflection on reducing our costs whilst also receiving higher numbers and more complex case referrals,' Maxine Tennet, its chief executive, told Channel 4 News.
Ms Tennet said Acorns aspired to deliver services 'to support a greater number of children', but a lack of long-term funding meant 'day-to-day' survival had to be the focus.
The local authority responsible for funding has been approached for comment.
Martha's story
Martha – not her real name – has just turned 18.
Now safe with her mother and younger sister after fleeing her violent father, Martha is calling for greater support for children.
This is her story:
'The best way to describe it is constantly walking on eggshells.
His behaviour was so unpredictable. I never knew exactly what he was going to do.
I remember I would wake up before the sun would rise, just so anxious all the time.
There was nowhere safe – inside the house or outside the house.
I had to have teachers walk me to the car park to have my Mum pick me up in case he tried to come to the school.
I had no safety zone. Everywhere was interrupted by his presence and his violence. There was no escape.
Children who witness domestic abuse are in many senses forgotten and almost pushed to the side.
I just felt like people didn't want to have to deal with me and what I had been through.
I don't think there were any systems in place that were supposed to help me that did.
I felt failed by every single one: police, social services, courts, healthcare, school – all of them. It was letdown after letdown after letdown.
In the court system, I still wasn't being listened to or properly heard. It was about the legal technicalities as if it were a game of chess rather than my lived experience.
When I went to mental health, I had a phone call saying everything that had happened and received a letter back saying I wasn't suicidal or self-harming enough to receive help.
How do we expect children to move forward and recover in any sense without sufficient help and support?
I am at a point now where I live a normal life as a teenager and people wouldn't know.
I do regular teenage things but it is still something that lives with me.
I don't think it will ever leave me entirely.'
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