Welsh Women s Aid Quarter /18 (April-June 2017) Data from Specialist Services in Wales Regional Report. Welsh Women s Aid, August 2017

Transcription

1 Welsh Women s Aid Quarter 7/8 (April-June 7) Data from Specialist Services in Wales Regional Report Welsh Women s Aid, August 7

2 Welsh Women s Aid Who we are Established in 978, Welsh Women s Aid is the umbrella organisation in Wales that supports and provides national representation for independent third sector VAWDASV specialist services. These services deliver life-saving and life-changing support and preventative work in response to violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence, as part of a network of UK provision. Our primary purpose is to prevent domestic abuse and all forms of violence against women and ensure high quality services for survivors that are needs-led, gender responsive and holistic. We collaborate nationally to integrate and improve community responses and practice in Wales; we provide advice, consultancy, support and training to deliver policy and service improvements across governments, public, private and third sector services and in communities, for the benefit of survivors. This includes advising and supporting commissioners and strategic leads in their development of VAWDASV needs assessments and strategic plans, promoting evidence for innovative new service models, and supporting research into the prevention of abuse. Some of the many services we deliver for members include facilitating the involvement of member services in relevant policy, legislative and strategy developments and encouraging co-production in service development; providing advice and information on the development and delivery of promising practice in the sector; providing support with policy and practice matters, and regional and national data analysis reports to support local needs assessments, strategy and commissioning developments. We also deliver direct services that support our membership and public services including: The Wales Live Fear Free Helpline for survivors and families impacted by sexual violence, domestic abuse and all forms of violence against women. The National Training Service partnership: a unique national partnership of specialist services delivering Wales-based training, learning and development around all aspects of violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence. We provide accredited and general training courses delivered by expert and specialist trainers. A programme of work to ensure Children Matter, which supports local services to help children and young people affected by abuse and to deliver preventative Safety, Trust and Respect (STAR) programmes in every local authority in Wales. The Survivors Empowering and Educating Services (SEEdS) project which is empowering survivors of violence and abuse to collectively influence and inform services and commissioning frameworks, and help change public and community attitudes. The Wales National Quality Service Standards which provide a national accreditation framework for domestic abuse specialist services in Wales; as part of a UK suite of integrated accreditation systems and frameworks with which we collaborate. Our membership of third sector VAWDASV specialist services in Wales, with whom we have national partnership agreements to ensure our work is coordinated and integrated: BAWSO, Hafan Cymru, Safer Wales incl. Dyn Project, Llamau, Cardiff Women s Aid, Cyfannol, Newport Women s Aid, Port Talbot & Afan Women s Aid, Swansea Women s Aid, Threshold, Atal Y Fro, Women's Aid RCT, Calan DVS, Carmarthen Domestic Abuse Service, West Wales Domestic Abuse Service, Montgomeryshire Family Crisis Centre, Aberconwy Domestic Abuse Service, Bangor & District Women s Aid, Clwyd Alyn Housing Association Domestic Abuse Service, Domestic Abuse Safety Unit (DASU), Glyndwr Women s Aid, Gorwel (Grwp Cynefin) and North Denbighshire Domestic Abuse Service (NDDAS).

3 Summary - South Wales has the highest number of survivors in refuge followed by Gwent, both of which have.% of their total population in refuge. Dyfed Powys and North Wales both have.% of their total population in refuge. - % of women survivors accessing refuge in North Wales were referred to MARAC, followed by % in Dyfed Powys, 5% in South Wales and % in Gwent. 5% of the men supported in Dyfed Powys refuges were referred to MARAC. - The most common length of stay in refuge was different for each region; South Wales had the shortest stay of 6 days or under as the most common, up to Gwent where the most common length of stay in refuge was - months. - Regarding community/outreach services, North Wales has the highest percentage of survivors accessing support totaling.% of their entire population. This was followed by South Wales at.8%, Gwent at.6% and Dyfed Powys at.5%. - 6% of women accessing community/outreach services in South Wales were referred to MARAC, followed by % of supported women in North Wales and % in Dyfed Powys and Gwent. % of the men supported in South Wales community/outreach services were referred to MARAC.

4 Introduction This report is an accompaniment to the Quarter National Report which contains statistical information regarding 7 specialist violence against women services (from member organisations) within Wales. The data received by Welsh Women s Aid from 7 separate direct services is explored regionally in this report, using the police service areas as regions (Dyfed Powys, Gwent, North Wales and South Wales). For a breakdown of which services fall in each region, please refer to the appendix of this document. The graph below shows the distribution of population by each region which will be focussed on in the report; South Wales is the highest with,7,5 people, followed by North Wales with just above half the amount at 695,8, then Gwent at 58, and Dyfed Powys with 55,87. Graph : Population in each region,7,5 55,87 58, 695,8

5 Refuge Statistics The first section of this report will examine the statistical information regarding the specialist services refuges and the women, children and young people, and men who used the service. Graph : Survivors Supported by Region Female Male During quarter of 7/8, a total of 598 women and men were supported by refuge services in Wales. The majority of these were supported in South Wales, which has the largest population of the four regions (6 women and man supported, 5% of supported). South Wales was followed by Gwent with women being supported, but no men (9%) and Gwent has the second lowest overall population. The percentages of each regions populations supported in refuge are as follows: Dyfed Powys and North Wales.% and Gwent and South Wales.%. 5

6 Specialist services in Wales received 6 referrals for survivors who needed to access a refuge for support. The outcomes of these referrals have been presented below for women and men separately. Graph : Outcome of Female Referrals to Refuge Accepted Referrals Refused Referrals Referrals Did Not Accept The region which received the most female referrals was South Wales with 5 (5% of female referrals), from this South Wales also had the highest number of accepted referrals, refused referrals and referrals who were offered a space in refuge but did not accept. Gwent has the second highest amount of referrals and second highest number of acceptances (7); however the second highest number of refused referrals were in Dyfed Powys ( refused referrals). Reasons for this will be discussed later in the report. 6

7 Graph : Outcome of Male Referrals to Refuge 5 5 Accepted Referrals Refused Referrals Referrals Did Not Accept During this quarter, Dyfed Powys received the most male referrals for refuge, of which most did not access refuge support, with 5 men not accepting the space and 5 being refused. Comparatively, no men were referred to refuge in Gwent, the sole referred man in South Wales was accommodated and out of 6 male referrals in North Wales took up a space in refuge (%). 7

8 This report will now examine why these referrals were refused a space in refuge. Whilst the overall reason for women being refused was that the refuges were full, when split down by region this is not the primary reason for each locality. Women being refused as the refuge was full to capacity was the main reason in North Wales, with 8 women being refused (6%); this was also the main reason for refusal in Dyfed Powys with women (%). However in South Wales an equal amount of women were refused because the refuge was full to capacity, and because the refuge was already supporting high/complex needs survivors (5 each), whilst in Gwent the most common reason for refusal was that the survivor was not experiencing domestic abuse at the time (6%). Graph : Refusal Reasons for Women Data from 9 survivors is missing for South Wales refusal reasons 8

9 Table : Refusal Reasons for Men Dyfed Powys Refuge Full Unable to meet support needs Already supporting high/complex needs service users Displaying abusive behaviour Reasons as to why the male survivors were refused a space in refuge are displayed in the table above (data is only for Dyfed Powys as reasons were not supplied for North Wales). The most common overall reason for men is the same as women, that refuge was unable to support the survivor due to having no space in refuge. Graph 5: Reasons Women Survivors Turned Down Support 9 6 Changed their mind Decided to remain at home without perpetrator Decided to remain with family/friends Reluctant to move out of area Found alternative accommodation Unknown Other 9

10 The most prominent overall reason for why survivors did not access support was that the survivor changed their mind; this was the most prevalent reason for Dyfed Powys and North Wales, and was equal top with finding alternative accommodation for South Wales 5. The only reason which was cited for Gwent was that survivors were reluctant to move out of the area. Table : Reasons Male Survivors Turned Down Support Dyfed Powys Changed their mind Reluctant to move out of area Found alternative accommodation Unknown Male survivors only decided to not access offered support in Dyfed Powys. Of these the most common reason was that they changed their minds, followed by reluctance to move out of the area, finding alternative accommodation and unknown reasons. Specialist services also provided information regarding the sources of referral for support. The table below shows the referral sources for accepted referrals to direct services in Wales. The most common referral source for each region is different, with survivors being referred from a range of sources. In Dyfed Powys, women were most commonly referred from housing services and men via self-referral; in Gwent women mainly self-referred; in North Wales women were referred from other domestic abuse/violence against women services and in South Wales, women were most likely to be referred from inside the service e.g. drop in. There is missing data for survivors from Dyfed Powys There is missing data for survivor from North Wales 5 There is missing data for survivor from South Wales

11 Table : Sources of Referral 6 Women Men Women Men Women Men Women Men Other domestic abuse/violence against women service Internal (e.g. from Drop In) Health Service Police Probation Live Fear Free Helpline Adult Social Services Children's social services Housing service (local authority or housing association) MARAC Other Service Family/Friend Self-referral Unknown Other Data is missing for 5 female accepted referrals from South Wales

12 Graph 6: Referral Area Local Authority Own LA Other LA in Wales Other LA in UK As well as recording who the referrals came from, specialist services also recorded the location of the referrals received in quarter. The referral areas for this question are the Welsh local authority areas. of the regions stated that more referrals came from the refuges own local authority area (Dyfed Powys and South Wales) whilst the other disclosed that more survivors came from other local authorities in Wales than their own (Gwent and North Wales). Whilst the numbers are much lower, all regions also accommodated referrals from elsewhere in the UK. This report will now examine the types of abuse that have been experienced by survivors accessing refuge services in Wales and the additional needs they have.

13 Graph 7: Abuse Types Experienced by Women in Refuge The most prevalent abuse type experienced in all regions was coercive control, followed by physical abuse. Whilst there were reports of all abuse types being experienced in Wales, female genital mutilation and forced marriage were only reported in South Wales, and so called honour based violence was reported only in South Wales and North Wales. Reports of trafficking/human slavery were isolated to North Wales in quarter.

14 Graph 8: Abuse Types Experienced by Men in Refuge 6 Dyfed Powys North Wales The most common abuse type experienced by men in refuge differed in the regions which provided data 7 ; in Dyfed Powys, the most common abuse reported was financial abuse (6 reports) whilst in North Wales the most common was coercive controlling behaviour ( reports). Reports of physical abuse were equal in the regions, but there were reports of stalking and harassment in North Wales, and none in Dyfed Powys. 7 Data on male missing for South Wales

15 Graph 9: Additional Support Needs of Women in Refuge Mental Health Issues Self Harm, Suicide Ideation Substance Misuse Legal Finance Skills development, education and employment Help to support dependant children Immigration status Disability (Physical and Mental) Other For three quarters of the regions, the most common additional support need related to mental health issues, with this having the highest number of reports in Dyfed Powys (9), North Wales (6) and South Wales (8) 8. In Gwent 9, however, the most common additional support need was survivors requiring assistance with financial issues (7 reports), which was the highest number of all regions relating to additional financial support needs. Survivors required more help with substance misuse in South Wales, where it accounts for 5% of the need (). Overall, there were more reports of requiring help with additional needs in Gwent (7 reports). 8 Data missing for 9 survivors in South Wales 9 Data missing for survivors in Gwent 5

16 The reports of additional need from the male survivors in North Wales were split equally between needing assistance with mental health issues, disability and skills development. There were 8 reports of additional support needs from the men supported in refuge in Dyfed Powys this quarter, with half of these needing assistance with mental health issues () followed by disability (). Graph : Additional Support Needs of Men in Refuge Mental Health Issues Legal Finance Skills development, education and employment Disability (Physical and Mental) Dyfed Powys North Wales Data for man supported in South Wales is missing 6

17 Of the survivors who were supported in refuge services, people were assessed as high risk of significant harm/homicide, and were referred to a Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC). More survivors were referred to MARAC in South Wales than the other regions, however Dyfed Powys was the only region which referred men to MARAC. Looking at the proportion of supported female survivors in each region to female survivors referred to MARAC, North Wales is the highest with % of women referred to MARAC, followed by Dyfed Powys with %, South Wales with 5% and then Gwent with %. 5% of the men supported in Dyfed Powys were referred to MARAC. Graph : MARAC Referrals Women Men 7

18 Children and Young People This report will now examine the children and young people who have accessed refuge this quarter. 59 of the survivors who were supported in refuge this quarter were classed as children and young people as they were between the ages of 6 and (% of all survivors). The majority of children and young people accessed services in South Wales (, 56%) followed by Gwent (8, %). Graph : Children and Young People Accessing Refuge Services in their Own Right 8 7 8

19 There were, however, another 7 children who accessed refuge with their parents and not on their own (6 girls and boys). The distribution of the children per region is displayed in the graph below. Graph : Children in Refuge

20 Not all parents who accessed refuge services had their children in the accommodation with them. The graph below depicts the numbers of parents who were in refuge with and without their children. In all regions, more parents had their children in refuge with them than not. The region with the highest proportion of children with their parents is Gwent at 8%, followed by North Wales with 7%, South Wales with 7% and Dyfed Powys at 68%. Graph : Survivors with Children Survivors with children in refuge Survivors with children NOT in refuge The location for the children not in refuge has been reported on and is displayed in the graph below. Children being housed with social services was the most common location for of the regions (Dyfed Powys, North Wales and South Wales) whilst in Gwent the most common location of children not in refuge was with their other parent (who is not the perpetrator) (5 children).

21 Graph 5: Location of Children Not with Survivor Other Family Member Other Parent (who is not the perpetrator) Perpetrator Housed with Social Services, inlcude temp & perm care/foster care Other Specialist services reported that 55 children in refuge were on the Child Protection Register. The breakdown per region is displayed in the table below. Table : Child Protection Register Girls Boys Dyfed Powys Gwent North Wales 7 South Wales 7

22 Leaving Refuge A total of survivors left refuge services during quarter of 7/8. The graph below depicts the total amount of time survivors spent in refuge before leaving. The most common length of time that survivors stayed in refuge for varies per region, with the most common length of time in South Wales being the shortest 6 days or less, up to Dyfed Powys most common at - weeks (7), then North Wales at - months (7) and Gwent with the longest most common stay in refuge at - months. Graph 6: Length of Time Spent in Refuge Days or Less - Weeks - Weeks - Weeks - Months - Months - Months - 5 Months 5-6 Months More than 6 Months Data is missing for survivors from Dyfed Powys, 5 survivors from Gwent and survivors from South Wales.

23 Specialist services reported that at the end of this quarter there were 87 survivors in refuge who were ready to leave but had no appropriate move on available to them (8 women, men). Table 5: No Move on Available Women Men Dyfed Powys Gwent North Wales 6 South Wales Table 6: Move on Women Survivors Moved to temporary LA/HA Housing - 7 Moved to permanent LA/HA Housing Moved to Private Rented Accommodation 7 Second Stage Accommodation Moved to Short Term Supported Accommodation - - Moved to Long Term Supported Accommodation 7 - Moved to Sheltered Housing Transferred to Another Support Agency 5 Moved in with Family/Friends Moved Home (no partner) - 5 Returned to Perpetrator 5 Eviction - 7 Other 6 9

24 The most prevalent place where survivors went following refuge for of the regions was to permanent local authority or housing association housing (Dyfed Powys, Gwent and South Wales ). This type of move on accommodation was equal highest in North Wales alongside moving in with family and friends, and being evicted (7 each). In all regions, some women reported returning to the perpetrator following refuge support, with the highest proportion in Dyfed Powys at % of refuge leavers (Gwent 7%; North Wales 9%; South Wales 8%). Table 7: Move on Men Survivors Dyfed Powys North Wales Moved to Private Rented Accommodation - Moved Home (no partner) - Returned to Perpetrator Eviction - Other - 5% of the men who left refuge in North Wales () and % in Dyfed Powys () returned to the perpetrator. men in Dyfed Powys were also recorded as being evicted. Data for 6 survivors is missing Data for survivors is missing

25 All survivors who left refuges in Dyfed Powys were reported to be housed in the same local authority as the refuge (9 survivors). The most common places for survivors in South Wales 5 and North Wales 6 to be housed was also in the same local authority as the refuge, but in Gwent 7 more people were rehoused in other local authorities in Wales (). Graph 7: Local Authority Move On Own LA Other LA in Wales Other LA in UK Data is missing for survivors 5 Data is missing for 5 survivors 6 Data is missing for 8 survivors 7 Data is missing for 5 survivors 5

26 Community/Outreach Services Community/outreach services are other services that are provided for survivors in the community, such as drop in, group work, advocacy and counselling. Graph 8: Survivors Supported by Community/Outreach Services Female Male In quarter, community/outreach services supported 69 survivors. More survivors were supported in South Wales than the other regions (99) followed by North Wales with 986 survivors. Comparing these numbers of supported people to the overall populations of each area, North Wales has the highest percentage with.% of all inhabitants accessing help for violence against women. This is followed by South Wales at.8%, then Gwent with.6% and Dyfed Powys.5%. 6

27 Community/outreach services received referrals in quarter (8 women and 8 men), the outcomes of which are displayed by region for each of the sexes. Graph 9: Outcome of Women Referrals to Community/Outreach Services Accepted Referrals Refused Referrals Referrals Did Not Accept On Waiting List The highest proportion of refused women survivors were in North Wales (9 survivors, %) with the percentage in other regions being % or lower. North Wales also has the highest amount of women survivors not accepting support offered at women (7%). All regions have a waiting list in place due to high demand, with North Wales having the highest percentage of referrals on waiting lists (7%; South Wales 6%; Gwent 5%; Dyfed Powys %). 7

28 Graph : Outcome of Men Referrals to Community/Outreach Services 5 7 Accepted Referrals Refused Referrals Referrals Did Not Accept During quarter of 7/8, no men were referred for support in Gwent. All of the men referred to South Wales services were supported, whilst % in North Wales turned down offered support (5 men) and % of male survivors in Dyfed Powys were refused assistance ( reasons were not stated). The most common referral source to community/outreach services for women was via self-referral for of the regions, with it being equal top for the fourth (North Wales, equal with police referrals at 6). For men, however, the most common source of referral in South Wales and Dyfed Powys was via internal methods (6 and respectively), with referrals in North Wales being split between the health service and police. 8

29 Table 8: Referral Source by Region Women Men Women Men Women 8 Men 9 Women Men Other domestic abuse/violence against women service Internal (e.g. from Drop In) Health Service Police Probation Live Fear Free Helpline Adult Social Services Children's social services Housing service (local authority or housing association) MARAC Other Service Family/Friend Self-referral Unknown Other Data for 8 women is missing 9 Data for men is missing Data for women is missing 9

30 Graph : Abuse Types Experienced by Women In all four regions, the most common abuse type experienced by women accessing community/outreach services was coercive controlling behaviour. Significantly more women reported experiencing stalking and harassment in North Wales than in other regions ( reports, % of reports) whilst trafficking/human slavery and female genital mutilation was only reported in South Wales. Data is missing for 58 survivors in North Wales; 77 survivors for Gwent and 78 survivors in Dyfed Powys Data is missing for 6 survivors

31 Graph : Abuse Types Experienced by Men 9 Dyfed Powys North Wales South Wales In South Wales, men reported experiencing trafficking/human slavery the most (9 reports), followed by coercive control. Men accessing community/outreach services in North Wales reported experiencing coercive control the most () whilst in Dyfed Powys coercive control reports were equal to reports of physical abuse. Data is missing for the male supported in Gwent Data is missing for 5 male survivors

32 Graph : Additional Support Needs Experienced by Women Mental Health Issues Self Harm, Suicide Ideation Substance Misuse Legal Finance Skills development, education and employment Help to support dependant children Immigration status Disability (Physical and Mental) Other In three of the four regions, mental health support is the most common additional support need for women supported in the community (Dyfed Powys 5, Gwent 6 and North Wales 7 ). In South Wales 8, the most common additional support need regarded finance (8). 5 Data missing for 78 women 6 Data missing for 77 women 7 Data missing for 87 women 8 Data missing for 8 women

33 Graph : Additional Support Needs Experienced by Men 6 6 Mental Health Issues Substance Misuse Legal Finance Skills development, education and employment Help to support dependant children Disability (Physical and Mental) Other Dyfed Powys North Wales The most common additional support need reported by men in North Wales 9 regarded mental health issues () followed by legal and financial issues (6 each). Data provided for men supported in Dyfed Powys showed that disabilities (physical and mental) were the most common with reports. 9 Data missing for man from North Wales, 5 men from Dyfed Powys, man from Gwent and 5 men from South Wales

34 Graph 5: MARAC Referrals Women Men Looking at the proportion of supported female survivors in each region to female survivors referred to MARAC, South Wales is the highest with 6% of women referred to MARAC, followed by North Wales with %, and then Dyfed Powys and Gwent with %. % of the men supported in South Wales were referred to MARAC.

35 Graph 6: Reasons for Women Ceasing Community/Outreach Services Transferred to another service within your organisation Transferred to another Support Agency Support Needs Met Non-engagement with Support Moved Out of Area Returned to Partner Other The most prevalent reasons for women survivors ceasing support for of the regions was because their support needs had been met (Gwent, North Wales and South Wales). For survivors in Dyfed Powys, however, the most common reason for ceasing community/outreach services was that women were transferred to another service in the organisation (). In of the regions, women reported returning to the perpetrator following refuge support, with Dyfed Powys not having any reports of this (Gwent 5%; North Wales and South Wales less than %). 5

36 Graph 7: Reasons for Men Ceasing Community/Outreach Services Transferred to another service within your organisation Transferred to another Support Agency Support Needs Met Non-engagement with Support Dyfed Powys North Wales South Wales The most common reason for men ceasing accessing community/outreach services was that their support needs had been met. There were no reports of men in Gwent ceasing community/outreach support. 6

37 Appendix Below are lists of the specialist services which are in each region. Please note, where the location is part of a wider organisation, this is indicated in brackets following the service. Dyfed Powys Amman Valley (Calan DVS), Carmarthen Domestic Abuse Service (DAS), Threshold DAS, Montgomeryshire Family Crisis Centre, West Wales DAS Gwent Newport Women s Aid (WA), Torfaen (Cyfannol), Monmouthshire (Cyfannol), Caerphilly (Llamau) North Wales Aberconwy DAS, Bangor and District WA, Clwyd Alyn Housing Association WA, Welsh Women s Aid Colwyn Bay, Domestic Abuse Safety Unit/DASU, De Gwynedd WA, Glyndwr WA, North Denbighshire DAS/NDDAS, Welsh Women s Aid Wrexham South Wales Atal Y Fro, BAWSO, Bridgend (Calan DVS), Calan Neath (Calan DVS), Cardiff WA, Port Talbot and Afan WA, WA Rhondda Cynon Taf, Swansea WA, Merthyr (Llamau) 7