How Domestic Abuse–Informed Is Your Practice?
Similar to being trauma-informed and culturally competent, child-serving systems cannot achieve their mission of child safety and wellbeing without being domestic abuse–informed.
But what does that mean? What does good practice look like? Often public protection case reviews or local authority inspections highlight that there is a need to improve practice around domestic abuse but fail to clearly state what that means. They often recommend the need for more domestic abuse training but are unclear what that training should consist of. There is a lack of national multi-agency guidance around domestic abuse practice which would support a shared approach.
The Domestic Abuse–Informed Continuum of Practice aims to address this gap. It categorizes practitioner and system responses to domestic abuse cases involving children into five stages. Our evidence-informed continuum helps you identify where your current practices fall on the spectrum and provides a clear roadmap for improvement:
Eliminate destructive practices that blame survivors, endanger children, and waste valuable resources
Recognize neglectful approaches that overlook critical impacts on family safety and wellbeing
Advance beyond pre-competent responses that acknowledge problems but lack effective solutions
Achieve competence by implementing survivor-centered, perpetrator-focused interventions
Reach proficiency with consistent, culturally responsive approaches that transform outcomes
As your practices improve, you’ll experience measurable results, including:
Increased Safety: Families remain together and protected from violence
Better Resource Allocation: Reduce unnecessary child removals and court costs
Enhanced Staff Satisfaction: Workers gain skills, confidence, and effectiveness
Improved Community Trust: Build stronger partnerships with survivors and service providers
System-Wide Transformation: Create lasting change through integrated approaches
Want to know where your organization lands? Click the button below to download the Domestic Abuse–Informed Continuum of Practice.