Our articles are written by experts in their field and include barristers, solicitors, judges, mediators, academics and professionals from a range of related disciplines. Family Law provides a platform for debate for all the important topics, from divorce and care proceedings to transparency and access to justice. If you would like to contribute please email emma.reitano@lexisnexis.co.uk.
Spotlight
A day in the life Of...
Read on

Increase in baby victims of domestic abuse

Date:19 MAY 2017
Third slide

Recent analysis of Buttle UK's grant-giving has shown a staggering growth in the number of young victims exposed to domestic abuse, with figures showing that the number of grants awarded to families affected by domestic abuse rose by 22% between 2015 and 2016.

Nearly 10,000 children who were referred to Buttle UK last year had been affected by domestic abuse; out of these, 3,384 children were aged 4 or under. This represents an increase of 35% on the number of cases in this age group compared to the year before. 

Although Buttle UK's grant-giving was setup to support children and young people who are in financial hardship and are dealing with other serious social issues, domestic abuse is consistently becoming the primary reason across all of the nations as to why it gets referrals.

When Buttle UK analysed reasons as to why families were referred to them during the past 5 years, 27% stated the primary or secondary reason for support was domestic abuse. This equates to 15,483 of 57,024 cases referred to Buttle UK during this time.

Of the children and young people supported by our grants over the past 5 years, 35,380 out of 121,540 were affected by domestic abuse. We registered a 29% increase in the number of children in this category last year. The types of abuse registered included physical, mental and sexual abuse. In most cases, the children had witnessed the abuse taking place in the home, often on an ongoing basis. For many their behaviour had become either withdrawn or challenging as a result.

'Domestic abuse is an extensive and largely under-reported problem across the UK. Support services often assume that a child’s needs can be met by addressing the needs of the abused parent. The increase in referrals we have seen may be a result of better awareness of the issue in general, but we still believe that the specific issues that children face in these situations are not being identified and met.' Commenting on the figures, Gerri McAndrew, CEO of Buttle UK
Buttle UK believes that this is the tip of the iceberg.

It is estimated that 20% of children in the UK have been exposed to domestic abuse, but there has been very little published data in this area. The high number of children affected by the issue is key to the rationale for Buttle UK's ‘Chances for Children’ campaign, which hopes to raise an additional £10m over the next 5 years to help meet the inevitable increase in need to support these cases going forward.

The current Government’s policy on domestic violence has no specific provision for children affected by domestic abuse, and there are currently no official statistics on the number of children who live with it. During this election, Buttle UK is calling for all parties to identify and prioritise the needs of these children in their manifestos and it hopes the next Government will drive forward systemic change in how support services account for the needs of children.

Family Law Awards 2023
Family Law Awards 2023
Winners announced!
Family Court Practice, The
Family Court Practice, The
Order the 2024 edition
£807.99

How Buttle UK is responding to the rise in children affected by domestic abuse

Over the past 3 years, Buttle UK has been piloting an innovative new approach to supporting children affected by domestic abuse. It has been providing grants up to the value of £2000 that can be spent on a wide range of items and costs designed to:
  • Help victims of domestic abuse to resettle after leaving an abusive relationship – making them less vulnerable to returning to an abusive relationship as they try to live independently for the first time. Here, Buttle UK provided the families with essential household items required, establishing an independent, long-term and secure home.
  • Specific funding targeted at children to help them overcome their experiences and settle into their new surroundings. This has included: tutoring lessons, homework clubs, uniforms, computers, educational toys, after-school clubs, swimming lessons, football, drama clubs, karate lessons, play therapy and lastly counseling.
To date this initiative has awarded 470 grants to the value of £580,000. This project was supported with funding from the City of London Corporation’s charity, the City Bridge Trust, and ran across all London Boroughs and the average grant awarded was £1240

An independent evaluation of the project has found that the grants offer:
  • A new beginning, that is more dignified than it would have been
  • Reduction in tension within the family: improving family functioning
  • Reduction in parental stress linked to household and financial management and an improvement in parenting capacity
  • Reduction in mother's isolation: improving support networks and resources she can draw on
  • Paying for extra tuition helps children to 'catch-up' and increase confidence. It helps to address missed school, school changes and disengagement due to trauma
  • Paying for after-school activities helps to improve children's behaviour at, and engagement with, school
  • Computers are now essential for secondary school children. Paying for these reduces the complicated arrangements and costs associated with not having a computer at home 
  • Parents in this situation are more typically focused on the 'here and now' – grant helped to support successful post-crisis transition
  • For the support services: the grants helped to make services more child-centred, by encouraging them to think about the children’s needs. They improved the relationship between referrer agency and client, due to the level of practical support provided.
Buttle UK's 'Chances for Children Campaign' is set to raise an additional £10m to help thousands of children in crisis. Last year, Buttle UK awarded 10,000 grants reaching early 30,000 children and amounting to £3.9m. £2.25m was awarded to families on behalf of BBC Children in Need

Domestic Violence: Law and Practice is a comprehensive practitioner’s guide to dealing with cases involving personal protection, harassment and domestic violence.

The extensive text is supplemented by appendices containing key forms, precedents and legislation.
Categories:
News