Routes to safety: Enhancing referrals to make victims of domestic abuse safer, sooner 

This project will use SafeLives’ Insights database to produce new information on referral pathways and outcomes for survivors of domestic violence.  

Why this project is important

Domestic abuse affects at least 2.3 million people aged 16-74 in England and Wales. Multi-agency working is considered the most effective way to approach domestic abuse. However, services like health, housing, social care, and policing often struggle to spot or evaluate it.  

Insights is a case management system used by front line services in 36 local authorities across England, Wales, and the Channel Islands. Insights contains individual level data for over 90,000 adults and 9,600 children and young people. It captures the violence and abuse they experience, the support they receive, and their outcomes. The database includes the experiences of individuals from a variety of racialised minorities, financial backgrounds, risk levels, and living situations.  

How the research will be carried out

The research team will undertake analysis of Insights with the aim of learning more about: 

• referral pathways to eventual safety;  

• how pathways relate to outcomes;  

• and how they can be optimised.  

The research will involve quantitative analysis, including of national MARAC datasets, and interviews with survivors and practitioners to explore areas of uncertainty.  

How this research will make a difference

The team will use their findings to develop policy and practice recommendations with survivors and practitioners.  Through a ‘spotlight’ report they’ll aim to reach policy, commissioning, practice, and research audiences, with linked events and meetings. SafeLives’ consultancy and training activities will disseminate the findings directly to practitioners.  

They will involve people with lived experience in steering and carrying out the project and draw on the support of a broad group of academics and practitioners.