1 Domestic violence information

MARAC attendance and decision making
Those attending the MARAC should have the authority within their
agencies to prioritise the actions that arise from the MARAC and to be
able to make an immediate commitment of resources to those actions.
The victim does not attend the meeting, nor does the perpetrator,
or the Crown Prosecution Service. The victim is usually informed
that their situation will be discussed by the MARAC, unless doing
so would jeopardise the victim’s safety.
On average the MARAC will spend about 10 minutes per case.
This does underline the importance of the role of the IDVA within
the process.
The MARAC would usually be chaired by an officer from either the
police or probation services. This is normally someone with the rank
of Detective Inspector or equivalent. Contact your local Domestic
Violence Coordinator for more information (see pg 311).
Protocols on information-sharing will have to be drafted and
adopted by all agencies.
3.6.3 Information sharing
Always share information to protect the safety of a survivor and their
child(ren). If it is not for this reason, then do not share it. Information
should not be shared for the sake of sharing information.
Detailed guidance on sharing information in a multi-agency context
is available in the service provider resources section of the GLDVP
website www.gldvp.org.uk
3.6.4 Safety planning
By raising the issue of domestic violence practitioners can create
opportunities to explore ways in which women and children can be
safe. Safety planning involves more than assessing potential future risk;
it can help create psychological safety, the space needed to recover
and freedom from fear. A safety plan is a semi-structured way to think
about steps that can be taken to reduce risk before, during and after
any violent or abusive incidents. It is important to stress that although
a safety plan can reduce the risks of violence they cannot completely
guarantee safety.
“My ex-boyfriend were a control freak, he were a lot older,
and I were a lot younger at that stage, and I think he wanted
to be in control more. He was always in control of the drugs,
like. He’d get the drugs and he put it on the spoon, he’d cook
it up, he’d draw the drugs up into the pin and that and like he
wanted to be controlling me, always had to inject me.”
(Survivor’s voice) A
Internet Chatroom
“I remember you saying to me on one post ‘if you knew that
when you drank you hurt someone you loved, would you still
drink?’ I will always remember that, it marked a turning point
for me, because it brought it home to me that he KNEW he
beat me when he drank and for all the times he said he loved
me, if he truly loved me and didn’t want to hurt me he would
stop drinking.”
http://messageboards.ivillage.co.uk/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=iv-ukrlabuse&msg=27714.7
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© Stella Project Section 3 - Domestic Violence
© Stella Project Section 3 - Domestic Violence 133