The Safeguarding and Domestic Abuse Sector Podcast

Have your reviews analysed the victim offender overlap? In today's episode I explore this topic and the complexities that can occur. Expect this conversation to explore:  Why offenders can often have extensive histories as victims How the Criminal Justice system deals with trauma What increases the risk of becoming a victim-offender The different ways a victim-offender might be treated by differen...

Have you been involved in a review which analyses how well health and social care have managed to integrate as 'integrated care organisations'? In today's episode I explore this topic of ICO's and why this a key theme for reviews. Expect this conversation to explore:  What is the 'Team around the family' model? The long-term aim of integrated care organisations Has there been progress? What are so...

It's time for the system to link child and father data universally. One way to start would be to do this in health records. Reviews continue to flag this system change as well as the need to link male and female partners within records to allow for more holistic assessment and immediate safeguarding. Listen in if you feel strongly as I do.    Expect this conversation to explore:  the catalyst for...

Cuckooing is a practice where people take over a person's home and use the property to facilitate exploitation. There's much work to do to improve multi agency working when it comes to identifying cuckooing as well as responding to it. Have you been involved in analysing multi agency practice around cuckooing? If so this episode is designed for you. Expect this conversation to explore:  the signs...

In this bitesize episode of the Safeguarding and Domestic Abuse Sector Podcast I share how a review can be a high quality learning experience when an engaging review model is used.   Hear me talk about: when learning truly begins during a review what key elements a review requires to ensure learning takes place what happens in the 6 months period of a review what is required in the 6 month period...

In this bitesize episode of the Safeguarding and Domestic Abuse Sector Podcast I share different ways we can disseminate learning following a review and the learnings from the latest SILP Safeguarding Adults Review that has been published.   Hear me talk about: a recently published Safeguarding Adults Review and the key learning the importance of sharing learning following a review the different w...

In this bitesize episode of the Safeguarding and Domestic Abuse Sector Podcast I talk about how a person's experience of trauma in childhood is included in reviews.   Hear me talk about: 👉🏻 the impact the words we write can have in reviews 👉🏻  my caution around use of the term ACE's 👉🏻 why expanding our knowledge from research can lead to over simplification or stigma Are you fired up to gen...

In this bitesize episode of the Safeguarding and Domestic Abuse Sector Podcast I talk about the challenges around translation services for vulnerable people whose first language in not English., particularly where support around domestic abuse may be needed. Hear me talk about: why a professional interpreter is important for vulnerable people why every patient and service user deserves to have det...

In this bitesize episode of the Safeguarding and Domestic Abuse Sector Podcast I talk about tackling domestic abuse through the lens of children facing services v adult facing services.  Hear me talk about: Key points from the newsletter e.g. why I believe the Think Family agenda is beginning to get the attention it deserves the reason that we have services that service children and adults separat...

In the seventh episode of season 5 I am sharing a special interview with Julie Hall, a SILP accredited independent reviewer. Julie has navigated a career through the health service starting in nursing to Associate Director of Safeguarding. This is the seventh reviewer spotlight in our current series. Hear us talk about: 👉🏻  her journey to becoming an independent reviewer  👉🏻  what drives Julie...

In the fifth episode of season 5 I am sharing a special interview with Vivian Bickham, a SILP accredited independent reviewer. Vivian has a significant career within domestic abuse and her drive comes from a very personal place. This is the fifth reviewer spotlight in our current series. Hear us talk about: 👉🏻  her journey to becoming an independent reviewer  👉🏻 what drives Viv in her independ...

In the first episode of season 5 I am sharing a special interview with Sarah Glossop, a SILP accredited independent reviewer who has more than 20 years safeguarding experience in both children's and adult safeguarding in the health sector. This will be the first of 5 reviewer spotlight episodes over the coming weeks. Hear us talk about: 👉🏻 her journey to becoming an independent reviewer  👉🏻 th...

Statistics about the numbers of women who experience domestic abuse only takes us so far. How do we understand what's really happening, especially for women in mid and later life? The power of story telling shouldn't be under estimated. Carrie Bower understands this and her blog, podcast and website are an amazing resource for anyone who wants to dive in. It's probably not what you would expect. I...

The need for specialist domestic abuse services is pressing & urgent. At this uncertain time with a brand new government it is unclear whether trauma informed support will be available regardless of postcode. Every penny must be well spent. When this is done properly, spending on the NHS & other services will reduce. Not to mention it has the potential to save lives. So it is timely to understand...

When I became an independent reviewer I felt I had lost my professional network. People around me didn't seem to understand exactly how it felt to be doing what I do. I never imagined a social media platform would change that for me. Fast forward to 2024 & that is exactly what LinkedIn does. If you are starting out with LinkedIn you may have no idea where to begin. You may not fully understand how...

There are a number of   principles, expectations & standards for us all to digest & implement as we embrace the implementation of Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023. It's helpful at this stage to explore how this feels for a partnership & gather thoughts & insights from an independent scrutineer. Have you considered the relevance & helpfulness of the descriptors to help you break down som...

We all want media coverage of domestic abuse incidents to be more accurate & less victim blaming. As a starting point there has to be a focus on making the experience of a survivor being interviewed by the press a more positive experience. The project undertaken by researcher, Michelle Rawlins, draws on direct experience & commentary from survivors & there are many insights to be drawn from this e...

Most reviews identify a problem with information sharing, so it's time to improve our skills in analysing the in-the-moment reasoning of practitioners faced with the dilemmas this issue raises. The idea that reviews distort the picture of the totality of the work being done does not sit comfortably with any of us, but Jonathan makes a good case on this point. Expect a few lightbulb moments. Is it...

Do Domestic Homicide Review recommendations make a difference? We know that   there is a lack of national oversight about the effect of the recommendations, & we await Home Office guidance on how this will change. Do they mostly suggest training to effect these improvements? How are they considering protected characteristic? Do they highlight good practice? The study commissioned by the Domestic A...

Even though we have come a long way, large pockets of society still exist where an improved understanding of domestic abuse might make a huge difference. These are the areas where we haven't yet understood how what we do & the way we do it can act as a deterrent, help improve detection & even tackle the problem of domestic abuse. Legislation & the role it has played is a major factor. Is the way t...

When I asked Kul Mahay about organisations with a learning culture it was inevitable that we would begin by speaking about the pandemic. It forced us to become more creative. Being creative is everything when we want to generate valuable learning. Reviews are pre-occupied with learning from what didn't go well. But that leaves us feeling value less. So how do we use emotional intelligence, as lead...

When you have spent 30 years in a policing career it can be hard to see how you might fit into anything else. This was how it felt for Andy Labrum, Founder of Blue Light Leavers. He has supported thousands of others through the transition & is ready to share vulnerably about his own journey & that experienced by others in his community. Andy's approach is to offer inspiration & guidance, but it is...

The last Triennial Analysis 'Learning for the Future: Final Analysis of Serious Case Reviews' analysed 253 cases. These were serious case reviews & local child safeguarding practice reviews completed in 2020 & 2021. Jonathan joins me in this conversation to give us an overview of the statistics & themes, which is super useful for those who undertake these reviews. Jonathan also shares inspiration...

How do we frame our analysis around 3 overlapping problems like intimate partner violence, suicidality & self harm when each of them presents us with a unique complexity of its own?   The way they manifest feels hard to predict. We can look at contributing factors, use of language & stigma. And we can consider   solutions focused ideas for service delivery. What about if we each examined our role...

How does best practice look when we are commissioning an IMR & how regularly does this happen in practice? When the requirement lands it's natural to want to produce the best quality, but there's a supportive framework that facilitates that. Clare & I separate foundational work from the work necessary when the requirement for the IMR lands in this conversation. We also cover systemic analysis, gov...