Domestic violence and abuse: Thinking and doing differently in child protection

This article explores a mixed methods study, set in two sites in England and one in Scotland, that aimed to understand what constitutes domestic violence and abuse (DVA) in child protection and the relationship with intersecting inequalities. The findings reveal a fragile knowledge base that is impeding the understandings required to comprehend and respond to DVA in differing communities. The lack of contextual information on the socio-economic circumstances of families is a particular gap in light of the finding that, by combining data sets in two of the sites, researchers found a social gradient in operation. This challenges a common framing of DVA as unrelated to poverty and highlights the importance of further research into the links. The international scholarship on intersectionality appears poorly understood. This was reflected in the lack of official data gathered on how pathways for children are impacted by intersecting inequalities. With important exceptions, evidence-based typologies of risk were not used, contributing to ‘one size fits all’ responses to those impacted. The research discusses whether a project constituting individual casework and multi-agency working can carry the weight of expectations being placed upon it by a societal problem such as DVA.