Why are today’s social workers feeling unequipped to work with perpetrators of domestic abuse?

Drawing on decades of expertise within the domestic abuse sector, and the latest research, we know that social workers feel unequipped to deal with domestic abuse and more specifically, responding to perpetrators of domestic abuse and in this post we are exploring this in detail.

Saskia Lightburn-Ritchie, Chief Executive MyCWA & Founder of Domestic Abuse Experts

I’m Saskia, Chief Executive of MyCWA, a charity that has been supporting families affected by domestic abuse for almost 50 years.  

I’ve worked in the domestic abuse sector for 30 years now and my first experience of domestic abuse services came about when I was in an abusive relationship during my late teens and moved into refuge accommodation, along with my three young children, when I was just 21. Ever since then, I’ve been determined to help others going through same or similar issues.   

Not your standard domestic abuse service… 

At My CWA, our core goal has always been to keep adults and children safe. So, we offer the services you might expect of a domestic abuse charity - refuge accommodation for adult & child survivors, and recovery programmes – but we also offer behaviour change interventions for those who harm and want to change.  

Our behaviour change interventions were created after listening to consistent feedback from survivors that we needed to hold perpetrators to account.  

They told us it’s not enough to open refuge accommodation and help survivors flee their relationship. The problems don’t go away when a victim leaves – they just happen to someone else, and the cycle continues. They told us the only way to keep adult and child victims truly safe, and to break the cycle, is to work with the whole family. So, we did.  

Breaking the mould of domestic abuse support 

We were met with staunch opposition when we began offering behaviour change support in 2011. Understandably, we had to explain to countless people within the sector our belief in treating the root cause, and that these behaviour interventions take nothing (money, resource etc) away from survivors, but are instead designed to keep adult and child victims safer. It was an uphill battle to educate people on the effectiveness of our approach, but we knew we had to try. I knew from my own experience of abuse, as well as from working with thousands of individuals living in abusive relationships, that without the right support, that the issue of domestic abuse was not going to be tackled by treating the ‘symptoms’ alone.     

The ‘Engage’ Approach 

Thanks to much determination, my team and I persisted with behaviour change work – sure of the impact this work had on the safety of the whole family.

Our perseverance paid off – we are viewed nationally as a best-practice and pioneering service provider, and a whole family approach to domestic abuse support is now widely accepted as best practice throughout the UK domestic abuse support sector. 

We call our approach of keeping adult and child victims safe by holding perpetrators to account, the ‘Engage’ approach. And more recently, we launched our training and consultancy service Domestic Abuse Experts, so we can share our approach and our team’s wealth of knowledge and best practice with others.  

We’ve still a way to go when it comes to ending domestic abuse 

Despite our pioneering interventions (for people of all ages, in various stages in the cycle of change, and phases of relationships) and a complete transformation of the wider UK’s domestic abuse support landscape, services such as social care, education and the criminal justice system have been slow to accept a new approach to supporting those affected by domestic abuse. 

A 2024 study commissioned by children’s services evidence body Foundations, found that although most respondents (84%) had worked on at least one domestic abuse case in the past six months, only 68% felt they had sufficient training, with the rest not confident or unsure. Moreover, only 37.6% feel equipped to respond to perpetrators.  

Training was crucial for confidence in dealing with domestic abuse - 88% of those who had received training felt confident they could make appropriate and sensitive referrals for those who had experienced domestic abuse.  

A further study by the National Centre for Social Research, ‘Understanding how social workers identify and respond to perpetrators of intimate partner violence’ social workers often lack confidence and practical guidance in dealing with intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetrators, with training not adequately covering how to identify and engage with them. 

This 2022 study also highlighted how training for social workers tends to focus on male-to-female IPV, with limited coverage of female-to-male IPV and IPV within LGBTQ+ relationships. This limited focus can lead to these cases being overlooked, and the victim/survivor-centric training results in social workers being less prepared to engage with perpetrators effectively. 

Other findings from this particular study showed significant gaps in both pre- and post-qualification training, which need to be addressed to improve social workers' ability to identify risks and understand perpetrator treatment options.  

Preparing the next generation of front-line life-changers 

These studies is indicative of a wider problem. These respondents are the frontline professionals who are often the first point of contact in a domestic abuse situation. They’re a lifeline to the individuals and families affected. But they can only offer that lifeline if they have the training they need to help every member of the family, including perpetrators. 

We can see from these responses – and from our work in our community – that perpetrator training is lacking in all areas of social care and the impact of this is huge. I often speak to social workers who feel equipped to supporting adult and child victims but have never worked with a perpetrator of abuse. They recognise the urgent need to engage with perpetrators but, due to a lack of preparedness, confidence, and often fear, they avoid contact. Consequently, the abuse often continues—either within the existing family or in another. 

The opportunity 

With any challenge, comes opportunity. And I truly believe there’s a huge opportunity for universities and other educational establishments to incorporate behaviour change principles into their curriculums; to properly equip social workers and other front-line workers with the skills and tools they need to enter their chosen field. 

We know students with social care qualifications are leaving education underprepared for their roles. We need perpetrator support and behaviour change work on the curriculum and embedded into the training of any frontline professional who might encounter those affected by domestic abuse in their professional capacity.  

Leading from the front 

Just 37.6% of participants in the survey I quoted above felt ready to respond to domestic abuse perpetrators. Decision-makers in education have the power to change that. To increase that figure. To ensure that students leave education feeling adequately prepared to support everyone in a household affected by abuse. To show current and prospective students, potential employers, and other education establishments, that they are forward-thinking, progressive, and ahead of the curve.  

Reach out to us 

So please take a moment to think about whether your curriculum covers a whole-family approach towards domestic abuse support. And if it doesn’t conform to the widely accepted best practice of offering support to every member of the household, please contact my team for an informational, no-pressure conversation about how we can help you.