Violence Against Women, Sexual Violence and Domestic Abuse: blueprint perpetration intervention mapping survey

The Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (VAWDASV) National Strategy 2022 to 2026 is unequivocal in its ambition to make Wales the safest place to be a woman. The Strategy is also explicit in stating that holding abusers to account and providing support to change behaviour is crucial to achieving this ambition. Interventions working with perpetrators in community and custodial settings are an essential component in our collective response to VAWDASV. However, we must also seek to ‘turn off the tap’ by addressing the underlying attitudes and conditions that give rise to abuse. For that to happen, we must also ensure that we have effective, evidence-based interventions to prevent perpetration before it occurs. 

In December 2023, the Tackling Perpetration workstream launched a national multi-agency mapping survey to gain insight into the number and nature of interventions addressing VAWDASV perpetration in Wales. For the purposes of the survey, ‘intervention’ was defined as any service or mechanism designed to do any of the following:

• Prevent perpetration in the first instance or from happening again.
• Hold perpetrators to account for their behaviour.
• Support perpetrators to change their behaviour.
• Manage the risk posed by perpetrators.

It should also be noted that our definition of intervention was inclusive of all aspects of VAWDASV. That is to say, we did not limit our focus to a particular element of VAWDASV such as domestic abuse or sexual violence.

From the outset, the workstream intended the survey to be ambitious in scope. To that end, the survey was designed to capture information about interventions operating in the community, in custodial settings and across a range of sectors including, but not limited to, local government, health, education, criminal justice, and the specialist sector. By taking this approach, we hoped to build a comprehensive picture reflecting the variety of interventions available across Wales. 

The survey findings represent one of the most detailed datasets for VAWDASV perpetration interventions in the country; this is a welcome development and provides us with a platform we can build upon.

In a strained financial climate, securing further investment may prove challenging. This is especially so when services providing essential support to victims and survivors are rightly raising the challenges they are experiencing with increased demand and limited resources. As stated in the Blueprint High Level Action Plan, the Tackling Perpetration workstream is committed to ensuring that: 

perpetrator interventions are safe, well-resourced and do not compromise the level of provision for victims and survivors.

We recognise the need to be responsible in balancing the required level of investment for perpetrator interventions with the necessity of providing services to victims and survivors. Yet, it is also our view that if we are to achieve the overarching goal of making Wales the safest place to be a woman, we must have interventions in place to prevent perpetration in the first place or stop it from happening again. Given current levels of provision, securing these interventions will require further investment. Therefore, in considering how we address the questions raised by the survey findings collectively, we will need to learn, develop and establish solutions that meet demand without impacting services for victim and survivors.

From a total of 62 responses, we were able to identify 56 interventions that met our definition of a perpetration intervention (as outlined in the Introduction). The 6 interventions removed from the dataset were either duplicates or showed limited evidence of working with perpetrators.

Across all VAWDASV regions, the findings show that Dyfed Powys has the highest number of interventions (the Findings section of the full report has an explanation of the regions). This was followed by All Wales, which we used to capture interventions available in every VAWDASV Region. We also broke down the number of interventions by police area. In doing so, we identified that 52% of interventions recorded in the survey were delivered in the South Wales Police area. This represents a considerably higher proportion than the remaining three police areas. 

The survey asked respondents to state which sector (e.g., police, local authorities, specialist sector) was delivering the intervention. The sector that delivers the most perpetration interventions in Wales is the specialist sector, followed by His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). We received no responses from local health boards. We noted this as a gap to be addressed, alongside other sectors absent in the survey findings (see Recommendation 3). 

Domestic abuse was the most common behaviour focus for interventions. Many interventions address sexual violence and other harmful sexual behaviours of alongside domestic abuse. While there are interventions that focus primarily on sexual violence, there are comparatively fewer than those addressing domestic abuse. The survey findings did not provide evidence of any interventions addressing honour-based violence, female genital mutilation or forced marriage.

When asked about the purpose of their intervention, most respondents stated, ‘Behaviour Change’, followed by ‘Risk Reduction’. Respondents were later asked to provide more detailed information on the risk profile their intervention was targeted towards. The single largest category was ‘Medium Risk’. When combining this data with the ‘High Risk’ and ‘Very High Risk’, the findings show that most interventions are working with individuals who have already caused harm.

The most common cohort for interventions was Adult; Male, followed by Adult; Mixed. This is unsurprising given that most VAWDASV is perpetrated by men.

Encouragingly, the majority of interventions reported as having a victim liaison and support offer of some kind (70%). Victim liaison and support are essential components for delivering perpetration interventions. It is important to note that given the ambitious scope of the survey, we captured a number of interventions that would not require a victim liaison and support offer, such as those working within the education and awareness raising space (i.e., with a view to preventing harm in the first instance).

Respondents were asked to provide information about the accreditation status of their intervention and whether it had been evaluated. Less than half (46%) of interventions were found to have some form of accreditation. Of those that were accredited, Respect was the most common accreditation body. It should be noted that accreditation is not a proxy for identifying whether an intervention is effective in reducing risk and increasing victim safety. Accreditation identifies compliance against standards, these can include elements such as data sharing, data retention and staff training.

Less than half of interventions (45%) stated that they had been evaluated. The responses included a mix of academic and external evaluating bodies as well as internal evaluation. It is unclear whether these evaluations focus on outcomes or evaluate the processes within systems and/or the reduction of harm and increase in victim safety. We have committed to exploring questions the survey raised concerning accreditation and evaluation in more detail (see Recommendation 7).

In the final section of the survey, we asked respondents a series of questions about finance and funding arrangements to gain insight into the ways in which interventions are funded in Wales and the extent to which existing financial arrangements are sustainable. The most common funding period for interventions was 12 to24 months. A total og 5 interventions were recorded as having 12-month funding on a ‘rolling’ or ‘review’ basis. This indicates a degree of longevity for these interventions, though not necessarily secure funding given that a change in funders’ budgets from year to year may result in cessation of or reduction in funding.

Most interventions are delivered through grant funding with commissioning being the second most common funding model. Of the 21 grant funded interventions, 14 were due to end in the 2023 to 2024 financial year. The high level of interventions receiving grant funding on a 12-monthly basis introduces risk of precarity in the provision of perpetration interventions in Wales.

Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) provide the majority of funding for perpetration interventions in Wales, followed by local authorities and the Welsh Government. We were unable to find evidence of health as a primary funder of interventions within the survey findings. Dividing the primary funder categories into devolved (local authorities and the Welsh Government) and non-devolved bodies (PCCs, HMPPS and UK Government), we see a slight majority of interventions funded by those that are non-devolved.

For more information about these key insights, please see the full report which provides detailed analysis, illustrative data and relevant recommendations to build upon the findings gleaned from the survey.

The perpetration intervention mapping survey has revealed an inconsistent landscape of provision across Wales. These inconsistencies apply to the number of interventions across regions, but, more crucially, they also extend to the nature of interventions. 

Our ambition is to achieve a consistent all-Wales whole system approach to tackling perpetration that can guarantee minimum levels of service provision across regions. In doing so, we aim to provide victims and survivors with reassurance that perpetration interventions are safe, effective, accountable and provide them with clear communication and integrated support through a consistent victim liaison offer. Further, we intend that perpetrators and those at risk of causing harm are held to account and can access support to change their behaviours regardless of where they live in Wales.

The recommendations listed throughout the full report provide practical next steps on how we can build upon the existing landscape in Wales. These recommendations are listed in full below:

Recommendation 1

In collaboration with Regional Advisers, the Welsh Government complete a cross-comparative exercise to understand how regional needs assessments align with existing provision of perpetration interventions.

Recommendation 2

VAWDASV National Partnership Board to consider endorsing an all-Wales response to tackling perpetration (including minimum level of service provision) to establish consistency and ensure interventions are safe and effective.

Recommendation 3

VAWDASV Blueprint Tackling Perpetration workstream undertake follow up targeted engagement with key sectors absent from the survey findings to understand what, if any, perpetration interventions they are delivering.

Recommendation 4

VAWDASV Blueprint Tackling Perpetration workstream develop the perpetration interventions directory and make it accessible to all regions.

Recommendation 5

In collaboration with all regions, the VAWDASV National Partnership Board review gaps in the availability of VAWDASV perpetration interventions and consider options for increasing provision within Wales. Key gaps include sexual violence, honour-based abuse, forced-marriage, female genital mutilation and Child to Adult Parental Violence and Abuse.

Recommendation 6

Tackling Perpetration Workstream to review the survey findings in greater detail to gain better understanding of challenges and inconsistencies in accreditation and evaluation of interventions.

Recommendation 7

The Welsh Government and regional commissioning bodies undertake an analysis of existing interventions’ accreditation and evaluation status (including date received/completed) and evidence of outcomes.

Recommendation 8

VAWDASV Blueprint Tackling Perpetration workstream to collaborate with the Sustainable Whole System Approach workstream to address challenges identified concerning the sustainability of perpetration interventions funding in Wales.

Recommendation 9

VAWDASV Blueprint Tackling Perpetration workstream to collaborate with the Sustainable Whole System Approach workstream to ensure that perpetration interventions are included within new guidance on developing needs assessments and establishing commissioning arrangements.

Recommendation 10

VAWDASV Blueprint Tackling Perpetration workstream undertake a follow up review in the 2025 to 2026 financial year to understand how the perpetration intervention landscape has developed, what progress has been made and how the survey findings have informed decision making.