Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has plans to make training on domestic abuse, which includes recognition of specific needs of victims resulting from their ethnicity or cultural background, mandatory for public service providers engaging with victims of domestic violence; and what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of such services in meeting the needs of (a) black women and girls and (b) those from other marginalised communities.

This Government is committed to ensuring that all victims of violence against women and girls get the support they need. We know that domestic abuse affects a disparate group and that a “one size fits all” approach is not appropriate, especially for ethnic minority victims. This is why we committed £1.5 million in the Tackling Violence and Girls Strategy to increase provision of ‘by and for’ services, to further increase funding for specialist services. Alongside this, our Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan invests over £230 million of new cross-government funding, including £141 million for supporting victims, with a minimum of £47 million ringfenced for community-based services.

Training is an important part of tackling and responding to domestic abuse, but this needs to form part of a wider approach of guidance and support. We recognise the importance of the police receiving the right training to respond effectively, regardless of the victim’s background. The College of Policing’s foundation training includes police ethics and self-understanding, hate crimes, ethics and equalities, and policing without bias. Specialist training for officers dealing routinely with public protection issues explores these issues in more depth and detail.

The College of Policing has also developed specialist training, the ‘Domestic Abuse Matters’ programme, in collaboration with SafeLives and with input from Women’s Aid, which helps first responders dealing with an incident or report. This considers the needs of different victims, including those from a diverse black community and ethnic minority communities. This training is being or has been delivered to the majority of forces already, and the Home Office will provide up to £3.3 million over three years to support further delivery.

The new full-time National Policing Lead for Violence Against Women and Girls, DCC Maggie Blyth, has included building trust and confidence as a key pillar for delivery: this includes working with charities supporting ethnic minority women and girls to avoid their specific needs being overlooked.

We are also finalising our Domestic Abuse Statutory Guidance which will support frontline services in identifying and responding to domestic abuse, including recognising unique barriers and experiences that some victims, including those from ethnic minority backgrounds or with other protected characteristics, may face.