Project

North Warwickshire Alcohol Related Domestic Abuse Project

Background to project:

It is estimated that one in four women and one in six men will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime. Furthermore domestic violence accounts for 16% of all violent crime, claiming the lives of two women each week in the United Kingdom, and has more repeat victims than any other crime. There is a huge toll in emotional costs to those who suffer the abuse.

Warwickshire has seen a disturbing rise in cases in recent years from fewer than 5,000 in 2005-2006 to 7554 in 2007-08, alongside an expected rise to more than 8,000 in 2009. Research has shown that only about 40% of cases come to the attention of the police and other authorities, so the true scale of the social problem is far greater.

Studies have also shown that some 39% of domestic violence cases involve consumption of alcohol.

Swanswell is a national charity that helps people overcome alcohol, drug and other problem behaviour. Founded 41 years ago as a small alcohol counselling service in Coventry, it has grown into a major organisation and helps around 5,000 service users every year. Swanswell's aim is to change people’s lives so they “feel well, do well and stay well.”

Swanswell have operated an alcohol service in North Warwickshire since 1988, working with probation, criminal justice and other statutory organisations and are recognised as the lead alcohol treatment agency in Warwickshire working with county substance misuse services.

A key factor for the organisation is the holistic approach which aims to provide support and help to a service user across a range of problem areas, or where necessary to refer or signpost to other appropriate services. Swanswell does not insist on service users being “dry” before offering help from our free and confidential service, thus removing an easy excuse for perpetrators not to address their abuse or drinking.

Project planning:

Swanswell is the lead alcohol treatment agency in Warwickshire and has worked closely with the Warwickshire Drug and Alcohol Action Team (DAAT) for a number of years. In 2008 they were asked to develop a brief intervention programme for perpetrators of alcohol-related domestic abuse in Nuneaton and North Warwickshire. The DAAT tasked Swanswell to provide assessment to 25 perpetrators of domestic abuse and maintain a retention rate of 60% for four sessions and demonstrate a 40% reduction in alcohol consumption.

The pilot scheme ran for six weeks in September 2008. The pilot developed by Swanswell set four hypotheses to be tested.

The intervention was targeted around reducing alcohol consumption to be able to support 'first order change' in clients. This means that only when a client achieves stability in their drinking they are able to explore the underlying issues in order to make and maintain 'second order' change - this is a change in core beliefs of the person. Clients were asked to commit to four sessions. The pilot worked with other services including domestic violence, inpatient detoxification services, mental health services, housing and health and social care. This strong partnership and care pathway for the client helped the project to achieve its target and prompted significant reduction in re-offending rates of the clients.

Clients were referred into the pilot from Probation, the Arrest Referral scheme, the Police through their Domestic Violence Unit, self referrals through the main alcohol services, and health services – both primary and secondary care. Clients continue to be referred from these areas.

At the beginning of the pilot programme 100% of the clients who were referred indentified alcohol as a significant factor in their domestic abuse. The pilot programme received 56 referrals, 38 of these completed the assessment and engaged with the intervention. At the end of the eight week programme the project achieved a 68% retention rate, with a 73% reduction in alcohol consumption on completion of the intervention. Both of these were above the targets set by the DAAT. At the closure of the pilot the North Warwickshire Police statistics reported that 71% of the people involved had not re-offended. Some of the clients also engaged with the project as part of Alcohol Treatment Requirements set by the court as part of community orders. This helps in the development of alternatives to custody for perpetrators of domestic abuse where alcohol is a key feature in that abuse.

The evaluation of the pilot found that by only offering the intervention to one partner or exclusively treating each partner separately limited the opportunity for anecdotal evidence of change in the perpetrators behaviour or abuse. Since this evaluation a victim programme has been developed and now forms an integral part of the project.

Following the pilot scheme in 2008 and evaluation in 2009 a full programme was developed which has been rolled out across the whole of Warwickshire. The programme can be broken down into five steps:

Step One-setting the baseline:

  • Review existing information (local statistics/trends, current services, providers and performance).
  • Research current work with perpetrators of alcohol related domestic violence
  • Assessment of training needs

Step 2-Preparing the ground:

  • Meet with local stakeholders to explain how the model works
  • Train staff to ensure successful delivery

Step 3-delivering the pilot scheme (three months):

  • Manage the pilot scheme within a Prince 2 framework including regular contact with team, steering group, practitioners and supervisors
  • Produce an ongoing case audit

Step 4-delivering the programme (nine months):

  • Provide training and support for local programme managers and clinical leads
  • Run briefing sessions for stakeholders
  • Conduct an interim programme review

Step 5-setting the baseline:

  • Review data covering outcomes, case management and clinical governance
  • Assessment of what has and hasn't worked well

The six-session intervention aims to address the key links between alcohol and the abuse with the aim of reducing the risk of re-offending and managing alcohol consumption.

In Session 1, the focus is on creating a timeline for the offender’s drinking and domestic abuse. The stages of change model is introduced to examine what service users “get” and “avoid” from alcohol and record the reasons they gave to “justify” their violence or abuse.

The model used to examine behaviour is the Prochaska and Diclemente Cycle of Change (1983) which breaks behaviour into four areas: maintenance, relapse, contemplation and action.

Session 2 examines safe drinking levels, ask why people drink and introduce a risk management plan.

Session 3 focuses on domestic abuse awareness using the Duluth Model (power and control) and explores triggers for abuse.

Session 4 continues the theme looking at cravings, high risk situations and strategies for dealing with high risk moments.

The traffic lights model for avoiding or defusing high risk situations is introduced in Session 5, while Session 6 includes a review of drinking goals and considers referral to other services if appropriate.

Running alongside the programme, support is also provided to partners/victims inviting the service user’s partner to attend pre and post session interviews separately to identify the impact of the perpetrators’ drinking behaviour, help assess changes and ensure adequate safety agreements are in place.

This also helps evaluate and monitor changes in drinking behaviour and reduction in violence.

The programme is shorter than other Domestic Violence programmes currently accredited by Respect and therefore unable to be accredited by them.

Cost description:

Funded by the Warwickshire Drug and Alcohol Action Team

Links to national strategy/policy:


Department of Health
   Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England [AHRSE] (2004)
   Alcohol Misuse Interventions: Guidance on developing a local programme of improvement (2005)
   Model of Care for Alcohol Misusers [MoCAM] (2006)
   National Drugs Strategy (2008)

Department for Children, Schools and Families
   Every Child Matters (2003)

Home Office and Criminal Justice Policies
   Hidden Harm (2006)
   Violent Crime Reduction Act (2006)