advanews 
Issue 7, July 2008 
advanews 
Issue 7, July 2008 
Two more Award 
Winners in Devon!!! 

On 15th May Jo Tennant, BCU Commander for Devon, awarded 
Anne-Marie Parkin a Commander’s Commendations for her 
Outstanding Contribution to North Devon Women’s Aid. 


Over the last 10 years, Anne-Marie has provided 
devoted service to thousands of survivors of 
Domestic Violence and shown a passion for her 
work that is second to none. Through her open, 
positive and creative approach to leadership, and 
her commitment to the cause of women 
experiencing Domestic Violence and Abuse, Anne-
Marie has overseen the development of North Devon 
Women’s Aid from a small team to what it is today; 
an integrated project with refuge and outreach. 

Anne-Marie has overseen the introduction and 
development of Pattern Changing, and of the Devon DVA Partnership (ADVA). 
While actively working to develop closer partnerships with other Women’s Aid 
projects, Anne-Marie has chaired the North Devon Domestic Violence Forum, 
and piloted numerous innovations in the work of the sector. Anne-Marie has 
given many sleepless nights to work in the refuge, supporting survivors of 
Domestic Violence with commitment, compassion and generosity. 

During her years of service, Anne-Marie has been the public face of North 
Devon Women’s Aid. Through her media and community engagement, and her 
close involvement with local campaigns, Anne-Marie has shown she is a true 
ambassador not only for North Devon Women’s Aid, but also for the cause of 
Domestic Violence and Abuse survivors across the county. 

advaagainst domestic violence & abuse in Devon 
...award winner 
number 2! 
On 23rd April Roy Tomlinson was recognised at 
the national ‘Standing Together’ conference for his 
‘Outstanding work within the field of domestic violence’. 
He was one of only 8 winners out 
of a total of 90 nominations. Dame 
Helena Kennedy handed him his 
award along with L’Oreal products to 
help him ease the strains so visible in 
this photo! Roy’s commitment to 
tackling the issue of domestic violence 
and abuse in Devon started over 15 
years ago. From his initial establish-
ment of a ‘network’ of like-minded 
agencies he has spawned a nationally-
recognised, multi-agency partnership ‘Against Domestic Violence 
and Abuse’; created a substantial pooled funding resource; and 
established consistent service provision throughout the county. 
Roy has stayed true to his belief that domestic violence is a social 
scourge requiring sustained and strategic intervention from all 
agencies to increase the safety of victims and children. Roy is an 
outstanding person whose unassuming personality has meant that 
he has often allowed others to be recognised for achievements that 
would not have been possible without his steadfast and dogged 
determination. 
1 

Adva Partnershipand its services 
in 2007-8 

The pooled budget for the provision of 
adva services in Devon was £1.1million. 

This is the largest amount of money the partnership 
has had, to date. The majority of the money is spent on 
front-line services through Devon’s 3 Women’s Aid 
organisations. This includes: 

• Outreach services in every district. 
• Secialist independent domestic violence advisors (idvas) 
to support very high risk clients through the MARAC 
(multi-agency risk assessment conferences). We have 4 
MARACs meeting each month. 
• Idvas to support Devon’s 3 SDVCs – Specialist Domestic 
Violence Courts that operate at Barnstaple, Exeter and 
Torbay. 
• Pattern Changing Programmes for survivors – over 200 
women receive this each year across Devon, most of 
whom see it as an invaluable support service, some of 
whom claim it has ‘saved their lives’. 
• Women Support Workers who provide specialist 
support to women whose partners or ex partners are 
on IDAP (mandated court programme for male 
perpetrators) or REPAIR (community programme for 
self-or agency-referred perpetrators). 
• 3 specialist children and young people workers, 
attached to REPAIR. 
• Support to children in refuges – approximately 225 
children are in our 3 refuges in Devon each year 
• SAFE in Exeter (14 - 26 year olds). 
In addition the money provides: 

• Training programmes (8 different ones) which 
reached over 1,600 frontline workers and managers. 
• SEEDS Devon – our survivor reference group. 
• Health idva working in 3 GP practices in Devon 
(Holsworthy Medical Centre, Mount Pleasant, 
Exeter and Leatside in Totnes). 
• Awareness Raising publicity and activities. 
• REPAIR programme (across Devon). 
• Sexual Abuse Line support for survivors of domestic 
abuse who require specialist support for their sexual 
violence experiences. 
• Ethnic minority work with the Primary Care Trust. 
• Adva infrastructure costs. 
We can’t rest on our laurels though... all our services 
are stretched to capacity. Much of the funding is 
‘temporary’ apart from the significant largesse of Devon 
County Council which provides an annual sum of £500,000 
towards the pooled budget. Just need the PCT and other 
Health Trusts, and Police to join forces... and we’ll have 
achieved comprehensive, sustainable services... possibly 
the only county in England to do so! 

Where 
would 
we be 
without 
Women’s 
Aid?! 

Women’s Aid in 
Devon support 
thousands of women 
each year to rebuild 
their lives and the 
lives of their children. 

In 2007-8 Women’s Aid 
staff supported over 2,300 
and indirectly 1,683 
children. Our thanks go to 
the Boards of Trustees for 
their voluntary, dedicated 
support and all the staff 
for their personal and 
professional commitment. 

2 

Adva Training
Courses Report 


From 1st April 2007 – 31st March 
2008, adva ran a total of 127 training 
courses, reaching just over 1,640 
delegates! 

Quite an achievement and the most courses 
we have run in a year to date! Please see 
breakdown below: 

• 
Level 1 – Foundation: Tackling Domestic 
Violence & Abuse 
(1 x day) course saw 652 delegates through 
the doors over 46 courses 

• 
Level 2 – Accredited Programme: Domestic 
Violence & Abuse – The Impact on Children 
(2 x day) course - 173 delegates over 15 
courses 


• 
Preventing Murder and Serious Harm 
within Domestic Violence & Abuse – Your 
Responsibility for Victim Focus Safety 
(1 x day) course – 163 delegates over 14 
courses (PLEASE NOTE: This course is the SAME 
course as Tackling Risk Assessment in 
Domestic Violence & Abuse – just a new title!) 
• 
Tackling Perpetrators of Domestic Violence 
& Abuse 
(1 x day) course – 98 delegates over 8 courses 

• 
Managers Tackling Domestic Violence & 
Abuse – The Links to Duty of Care 
(1 day or 1/2 day) course – 163 delegates over 
15 courses 
• 
Domestic Violence & Abuse – Awareness 
Raising for Schools in Devon 
(2 hour ‘Twilight’ Session or 1 day) course – 
approximately 128 delegates over 8 sessions / 
courses 

• 
Domestic Violence & Abuse – Awareness 
Raising for GP Practices in Devon 
(2 or 3 hour session) – approximately 99 
delegates over 9 sessions 


• 
Domestic Violence & Abuse – Awareness 
Raising for Housing Organisations in Devon 
(1 day or 2 x 1/2 days) course – 41 delegates 
over 3 courses 

Plus, over 125 delegates attended ad hoc, one-
off adva courses commissioned by specific 
agencies in partnership with adva (e.g. Foster 
Carers, Magistrates, Solicitors, Elected Members 
and the Vulnerable Adults training team). 

If you would like to find out more about 
adva’s 8 current training courses, please log onto 
our website www.adva.org.uk and browse the 
training section for course details and up and 
coming dates and venues etc, or simply download 
an adva training leaflet from: 

www.devon.gov.uk/index/cyps/families/domestic_v 
iolence/dv_courses.htm 

...New on-line 
course booking 
system 

(‘all singing, all dancing’ 
...we hope!) 

We are in the process of piloting a brand 
new on-line course booking and course 
management system, which we hope will be 
a fantastic resource for future course 
delegates and adva training administration 
alike! From early June, all course bookings 
for our ‘Level 2 - The Impact on Children’, 
‘Tackling Perpetrators of DVA’ and 
‘Managers Tackling DVA’ courses, have only 
been possible via this new on-line course 
booking system. If you have booked (or 
tried to book) a course using this new online 
system, please let us know what you 
think! User feedback is vital for the system’s 
future development. In the meantime, 
please bear with us while we go through 
this pilot implementation stage and 
gradually phase all our course bookings online. 
THANK YOU! 

3 

MARAC Update 

(Multi-Agency Risk 
Assessment Conference) 

Each of the 4 x MARACs in Devon meet once 
a month. The 4 x MARACs are: Exeter MARAC, 
East & Mid Devon MARAC, North Devon 
MARAC and South Devon (Rural) MARAC. From 
January 2007 – December 2007 here are some 
of the statistics the MARAC Administrators 
have collected from their MARACs using a 
CAADA developed national spreadsheet: 

No of cases reviewed from 01/07–12/07 

Exeter 225 
East & Mid Devon 197 
North Devon 270 
South Devon 145 

% MARAC repeats 

Exeter 29% 
East & Mid Devon 11% 
North Devon 25% 
South Devon 39% 

No of children in the household 

Exeter 257 
East & Mid Devon 221 
North Devon 95 
South Devon 119 

% Police referrals to MARAC 

Exeter 91% 
East & Mid Devon 95% 
North Devon 72% 
South Devon 96% 

The aims of the MARAC 

(Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference) are: 

• 
To share information to increase the safety, 
health and well being of victims – adults 
and their children 
• 
To determine whether the perpetrator poses 
a significant risk to any particular individual 
or to the general community 
• 
To construct jointly and implement a risk 
management plan that provides professional 
support to all those at risk and that reduces 
the risk of harm 
• 
To reduce repeat victimisation 
• 
To improve agency accountability 
• 
To improve support for staff involved in 
high risk domestic violence cases 
For further details on domestic abuse risk 
assessment and MARAC referral processes, 
please refer to adva’s ‘Multi-Agency 
Practitioner Guide to Information Sharing and 
Referral Procedures for MARAC’ and the Devon 
and Cornwall DV Information Sharing Protocol: 
‘Protocol for the sharing of information, on 
incidents of domestic violence in Devon and 
Cornwall, between statutory authorities, 
housing providers, voluntary and charitable 
agencies.’ These documents are provided at 
adva’s multi-agency training course: ‘Preventing 
Murder and Serious Harm within Domestic 
Violence and Abuse – Your Responsibility for 
Victim Focus Safety’ www.adva.org.uk 

“I can't tell 
people what ishappening athome” 

Domestic abuse within South Asian 
communities: the specific needs of 
women, children and young people 

By Shayma Izzidien (June 2008) 

“I can't tell people what is happening at 
home” examines the experiences and support 
needs of South Asian women, children and 
young people who have experienced domestic 
abuse, the barriers that deter them from seeking 
help and the gaps in current service provision. 

It draws on the findings from existing 
literature on the subject as well as interviews 
with service providers in England and Wales and 
data from NSPCC helpline services. 

The findings of the report point to a need for 
a more targeted and culturally-appropriate 
approach to responding to the specific issues and 
barriers that exist in these communities. 

Full report: I can't tell people what is 
happening at home - domestic abuse within 
South Asian communities: the specific needs of 
women, children and young people (PDF, 672KB) 

Executive summary: I can't tell people what is 
happening at home (executive summary) (PDF, 
180KB) 

4 

The scale 
of Domestic 
Violence and 
Abuse in 
Devon 

Did you know that the 
reporting of Domestic 
Violence incidents to the 
Police has risen, year on year, 
for the last 6 years? 

In 2007-8 we saw a record number 
of recorded incidents, 8,925 with an 
average monthly reporting of 744 
incidents – this equates to 
approximately 24 reports to our 
Police each day. 165 victims each 
month are female and 41 victims 
each month are male. Children are 
present at 48% of these incidents. 
There is a peak in reporting in July 
and again in December/January. 
The most common offence is ‘other 
wounding’, followed by ‘common 
assault’. 21.5% of all violent crimes 
reported to the police in Devon are 
domestic violence. On average, there 
are 12 incidents of domestic violence 
reported per 1000 population in 
Devon. 

Clustering ofadolescent 
dating violence,
peer violenceand suicidal 
behaviour 

A study looking at the cooccurrence 
of multiple types of 
violence amongst a sample of 
adolescents from a high-risk school 
district. 

Using a behavioural typology based on 
self-reports of suicidal behaviours, physical 
violence, and psychological abuse, the study 
identifies five clusters of behaviours among 
the 1,653 students who reported being 
abusive or violent in the past year. The 
implications of the results for the need to 
design and evaluate efforts to prevent 
multiple types of violence are discussed. 
Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume 23 
Issue 6, 2008 pp 815-833. Bossarte, Robert 
M., and Simon, Thomas R., and Swahn, 
Monica H. 

The Home Affairs 
select committee... 


has published its report on Domestic 
Violence, Forced Marriage and Honour-Based 
Violence. 

The Home Affairs Committee calls on the Government 
to implement a national strategy to ensure that there is 
better education and early intervention to prevent 
domestic violence – including so called “honour”-based 
violence and forced marriage. Although the Committee 
acknowledges that significant steps have been taken to 
tackle such violence over the last few years, it says the 
Government’s approach to all forms of domestic violence 
remains disproportionately focused on criminal justice 
responses at the expense of effective prevention and 
early intervention. The Committee concluded that there 
is also a dire shortage of places on Probation Service 
perpetrator programmes, which has led to some courts 
being expressly prohibited from using the programmes as 
a sentencing option, or such great delays in getting onto 
a programme that perpetrators have not carried out their 
sentences. The Committee says this is an “unacceptable 
situation” which leaves victims at greater risk and 
Government must urgently find the resources to fill the 
gap. Respect gave evidence to the Committee and there 
is a specific section within the report on perpetrators 
which we would like to draw your attention to. To read 
the report which is in two parts click here (vol. 1) and 
here (vol. 2) (pdf). 

5 

MADA 2008 


This years Music Against 
Domestic Abuse event will 
take place on September 
4th at the Exeter Phoenix 
and promises to be the 
biggest and best yet. 


Two of the country’s top singer-
songwriters fuse their talent, 
conviction and friendship to 
headline this year’s event. Steve 
Knightley from Devon and Martyn 
Joseph from Wales are both award 
winning musicians. Steve is best 
known as one half of the hugely 
popular Show of Hands. 

Also appearing are Daniel 
Rachel, whose hit single 'Let It Be 
Mine' reached No.28 in the Official 
Independent Singles Chart in 
January 2008, and local talents 
Jenna Witts and the Joyce Gang. 

Tickets are on sale now priced 
at £14.50 (+ booking fee) and are 
available from Solo Records in 
Exeter or on line at: 

www.exeterboxoffice.com 

www.wegottickets.com 

Please check out the new 
website www.ma-da.co.uk where 
you will find full details of the 
event. If you are able to help 
publicise the event or display 
posters please contact Andy 
Stapley on 01392 449767 or email 
andy.stapley@btinternet.com 

New fund 
to helpwomen's 
sector 

Rosa, a new UK-wide fund 
devoted exclusively to 
championing and investing 
in charities working with 
women and girls, 
launched on 10 June. 

Rosa will begin making grants 
in 2009 and will be based initially 
in the Women's Resource Centre's 
offices in London. For more 
information on Rosa, visit 
www.rosauk.org. 

Your 
Contribution... 
If you’d like to contribute 
articles or news to this bulletin, 
please don’t hesitate to get in 
contact. Your contributions are 
more than welcome! 
info@devon.gov.uk 
www.adva.org.uk 
adva against domestic violence and abuse 
in Devon 
6