Provision of Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA) Services in Gwent

The VAWDASV arena sits within a complex landscape in Wales, crossing both devolved and non-devolved jurisdictions. It is an area of work that ‘is everyone’s business from social services, health, and education through to the police. Responsibility and accountability therefore sit at many doors, guided and mandated by many legislative documents. IDVA’s were introduced in the Home Office 2005 Domestic Violence National Action Plan as a key area for service expansion, with a national commitment to IDVA posts in all Specialist Domestic Violence Courts (“SDVC”) and investment for posts and training from Westminster government sources. The Home Office 2008 Tackling Violent Crime Plan identified domestic violence as a priority area with IDVA’s and Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference’s (“MARAC’s”) core strategies in reducing domestic violence and improving the criminal justice response. This framework marked an approach to domestic violence through a crime lens, with a shift to focussing on serious violence and high-risk victims. Wales has had a national Violence Against Women Strategy since 2010 (Right to be Safe Strategy), which was refreshed and updated in November 2016. The Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (VAWDASV) (Wales) Act 2015 (the “2015 Act”) requires the public sector in Wales to work together in a consistent and cohesive way to improve the outcomes for individuals and their families subjected to VAWDASV. The 2015 Act places a duty on areas to prepare and publish joint local strategies for tackling VAWDASV. The 2016 – 2021 National Strategy followed up on the 2015 Act to set out a renewed commitment to tackling violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence (VAWDASV) in Wales, with a focus on prevention, protection and provision of support. The Gwent VAWDASV Commissioning (previously Partnership) Board (the “Board”) was established in 2015 under the 2015 Act to provide governance and oversight of the regional strategy and strategic delivery plan for the region in respect to VAWDASV. Publication and monitoring of a regional strategy is a statutory requirement placed on Local Authorities and Local Health Boards under Section 5 of the Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act 2015. The Contractor shall provide a single IDVA Service across the Gwent Force area. The IDVAs shall work to address the safety of people at high risk of domestic abuse from intimate partners, ex-partners and family members to secure their safety and the safety of their children. Operating as the primary point of contact, IDVAs typically work with their clients from the point of crisis to assess the risk, review options, and develop and implement plans to address their immediate safety, as well as longer-term solutions. Although the Service will not work directly with children under the age of 16, the IDVAs shall make referrals to safeguard children and adults at risk of harm and ensure appropriate signposting to specialist Services and following duty of report procedures to the relevant local authority when appropriate. The Service shall be inclusive and available for all clients affected by domestic abuse.