Brian Maloney
Cafcass National Office
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
3rd Floor
21 Bloomsbury Street
London
WC1B 3HF
Your ref: CAF 16-115
Our ref: Gov/CAF 16-115
Tel 0300 456 4000
12 September 2016
Dear Mr Maloney
Re: Freedom of Information Request
Thank you for your email of 31st August 2016. You made the following requests for information:
In your press release "Spotlight on Domestic Violence Perpetrator Programmes",
August 2016
(https://www.cafcass.gov.uk/news/2016/august/spotlight-on-domestic-
violence-perpetrator-
programmes.aspx?utm_source=Cafcass+Newsletter&utm_campaign=900d20b8cb-
External_August_Newsletter8_22_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_502fc80a
cc-900d20b8cb-117908577) you say:
"Last year over 700 men were referred across England to attend a Domestic Violence
Perpetrator Programme (DVPP) as a court ordered activity"
I would like to know:
1) In the same period how many women were referred across England to attend a
DVPP as a court ordered activity?
2) How many places are available on DVPP programmes across England for women?
3) Given that the Crime Survey of England and Wales consistently finds 40% of
perpetrators of Domestic Violence are women, how are Cafcass and the Family Court
complying with their public sector duty of equality if they are only referring men to
DVPP courses?
Please see below for our response.
Cafcass does not hold the data you have requested as Cafcass does not as yet have a
perpetrator programme for women which we are able to commission as a court ordered activity.
This is because Cafcass provide accredited programmes and as yet there are no consistent
Baroness Tyler of Enfield Chair
Anthony Douglas CBE Chief Executive
Cafcass, the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, is a non-departmental body of the Ministry of Justice
Cafcass National Office, 3rd Floor, 21 Bloomsbury Street, London, WC1B 3HF
standards or accreditation for programmes which are specifically for women perpetrators
although Cafcass acknowledges that men can be victims too. In relevant case Cafcass will
respond by offering signposting to male victim support services and ensuring that our
assessments are balanced and safe for the child in proceedings regardless of the provenance
of the domestic abuse. Cafcass is working with partner agencies to consider gender neutral
and female perpetrator programmes and how they might be commissioned in the future.
We hope that you feel your question has been answered effectively. If you are unhappy with
the decisions made in relation to your request, you may ask for an internal review to be
undertaken. If you are dissatisfied with the way the internal review is handled or with the final
decision made at that review about the information released, you are free to contact the
Information Commissioner’s Office
(https://ico.org.uk/):
Post
Fax
Information Commissioner's Office
01625 524 510
Wycliffe House, Water Lane,
Tel
Wilmslow,
0303 123 1113
Cheshire
E-mail
SK9 5AF
xxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx
Yours sincerely,
Governance Team
Cafcass
xxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxx.xxx.xxx.xx
Baroness Tyler of Enfield Chair
Anthony Douglas CBE Chief Executive
Cafcass, the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, is a non-departmental body of the Ministry of Justice
Cafcass National Office, 3rd Floor, 21 Bloomsbury Street, London, WC1B 3HF
