Reduce Abuse Case Study
Preventing domestic abuse
The key points to this case study are:
- domestic abuse
- partnership working
- supporting young people.
The Reduce Abuse project began as a one-year pilot to deliver domestic abuse prevention classes in secondary schools in West Dunbartonshire as part of West Dunbartonshire Domestic Abuse Partnership. Clydebank High hosted the project and a pilot was conducted throughout S1–S4.
Why it was developed
Domestic abuse affects 100,000 children and young people in Scotland and one in four women will be abused in a relationship at some point in their lives.
The effects of domestic abuse on children and young people range from poor concentration, low self-esteem and isolation, to refusing to attend school for fear of what will happen to their mother while they are gone.
With regard to the local situation a survey was conducted in 2005 in Lomond Local Health and Care Cooperative by NHS Argyll and Clyde, West Dunbartonshire Domestic Abuse Partnership and Caledonian University. This was the first study to be undertaken in a primary care setting in Scotland, looking at the hidden prevalence of domestic abuse.
Women who were patients in GP surgeries in Dumbarton, Helensburgh and Alexandria were contacted and 893 took part in the study. Key findings were:
- 266 women – almost one third – reported experiencing at least one form of domestic abuse at the hands of a partner or ex-partner at some point in their lives
- 45 per cent of these women reported that the abuse had lasted at least five years
- 30 per cent of those who were abused experienced abuse from a partner or ex-partner while pregnant
- over half (52.4 per cent) had children under 16 living at home
- this represented a total of 514 children whose mothers indicated that they had experienced domestic abuse at some point in their lives
- therefore one third (32.76 per cent) of the children in the general sample had mothers who experienced domestic abuse.
From existing materials, classes were developed and adapted according to how effective they were with young people and in consultation with teachers. At the end of the pilot an independent evaluation was carried out in November 2005 and an education pack was published in March 2006 to deliver domestic abuse prevention work in secondary schools throughout the area.
As a result of the pilot and the successful evaluation, a further two years’ funding was secured from the local community planning partnership to take the work into primary and secondary schools across West Dunbartonshire.
In West Dunbartonshire, domestic abuse is included in the Health Promoting Schools Development Plan. Within the development plan there are five priorities.
| Priority 1 | National framework – Being Well - Doing Well |
| Priority 2 | Hungry for Success |
| Priority 3 | Sexual health and relationships |
| Priority 4 | Positive mental health |
| Priority 5 | Enterprising approaches to health (Determined to Succeed) |
Reduce Abuse is part of Priority 4 – Positive mental health.
What we did
In order to have a recognisable brand for the project for the second phase of funding a competition was held in Clydebank High School to find a name and logo. S2 pupils led by the art department entered a competition and the name and logo ‘Reduce Abuse’ was the winning entry.
The aims of Reduce Abuse are:
- to prevent domestic abuse/gender-based violence by raising awareness of the issue among children and young people and those working with children and young people
- to prevent abusive behaviour through challenging children and young people's attitudes and beliefs and encouraging alternative coping strategies
- to assess support and service needs of children and young people affected by domestic abuse.
The objectives of Reduce Abuse are:
- to ensure that children and young people in West Dunbartonshire have an awareness of domestic abuse and related issues
- to increase the capacity of the Reduce Abuse project across all schools in West Dunbartonshire
- to work towards reducing domestic abuse in West Dunbartonshire by working in partnership with other agencies to deliver prevention work on domestic abuse and related issues to children and young people
- to ensure that domestic abuse prevention work is embedded in services in West Dunbartonshire at a strategic level
- the Reduce Abuse project to participate in a multi-agency framework to support children and young people affected by domestic abuse
- to continue to provide evidence that the Reduce Abuse project is meeting targets through creative and effective monitoring and evaluation processes.
Prevention
Prevention work around domestic abuse challenges attitudes in young people around issues of power, gender and relationships. The aim is to prevent domestic abuse from happening in the future, empowering children and young people to develop healthy relationships in their lives and enhancing their emotional well-being.
The project has worked in partnership with two local Women’s Aid groups, police officers from the Domestic Abuse Unit in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire Council cultural co-ordinators team and Terrance Higgins Trust to carry out prevention work in the area.
The Reduce Abuse project also trains teachers to feel confident in supporting children and young people who are affected by domestic abuse and distributes information on services in the community which support affected children and young people.
Training also aims to increase awareness of issues around domestic abuse in order for teachers to feel confident in delivering classes on domestic abuse to pupils. Increasing teachers’ knowledge and confidence builds the capacity of the Reduce Abuse Project enabling this work to reach more children and young people.
The structure of the lessons is as follows.
| Year | Lesson | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| S1 | 1 | Power |
| S1 | 2 | Violence |
| S2 | 1 | Gender and the media |
| S2 | 2 | Sexist language |
| S3 | 1 | Exploring the facts about domestic abuse |
| S3 | 2 | Healthy relationships |
| S4 | 1 | Domestic abuse – there’s no excuse! |
| S4 | 2 | The effects of domestic abuse on children and young people |
The programme is being delivered in five secondary schools in the West Dunbartonshire area, with 82 classes having been delivered to 1885 pupils in 2006.
Any of the exercises in the pack can be adapted to suit senior pupils (S5/S6) in school, and can be delivered as a stand-alone class lesson or as part of a health promotion event.
In addition to this, approximately 250 S5 and S6 pupils from each secondary school have attended a production of ‘To Have and To Hold’ by the Baldy Bane Theatre Company. The production is for young people and women’s groups and was originally commissioned by Glasgow City Council Education Department in association with Zero Tolerance and Rape Crisis. It is now widely taken up by councils across Scotland.
It is a touring play about respect in relationships, with particular relevance to domestic abuse in its many forms. The play is on offer to S4-S6 pupils and women’s groups. The performance is followed by a workshop discussion with the audience, which aims to enhance the understanding of, and attitude towards, mutual tolerance, respect for others and high self-esteem.
What have we learned?
When classes are being delivered in a sensitive and informed way on issues of domestic abuse it creates a climate within which young people feel more able to be open about their experiences. Research has shown that when young people are able to speak about how they feel on this issue it is beneficial to their emotional well-being.
Some key findings of the evaluation were as follows.
- Approximately 80 per cent of young people who completed feedback evaluations reported they had increased knowledge about domestic abuse, the types of domestic abuse and healthy/unhealthy relationships.
- The majority of young people completing evaluations found the sessions ‘interesting’ or ‘very interesting’.
- The method of delivery was rated by most young people as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’.
- The teachers present at sessions were very positive about the impact of the project.
- Senior staff stated the need for the project to become permanent in order to achieve its aims.
- Discussions with young people highlighted the impact the project had had on attitudes of young people.
Where are we now?
The work of the Reduce Abuse project is currently being extended to all secondary schools in West Dunbartonshire and plans are being drawn up to adapt its lessons for use in local primary schools.
A pilot project on challenging sexual bullying is currently being conducted in Dumbarton Academy. Plans to roll this work out to all secondary schools in the area are part of the Reduce Abuse Project Action Plan for 2006 – 2008.
Contact details
Shona Bruce
Domestic Abuse Education Resource Worker
Clydebank High School
Shelley Drive
Clydebank
G81 3EJ
Tel: 0141 952 4074
Email: Shona Bruce
Shona.bruce@west-dunbarton.gov.uk
Web: www.wdcweb.info/socialwork/displayarticle.asp?id=11391
Angela Simms
Quality Improvement Officer
Education and Culture Services
Rosebury Place
Clydebank
G81 1TG
Tel: 01389 738659
Email: Angela Simms
Angela.simms@west-dunbarton.gov.uk
| School | Roll |
|---|---|
| Clydebank High School | 1120 |
| Dumbarton Academy | 748 |
| St Andrews High School | 919 |
| Our Lady and St Patrick’s High School | 722 |
| Vale of Leven Academy | 1125 |
