An independent evaluation of the WEPROTECT service is currently underway following a successful funding application by the University of Birmingham to the Home Office What Works to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls Fund.
The Government has awarded over £17 million to programmes across England and Wales in 2023 to support vital services for children impacted by domestic abuse, and to develop early intervention strategies to prevent violence against women and girls.
Minister for Safeguarding, Sarah Dines, said:
“The impact of domestic abuse is devastating and it is especially heart breaking that children are being affected by this horrific crime. This is why we have invested additional funding into vital services supporting children who have been impacted. We are also proud to invest further in projects which identify the most effective ways to intervene early and prevent these crimes from being committed in the first place, which will protect those most vulnerable to abuse.”
Razi Hassan, Director of Partnership & Communication, DA Alliance, said:
“WEPROTECT is the only service of its kind to be selected for independent evaluation through the Home Office What Works to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls Fund. Our own service assessments have shown that over 70% of victims (for whom we had helped secure a court order) were no longer suffering from abuse. We know that WEPROTECT works. Now the University of Birmingham is independently verifying these findings, looking at the impact of WEPROTECT on reducing revictimisation and on reducing the mental health burden on survivors. The research will also include an economic analysis of the service against the estimated £66 billion that the Home Office estimates domestic abuse costs the UK economy each year.”
Three police forces will take part in a randomised control trial of the WEPROTECT service in 2023/24 and the University’s research findings will be shared in Spring 2025 with key national stakeholders and policymakers.
