About this page. This page summarises a Domestic Homicide Review published in the Home Office DHR Library. The full report is available at the source link below. Victim and perpetrator names are not included in extracted summaries on this page.
Source · Domestic Homicide Review
Pembrokeshire review
CSP: Pembrokeshire
Published: April 2023
Year of death: 2021
Extracted: 16 recs
Statutory domestic homicide review under section 9 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004. Source: Home Office DHR Library.
View full report (PDF) ↗
Source: Home Office DHR Library
Summary
The review highlights the victim's extreme isolation and long-term experience of coercive control and physical abuse by the perpetrator, which went largely undetected by agencies. Challenges in identifying abuse were exacerbated by the couple's frequent moves, the perpetrator's control over external communications, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on service access and the perpetrator's mental state.
Extracted recommendations
| # | Recommendation | Addressed to |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Pembrokeshire Community Safety Partnership should ensure that the learning from this DHR is shared with all relevant agencies and partnerships in Pembrokeshire and Mid and West Wales. This should include the Mid and West Wales Safeguarding Board, the Regional Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Partnership, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Dyfed Powys, Wales Safeguarding Repository and the Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales. | Pembrokeshire Community Safety Partnership |
| 10 | Pembrokeshire County Council should review the language and content of information leaflets targeted at the public to ensure that they are accessible and resonate with all members of the community, including older people. | Pembrokeshire County Council |
| 11 | The Mid and West Wales Safeguarding Board should ensure that training for practitioners working with older people is tailored to their needs and experiences, including exploring the link between domestic abuse, dementia, other cognitive impairments and mental health in addition to safeguarding and support options. This training should be delivered by specialist providers and complemented by a range of resources that practitioners can access. | Mid and West Wales Safeguarding Board |
| 12 | The Mid and West Wales Regional Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Partnership should continue to develop and deliver awareness campaigns targeted at older people who are experiencing domestic abuse on where and how to access information and support. Particular attention should be given to the language used to ensure that older people and members of the public can identify with the messages. This information should be made available in community settings accessed by older people including GP surgeries, pharmacies, libraries, community centres and supermarkets. | Mid and West Wales Regional Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Partnership |
| 13 | The Mid and West Wales Regional Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Partnership should explore opportunities to target perpetrators of domestic abuse against older people, both in terms of identifying and addressing their behaviours and as a mechanism for services to gain access to households. | Mid and West Wales Regional Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Partnership |
| 14 | Welsh Government should review the National Training Framework and Ask and Act guidance to clarify its application to Dental Practices and how this would be implemented. | Welsh Government |
| 15 | Hywel Dda University Health Board should ensure that existing Quality Assurance frameworks and training requirements for staff working in GP and Dental Practices are aligned with intercollegiate documents for safeguarding and the National Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence training framework. | Hywel Dda University Health Board |
| 16 | Welsh Government should consider the establishment of a national taskforce to develop a strategic and system wide approach to improving responses to older people who are experiencing abuse in Wales to review policies, strategies and service delivery models to ensure that they take account of and are responsive to the needs of older people, a review of the national training framework and adopting age appropriate assessments of risk. | Welsh Government |
| 2 | The Pembrokeshire Community Safety Partnership should ensure that the Action Plan developed in response to this DHR is monitored and reviewed regularly to ensure that recommendations are implemented in a timely and effective manner. | Pembrokeshire Community Safety Partnership |
| 3 | The Pembrokeshire Community Safety Partnership should consider holding a learning event to share the learning from this DHR with practitioners and partners across Pembrokeshire and Mid and West Wales. | Pembrokeshire Community Safety Partnership |
| 4 | Hywel Dda University Health Board should ensure that the importance of recording whether patients attend alone or are accompanied during presentations/consultations across acute, community, primary care and mental health services is communicated to all relevant staff and that this is embedded in practice. | Hywel Dda University Health Board |
| 5 | Hywel Dda University Health Board should ensure that the routine enquiry about domestic abuse is embedded in practice for all patient pathways in Emergency Departments. | Hywel Dda University Health Board |
| 6 | Welsh Government should mandate the IRIS (Identification and Referral to Improve Safety) programme across all GP practices in Wales and ensure that it is adequately resourced. | Welsh Government |
| 7 | The Mid and West Wales Regional Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Partnership should ensure that the Ask Me scheme is rolled out across Pembrokeshire. | Mid and West Wales Regional Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Partnership |
| 8 | Commissioners of violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence services in Mid and West Wales should ensure that services can provide a bespoke, tailored response to meet the needs of older people who are experiencing domestic abuse. Commissioning of services should be in line with the principles outlined in Welsh Government guidance and the regional service specification developed by the Mid and West Wales Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Partnership. | Commissioners of violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence services in Mid and West Wales |
| 9 | Welsh Government should ensure that public health messaging is communicated more effectively to older people, delivering clearer messaging in a more accessible way. | Welsh Government |
| Recommendations extracted from the published report. Source: Home Office DHR Library. View full report ↗ | ||