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

Bexley review

CSP: Bexley Published: April 2023 Year of death: 2016 Extracted: 15 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

Key concerns include the perpetrator's extensive use of coercive control, economic, financial, and sexual abuse, compounded by the victim's immigration status and the perpetrator's manipulation of their children. Agency responses were hampered by missed opportunities for risk identification, inconsistent information sharing, and gaps in addressing specific forms of abuse like economic abuse and abuse of process.

Extracted recommendations

15 recommendations pulled from the report

#	Recommendation	Addressed to
1	The UK Government to review the cross-government definition of domestic violence and abuse and any associated guidance to incorporate economic and financial abuse	UK Government
10	The Bexley MARAC should conduct an audit of ‘no action’ cases to identify current practice and consider any wider learning that could inform practice at the MARAC	Bexley MARAC
11	LGT to review policy and procedure in relation to the use of MARAC flags so these are used consistently	Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust
12	LGT to work with Refuge and the relevant commissioners to ensure there is sufficient H-IDVA capacity, and a robust care pathway, within University Hospital Lewisham	Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust \| Refuge \| relevant commissioners
13	The Bexley CCG to monitor the implementation of its local action plan to improve the response to domestic violence and abuse with GPs and undertake an evaluation to ensure that the local action plan is effective and leads to improved victim outcomes.	Bexley CCG
14	The Bexley CSP to develop a profile of perpetrators locally and review practice, pathways and training in response to this group	Bexley Community Safety Partnership
15	SafeLives to review the definition of a ‘MARAC repeat’	SafeLives
2	The UK Government should review the cross-government definition of domestic violence and abuse and any associated guidance to incorporate abuse of process	UK Government
3	GSTT to ensure that there is a clear policy and procedure in place to manage communication between REACH, members of staff who access the service and their managers. This should strike a balance between confidentiality and consent with the ability of REACH to seek information from or liaise with managers in high risk cases	Guy’s and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust
4	GSTT to conduct a review of decision making in relation to referral to MARAC within REACH, with particular reference to time frames, the use of professional judgement and how cases are managed when a victim disengages from the service	Guy’s and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust
5	GSTT to review pathways to MARACs in London. In doing this, GSTT should prioritize pathways with those areas with the greatest number of patients. As a minimum this should include Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham.	Guy’s and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust
6	LAS to review how it can sign up to, and participate in, MARACs and disseminate guidance to MARACs in London	London Ambulance Service
7	The Lewisham MARAC should further develop its online profile, to ensure that information and guidance on the MARAC process is as accessible as possible	Lewisham MARAC
8	The Bexley MARAC should ensure that information and guidance on the MARAC process is made accessible, including online and through the provision of local training	Bexley MARAC
9	The Lewisham MARAC should conduct an audit of ‘no action’ cases to identify whether this is an isolated case or whether there is any wider learning that could inform practice at the MARAC	Lewisham MARAC
Recommendations extracted from the published report. Source: Home Office DHR Library. View full report ↗