Change That Lasts: A Chance for Change?

The adoption of the risk, need and responsivity (RNR) model in offending behaviour work in the 1990’s in the UK saw risk assessment aligned with the allocation and intensity of the supervision and resources applied in the Criminal Justice System and Allied Fields. Although perhaps not known at the time the implications of this for the Domestic Violence and Abuse sector would be significant.

This paper takes a gendered analysis of Domestic Violence and Abuse. The introduction and adoption of the ‘risk model’ into Domestic Violence and Abuse ‘work’ with victims/survivors in the specialist support sector has been a matter of mixed fortune. On the one hand a stronger connection with the statutory sector via the development of multi-agency partnership working on high risk cases and mobilising resources promptly at identified points of crisis has been enabled. On the other, Domestic Violence and Abuse victims/survivors have been poorly served by a system which allocates resources based on risk levels rather than need, and by an approach which fails to appreciate the fluid nature of Domestic Violence and Abuse and the importance of early intervention.

The Change that Lasts programme (Women’s Aid 2016) is a strengths-based, needs-led model that supports survivors and their children to build resilience, leading to independence, which purports to respond to needs and risk, whilst advocating the importance of empowering women by responding to their self-defined needs.

The model is currently being piloted in the UK and some early observational practice findings are explored in this paper. The paper concludes by asking whether the ‘needs led’ model ‘Change that Lasts’ is the Chance for Change for a Change that Lasts in addressing victims/survivors of Domestic Violence and Abuse ‘needs’ in the UK?