'Children still not consistently recognised as victims of domestic abuse'

The report, published by Ofsted, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP), raises serious concerns about how local agencies identify, assess and respond to the needs of children living with domestic abuse.

Inspectors found widespread inconsistencies across six local authority areas, with practice too often focused on adult victims and perpetrators, rather than on the direct experiences, risks and needs of children. The findings suggest that the full intent of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 – which legally recognises children as victims if they see, hear or experience the effects of abuse – has yet to be realised on the ground.

Yvette Stanley, Ofsted’s national director for children’s social care, said: “It’s shocking that 1 in 7 children in the UK will have lived with domestic abuse at some stage in their lives. Protecting and supporting children at risk of domestic abuse needs to be viewed as a priority for society and for all services who work with children.”

The inspectorates jointly carried out inspections across six local authority areas, examining how well children at risk from, or living with, domestic abuse are supported across local partnerships. This included children’s social care, health services, police, youth justice services and schools.

The report follows on from a joint targeted area inspection (JTAI) in 2017, which examined the multi-agency response to children living with domestic abuse. Despite legislative change and policy developments since then, inspectors found limited evidence of consistent improvement.

Stanley said: “Although we saw some positive work to support children affected by domestic abuse, it is worrying that we did not find more consistent improvements since our last JTAI. There must be a greater focus on recognising children as victims in their own right, and urgent improvements need to be made so that local agencies and partnerships can better support children affected by this type of abuse.”

A key concern highlighted in the report is that children are often still overlooked as victims by police, social care and health services. Instead, professionals frequently frame domestic abuse primarily as an adult safeguarding or criminal justice issue, with children’s harm treated as secondary or indirect.

Lucy Harte, Deputy Director of Multiagency Operations for Primary and Community Care at CQC, said: “This report highlights that, despite being established in law, children affected by domestic abuse are not being consistently recognised or supported as victims.”

She added: “The wide variation in how local agencies identify risk, share information, and respond to children’s needs, unfortunately leave some children without the protection and help they require.”

The report warns of significant variation in how well children’s experiences are captured in assessments, referrals and case records. Inspectors found that the risk posed by perpetrators was not always clearly understood or robustly managed by children’s services, police and probation.

In some areas, there was insufficient training for frontline professionals, including police officers and social workers, on domestic abuse and its impact on children. The report highlights that understanding of coercive control was particularly limited, undermining professionals’ ability to assess cumulative harm and ongoing risk.

Michelle Skeer, His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary, said: “Domestic abuse can devastate the lives of children, and it is vital that they are recognised as victims in their own right. An effective multi-agency response is essential to keep children safe.”

While acknowledging the commitment of many frontline staff, she warned that children’s voices and experiences were not always visible in professional decision-making. “While we found a clear commitment and dedicated work by many frontline officers and staff, children’s experiences were not always captured or reflected in police reports or safeguarding referrals,” she said.

Skeer also highlighted weaknesses in how risk information was shared between agencies. “It was disappointing to find inconsistencies in how well the risk posed to children by domestic abuse perpetrators is understood and managed, as well as gaps in how police actions are shared with partner agencies such as children’s social care and schools. This undermines collective safeguarding efforts.”

Another critical issue raised by inspectors was fragmented information-sharing. Data held by different agencies about children, adult victims and perpetrators was not always systematically shared or brought together to form a complete picture of risk.

This lack of coordination, the report warns, limits professionals’ ability to assess cumulative harm, anticipate escalation, and intervene early to protect children. In practice, this means warning signs are missed, risks are underestimated, and opportunities for timely safeguarding action are lost.

Martin Jones, Chief Inspector of Probation, said the probation service’s contribution to safeguarding children affected by domestic abuse was inconsistent. “Throughout these inspections we were pleased to recognise some good probation partnership practice, however, there is still much to do,” he said.

“We found the probation service’s contribution to the multi-agency approach is variable, and that insufficient coordination was leaving children without effective protection.”

Jones added: “The findings show the probation service is not consistently realistic about what can be – and is being – delivered, and more attention must be paid to the risks posed to children in order to avoid safeguarding opportunities being missed.”

Despite the serious concerns raised, the inspectorates also identified pockets of strong practice. The report highlights particularly positive work in relation to unborn babies, with midwives demonstrating professional curiosity, awareness and knowledge about the risks posed by domestic abuse.

Schools and early years providers were also found to play a critical role in identifying concerns, offering emotional support and helping to keep children safe. In some areas, strong multi-agency leadership, clear governance arrangements and effective information-sharing were associated with better early intervention and more child-centred safeguarding responses.

Harte said: “The examples of good practice in the report show that stronger strategic multi-agency working, information sharing and clear governance mean that children at risk are more likely to receive effective early intervention and safeguarding.”

The inspectorates argue that new legislation could provide a catalyst for improvement. The report points to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill as a significant opportunity to strengthen early help, improve multi-agency working and enhance information-sharing across local systems.

However, they stress that legislative change alone will not be sufficient. Cultural and practice shifts are needed across agencies to ensure that children are consistently seen, heard and protected as victims of domestic abuse in their own right.

Stanley said that domestic abuse must be treated as a child protection issue, not solely an adult safeguarding concern. “Protecting and supporting children at risk of domestic abuse needs to be viewed as a priority for society and for all services who work with children,” she said.

Skeer echoed that call, adding: “Protecting children must remain a priority, and through our inspections, we will continue to monitor progress and support improvements in this important area.”

For social workers, the findings reinforce longstanding concerns about workload pressures, training gaps and fragmented multi-agency systems. The report highlights the need for better professional development on domestic abuse, particularly around coercive control, trauma-informed practice and understanding children’s lived experiences.

It also underscores the importance of high-quality recording, reflective supervision and effective information-sharing protocols, so that children do not remain invisible within adult-focused responses to domestic abuse.

As the inspectorates make clear, the law already recognises children as victims. The challenge now is to ensure that everyday professional practice, across policing, health, social care and probation, does the same.