Impact case study database

In the year up to March 2020, there were 2.3 million cases of adults aged 16 to 74 who experienced domestic abuse in England and Wales; of these, 1.6 million were women (source: ONS). The adoption of the recommendations and new methodology designed by Francis and colleagues by the ONS has resulted in changes to the reporting of crime statistics, a less biased reporting system, and more accurate reporting of domestic violence incidents across the UK. The ONS have also corrected historical estimates of violent crime in England and Wales from 1991 onwards. In addition, the pioneering research into the relationship between domestic violence and FIFA World Cup football tournaments has revealed a hidden problem, catalysing NGO and police campaigns, raising public awareness of the issue for the first time, and leading to increased reporting of domestic violence during the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

(a) Transforming ONS/UK Government policy on the reporting of series victimisations in CSEW crime statistics, prompting a recalculation of historical estimates of series victimisations by the ONS dating back to 1991

Research on the effects of the cap on serial victimisation crimes and the development of a new reporting methodology was disseminated through a briefing paper [R2] published on the website of the Violence and Society UNESCO Centre at Lancaster, and in peer-reviewed publications [R1, R3, R4]. The briefing paper was sent to the ONS and domestic violence charities, and The Guardian and The Telegraph published articles on the underestimation of violent crimes against women, discussing the research [June 2015, combined potential reach: 3.52million, source: Kantar, S1]. Following the popular and practitioner attention given to the research findings, and citing [R2], the ONS subsequently sought the advice of the Government Statistical Service Methodological Advisory Committee (GSS MAC), which agreed that the ONS’s methodology of capping crime volume in the Crime Survey should be reviewed [S2, S3]. The research was the impetus for the ONS’s 2016 public consultation on their methodology for reporting high-frequency repeat victimisations in the CSEW [R2, S4]. The results of the consultation were published in November 2016, and the ONS committed to changing their methodology for counting incidents of high-frequency repeat victimisation and accepted Francis and colleagues’ original criticisms [R3, S5]. Following the press reports, the issue of counting domestic violence events was discussed on the More or Less Radio 4 programme in September 2017 (3.28 million listeners, source: Kantar) [S6], further increasing public awareness of the issue.

As well as changing its methodology for counting incidents of high-frequency repeat victimisation from that time on, the ONS also decided to apply the new methodology to historical data. Drawing on the research recommendations [R2], in 2017 the ONS agreed to recalculate all crime estimates, initially from 2002 onwards and now going back to 1991 [S7, p.5]. For violent crimes, the strict cap of 5 was relaxed to 12, which substantially reduced the bias in ONS estimates. The Deputy Director, Crime, Income & Wealth Division, Public Policy Analysis Directorate at the ONS stated that the research “ played an important contribution to the revision of this methodology” [S3]. The adoption of Francis's methodology [R2] led to new crime volume estimates, published in January 2019 [S7], which were higher than those initially reported. “The most substantial effect was found in relation to violent incidents”, with between 6% and 32% more violent instances being counted [S7, p.2, p.5]. In one specific year, for instance, “ *the year ending March 2018 … the new methodology has increased the total number of violent incidents by 167,000 from 1.3 million to 1.4 million incidents, an increase of 13.3%*” [S7, p.5].

(b) Increasing public awareness of the link between domestic violence and FIFA World Cup tournaments, and prompting advertising campaigns and policies among domestic violence charities and police forces throughout the UK and beyond

Francis and Kirby’s research raised public awareness of the link between domestic violence and the FIFA World Cup leading up to the 2014 tournament [R5]. Between September 2013 and June 2014, the research was reported in, for example, The Times of India, Algemeen Dagblad in The Netherlands, and the Medical Daily website and The Cut in America, with a combined potential readership of 8.34million (sources: Kantar, Agility and Wikipedia). The research played a key role in advertising strategies for domestic violence charities. For example, in June 2014, BMB (a London-based advertising agency) released a public service announcement video for a London-based charity, Tender Education and Arts. It highlighted the finding that a 38% increase in domestic violence is expected when England lose in a FIFA World Cup [R5, S8]. The video was viewed over 600,000 times on YouTube during the 2014 FIFA World Cup and had been viewed over 1,000,000 times at the end of 2020).

(c) Wunderman Thompson

Prior to and during the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the research gained further traction and renewed attention [R5]. In June and July 2018, media coverage included the CNN and BBC websites, French newspaper Liberation and Elle magazine (combined potential reach: 9.27million, sources: Agility; Kantar). The research also featured in The Conversation and South Africa’s EyeWitness News website in July 2018, receiving 68,490 views across the UK, Australia, the USA, South Africa, Canada, India, France, Norway, Germany and Ireland (116,767 views, source: The Conversation). The potential value of the research for domestic violence charities was again harnessed. As a prominent example, the Creative Team at Wunderman Thompson (WT), a London-based advertising agency, drew on the statistical findings to create the ‘Not-So-Beautiful Game’ campaign for the NCDV as the 2018 FIFA World Cup approached. The NCDV helps provide advice and protection to thousands of domestic violence victims and survivors throughout England and their research-informed campaign sought to reach and support victims when they were at particular risk of danger [S9]. The campaign ran for the duration of the tournament between 14^th June and 15^th July 2018, featuring the image below with the embedded caption reading ‘If England get beaten, so will she. Domestic Violence increases 26% when England play. 38% if they lose’. With the FIFA World Cup rapidly approaching, the campaign was made a priority for the NCDV, with the research findings being key to the “ incredible response” and support that WT were able to secure from key contributors that allowed them to go from concept to artwork in eight days [S9]. WT’s Creative Director stated: “ [Francis’s] statistics enabled us to confront people with the appalling reality of this issue, create awareness and breed a culture of disgust, not acceptance, when it comes to domestic violence. In using [Francis’s] figures, we aimed to provoke much-needed conversations and force the public to rethink what the World Cup means for domestic abuse victims at exactly the moment when they are most vulnerable. We also wanted to ensure that victims and their friends/families were aware of the free legal advice they could access via the NCDV, and the support this organisation offers in terms of life-saving injunctions” [S9].

The power of the statistical findings contributed to the campaign’s success, which “made the headlines across 100+ news platforms in over 18 countries” [S9] (sample images can be seen here). The NCDV noted: “ Better informed and more accurate statistics form an important gauge on the scale of the problem of domestic abuse as well as providing milestones for progress towards the fulfilment of our mission” [S10]. WT also produced a video using the research as part of the campaign, which was entered into the Cannes Lions Film Festival 2019 and won the Gold Award in the Sports Category [S11]. The video was displayed on digital screens at main railway stations across the UK, and finishes with the following quote from a survivor of domestic violence: “As a survivor Thank You so much for making hard to view campaigns that really explain what its like”. Similar, successful campaigns based on the research [R5] were launched by other organisations to coincide with the 2018 FIFA World Cup competition, including the Pathway Project (PP), a domestic and sexual abuse service based in Lichfield & Tamworth, Staffordshire. The PP’s CEO confirmed that research statistics from the research [R5] were embedded in its 'Show Violence the Red Card' campaign. He also reported that the “ …research also had a huge impact on our marketing…This was a real eye-opener as we had previously relied on flyers and posters, and it changed our marketing strategy going forward. We now use social media in other campaigns…to raise awareness and education people about the issues around domestic violence” [S12]. Furthermore, in 2018, Full Fact checked and verified the 38% figure and its provenance [S13]. Alongside domestic violence charities’ campaigns, police authorities across the UK, including in Cleveland, Devon and Cornwall, Humberside and Lancashire, drew on the research findings of [R5] in support of the ‘Give domestic violence the red card’ poster campaigns. In addition, citing the 38% increase in domestic violence statistic, Hampshire Constabulary committed to deploying dedicated response cars to attend domestic abuse incidents following England World Cup matches and safeguard victims.

(c) Increased reporting of incidents to domestic violence charities during the 2018 FIFA World Cup

The “extraordinarily powerful and successful” NCDV research-informed promotional campaign [S10] resulted in a substantial increase in social awareness of the charity, generating thousands of organic social media shares and comments: “Social awareness of the NCDV and the services they offer also increased by 1250%. This generated hundreds of thousands of shares and comments, and sparked millions of much needed conversations worldwide. We targeted mass reach and shares on social media and individuals with large followings spontaneously shared the posts, enabling us to reach many more people organically. A single post helped us reach around 4.5 million people, while another was shared 40,000 times and generated 30,000 comments” [S9]. Referral calls to the NCDV increased by 19.6% while the campaign was live, the largest sudden spike (until the country first went into lockdown in 2020) [S9, S10]. The Pathway Project similarly received an increase in calls to the charity following their research-informed campaign [S12], [R5].

The reach and significance of the impact detailed above is recognised by the statement from the Royal Statistical Society in bestowing the Howard Award on Francis that “ The quality and importance of his work can be seen by its impact … on how the ONS report crime figures; and being used in an extensive campaign to reduce domestic violence during the football world cup” [S14].

Barlow and Weare’s research on gender, abuse, and harm, and their information sharing and knowledge exchange, has contributed to (i) national and international policy development, (ii) impacted organisational policies and practices, and (iii) improved service provision and victim support relating to domestic and sexual abuse. Barlow’s research has influenced government policy development in England, Wales and Denmark, and her evidence was included in the UN’s ‘International Bill of Rights’ for women. Her work has led to sustained collaborative partnerships with, and the provision of training, advice and guidance to over 1,200 practitioners from a range of organisations, including 5 police forces, 5 third sector organisations, and the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). Weare has provided research-informed training to over 700 police, professionals and practitioners working in third sector support services, healthcare services, and child and adult safeguarding services within local authorities. This has changed practices, with female-to-male sexual abuse being properly acknowledged for the first time. Her research has also improved the quality of services available to male victims of sexual abuse and secured additional funding for services supporting such victims.

(i) Influencing national and international domestic abuse policy. Barlow’s research on police responses to coercive control informed the recommendations of, and was included in, the UN’s CEDAW [Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women] Executive Summary and Shadow Report 2017 [S1]. Hundreds of individuals and organisations submitted evidence to the CEDAW Executive Committee, and Barlow was 1 of 3 academics whose evidence was selected to feature in the Executive Summary. The UK Government is required to respond to these recommendations, and a key aspect of their response was drafting the Domestic Abuse Bill in 2019 [S2]. Barlow made a submission to the Home Affairs Committee Domestic Abuse Inquiry, the initial Domestic Abuse Bill Consultation, and a further iteration of the consultation for the final draft of the Bill [S3]. For the latter, she recommended that greater understandings of coercive control were needed throughout the criminal justice system, particularly within the police, and that this required national level training. She also recommended that, as a minimum, statutory guidance should be developed for the police related to Stalking Protection Orders to ensure that it is clear that these orders can be used in domestic abuse contexts as appropriate, including coercive control. These recommendations were included verbatim in the draft Bill [S2, S3, R1, R2]. Additionally, in her submission to the Home Affairs Committee Domestic Abuse Inquiry, Barlow recommended that coercive control offences should be made an exception to the crime recording practice of the ‘Principal Crime Rule’. She proposed that recording coercive control as an addition to the most serious crime reported at the time would better capture and measure coercive control [R1]. In April 2019, the Home Office Counting Rules for Recorded Crime guidance was changed to reflect these recommendations, using Barlow’s wording verbatim. This revised crime recording policy is now in place across England and Wales [S3, S9].

Life Without Violence, a Danish charity, consulted Barlow to support their submission in relation to the development of psychological violence legislation in Denmark in 2018, having read a blog related to her work on coercive control. Her work informed the charity’s submission by providing guidance on how to successfully implement psychological violence as a criminal offence. Due to her work with the charity, Barlow was invited to present her research findings [R1, R2] to 100 members of the Folketing (Danish Parliament) in 2018. The creation of the criminal offence is ongoing, with Barlow’s work informing the consultation process [S6].

(ii) Training practitioners and improving their responses to domestic and sexual abuse. In 2018, Barlow developed a coercive control learning tool/training package based on the findings of her research [R1, R2]. It was designed to improve police and other agencies’ understandings of, responses to, and investigations of coercive control. Since 2018, end users have engaged with the research through the tool: 1,000 officers in Merseyside Police ( all emergency response officers, investigators and call handlers); 65 staff members in adult and child safeguarding in Merseyside and Cumbria; 75 police officers at Cumbria Police; 20 staff members at the IOPC; and 15 staff members at Lincolnshire Social Services. After using this tool there have been:

• improvements in practitioners’ identification, understanding of, and responses to, coercive control [S4]. For example, an evaluation of the training at Merseyside Police demonstrated that 95% of participants considered that the training had improved their knowledge and confidence in responding to coercive control cases [S5].

• a three-fold increase in crime recordings for coercive control by trained officers in Merseyside Police, and an increase in arrest rates from 14% to 28%. Barlow’s analysis of police case files revealed that trained officers engaged in more thorough investigations, compared to non-trained officers, and were more likely to use victim-centred practices. This included taking more detailed victim statements, signposting victims to appropriate support services, and ensuring regular follow-up calls [S5].

• an increase from 28% to 75% of coercive control cases being recorded as such by trained call handlers at Merseyside Police [S5].

• improvements in working practices of staff at the IOPC and Cumbria Adult and Child Safeguarding Board, where 85% of those trained now use Barlow’s tool to inform their work. One IOPC delegate stated, “I have identified at least 5 missed opportunities for using the offence in various domestic abuse cases since completing the training, which I have passed on to the relevant forces”. Another said, “I made 16 recommendations following the investigation of a high-profile domestic homicide case, and the training helped me to make these more meaningful and apply coercive control to these recommendations, which I would not have had the knowledge to do before the training” [S8].

Barlow’s training will now be delivered annually at Merseyside Police, with the N8 Policing Research Partnership supporting its delivery to other police forces across the UK.

Since 2017, Weare has delivered training, developed from her research [R3-5] and to improve police responses to FTP cases, to over 250 police officers across the UK and Republic of Ireland, including Avon and Somerset Police, Lancashire Police, North Wales Police, and the Irish Garda. Participants have included frontline police officers, the heads of the Public Protection Units at Lancashire Police and North Wales Police, and officers from specialist rape and serious sexual offences (RASSO) teams. Training on FTP cases has also been delivered to over 500 professionals and practitioners working in third sector support services, such as Survivors Manchester, ManKind Initiative, and Victim Support; in health-care services such as Cumbria Sexual Health Service and St Mary’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre, Manchester; the Crown Prosecution Service; and child and adult safeguarding services within local authorities, including North East Hampshire and Manchester. Following this training there have been:

• improvements in practitioners’ understanding of, and responses to, male victims of sexual abuse, particularly where the perpetrator is female. In feedback on the training, 95% of respondents said their knowledge had changed, and 80% said their practices were going to change as a result of attending the training. Doctors and nurses from Cumbria Sexual Health Service, for example, said they would begin routinely asking men who access their service about their non-consensual sexual experiences regardless of their sexual orientation, something they had not previously done [S8].

• challenges to and changes in attitudes around sexual abuse; in particular, around victims and perpetrators and how female-on-male sexual abuse occurs. In feedback following training, one healthcare professional, for example, commented that previously they had “ made the assumption probably like everyone, how could this happen to a man – [this training] has made me look at this in a different light” [S8].

(iii) Improving the quality of support service provision for male victims of sexual violence by shaping standards and reviewing services. In 2017, Weare was commissioned as an expert reviewer and advisor to LimeCulture (a national sexual violence and safeguarding organisation), in order to create the National Male Survivor Service Standards [S7]. These Standards are a national quality assurance framework developed to improve consistency, practice, and the overall quality of services supporting adult male victims of sexual abuse. Weare’s research directly informed their development, by acknowledging the issue of female-to-male sexual abuse. LimeCulture supports organisations to deliver high-quality services to victims of rape and sexual assault, advises the government on the development of policies and initiatives around sexual violence, and accredits services against these Standards. To date, 22 services across the UK have been accredited, including Survivors UK (London), Victim Support West Yorkshire Independent Sexual Violence Advisor Service, Hope House Sexual Assault Referral Centre (Gloucestershire), and The Birchall Trust (Lancashire). A further 13 organisations - third sector support services, sexual assault referral centres, and universities - are currently going through the accreditation process. As a result of these Standards, the quality of service delivered to male victims of sexual abuse has improved across the UK by, for example, promoting services to maximise engagement with victims, introducing new practices to address the barriers faced by victims when engaging with support, and reflecting the specific ways they may utilise support services. Several Police and Crime Commissioners now require services to be accredited against the Standards before receiving further government funding. They also use them to provide funding for male specific roles within organisations [S7].

Weare’s review of the National Male Survivors Helpline and Online Service (NMSHOS), which has been accessed over 15,000 times by male survivors, their families and professionals since its launch in 2015, has directly informed improvements to service delivery, thereby benefitting male victims [S10]. As a result of her review, Safeline has reorganised the NMSHOS to increase capacity to answer telephone calls from male victims and reduced the hours for webchat, text and email. This reflected Weare’s findings that, over 4 years of operation, there was a sustained preference for victims to engage with the service via telephone [R6]. Altering the service platform in this way allowed Safeline to strike an “ethical balance” between accommodating those who prefer to access the NMSHOS electronically and increasing the number of male victims who can engage via telephone. At the same time, Weare’s research findings resulted in increased investment in the NMSHOS, with the introduction of a new, cost-effective live-chat service for survivors who want to access support this way [S10]. Weare’s recommendation that investment in technology would improve data collection processes was used by Safeline to secure additional funding for a new technology interface, Virtual Voice Control [R6]. This integrated platform has built-in data recording software, allowing Safeline to more accurately capture data associated with the use of the NMSHOS. Improving data accuracy and capacity has resulted in more detailed understandings of the help-seeking behaviours and profiles of male victims, thereby enabling Safeline to provide the most responsive and highest quality service possible [S10]. Weare’s research findings continue to inform the business case for further extension to and investment in the NMSHOS [R6], which is currently under evaluation; particularly in relation to increased opening hours and additional leadership to support service delivery and expansion [S10].

Just over 400,000 children in England are in the social care system at a given point. The Department of Education (DfE) reported that 80,080 of these children were looked after by local authorities in 2019/2020 (statistics available here), many in foster and residential care. The number of children in the social care system has continued to rise annually, so it is vital to find ways to achieve safe and durable court ordered family reunification. The team’s research has worked towards achieving this aim and has shaped policy debates. It has:

(a) Strengthened the evidence base to enable expansion of FDAC in England & Wales. Since 2016, Harwin’s research has provided new evidence on the durability of family reunification beyond the immediate close of care proceedings [R1, R2], which has been cited by pioneering practitioners and advocacy and policy reformists in support of further FDAC expansion. For example, the influential ‘Care Crisis Review’ (Family Rights Group, 2018) drew upon the team’s research in proposing “ the DfE and the Ministry of Justice take forward the lessons from the FDAC problem-solving model of care proceedings so that this approach is extended, to become the normal way of hearing proceedings in the majority of cases” [S1], suggesting the Review considered this the most efficacious way to stem the escalating numbers of children appearing in care proceedings in England and Wales [R1, R5, S1]. Furthermore, the Director of the CJI said that: “ In my work as a policy adviser [to the Lord Chancellor], I have specifically cited ... ‘After FDAC: Outcomes 5 years later’ as part of wider efforts within the Ministry to persuade the Government to make commitments to test these approaches for substance misusing offenders in the criminal justice system” [R1, S3]. According to the former President of the Family Division, “ [Harwin’s] programme of research … has been fundamental in demonstrating the effectiveness of FDAC – in short, in proving that FDAC ‘works’ – and in consequence, in encouraging and facilitating its expansion across England and now into Wales. Her work provided the crucial research underpinning for major government investment in England and for the first pilot… in Wales” [S2].

In May 2019, the DfE announced an investment of GBP15 million in their Supporting Families: Investing in Practice (SFIP) programme, of which a significant amount was allocated to the expansion of FDAC in England. As reported by the Director of the CJI, the delivery partner of the SFIP, there were 8 FDAC teams serving 17 local authorities and 11 family courts in England prior to investment in the SFIP programme. Since commencement, SFIP has enabled the FDAC model to reach 7 new geographical areas, including some of the most deprived parts of the country (e.g., Stockport, Newcastle, Gateshead and North Tyneside). By April 2021, there will be 14 FDAC teams servicing 35 local authorities and 21 family courts in England [S3]]. The Director also reported that in 2019, 194 cases started FDAC proceedings across England compared to 324 cases in 2020; a 67% increase. He said that “because of the impact of Professor Harwin’s work in persuading Government to invest in FDAC, there are families today benefiting from the FDAC approach who would otherwise be unable to access it” [S3].

The team’s findings also galvanised local authorities in their support of the FDAC ethos, and they have match-funded central government investment. One local authority director with long-standing commitment to FDAC explained that “The research greatly strengthened the local case for FDAC’s continuation as it quantified impact across all FDAC sites…This authoritativeness supported local experience and directly influenced decision making to continue with FDAC… despite austere public funding reductions... FDAC’s evidenced based approach … continues to be a key part of Southwark’s strategy... it influenced regionally the expansion of FDAC through south London in 2018 through a 10 borough commissioning partnership. More partners led directly to a more cost-effective intervention and the scaling up increased sustainability” [R2, S4]. In October 2019, the Commission on Justice in Wales recommended that FDAC be established in Wales, citing the follow up study [R1, S5] with “ Lancaster research crucial to the deliberations of the Commission” [S3]. In November 2020, the Welsh government agreed to fund an FDAC pilot for two years (including an evaluation). It will take place in South Wales and aims to become operational in late 2021 [S3].

(b) Supported the CJI, the lead body in national FDAC roll-out.

Through international knowledge exchange, Harwin’s team have provided evidence of the vital role that champions of change play in driving forward justice innovation [R5]. Their research informed a high-profile 2018 campaign, led by Lord Listowel and the Sieff Foundation [S6], to challenge the withdrawal of funding from the FDAC National Unit, which was the central driving force behind FDAC in its initial expansion between 2015 and 2016. Drawing extensively on the team’s publications [R1, R2, R3], the campaign made the case for a central body to be responsible for consistent provision of support to new pilot sites and professional training [S3, S6]. The campaign led to a consortium of private benefactors offering financial assistance to this new body in 2019 - the CJI [S3]. Harwin’s expertise regarding FDAC’s effectiveness and potential barriers to roll-out led to her providing expert advice to the CJI and to the FDAC National Advisory Board (latter established in 2020), which reports to the President of the Family Division. The Director of CJI has commented that between 2019 and 2020, “Harwin’s research, and her ongoing support and advice to us …has been of immense value…we have developed new training programmes for practitioners and judges working within new and existing FDACs, based on the insights provided by Professor Harwin’s work. To date, we have trained over a hundred new specialist team practitioners, judges and partner practitioners incorporating the Lancaster research findings. In addition, we regularly use Harwin’s research in our reflective sessions with FDAC team managers to explore new practice solutions to issues arising across FDAC” [S3]. They also said that the CJI had drawn heavily on Harwin’s research in producing successful funding applications which have enabled the CJI to expand their role in supporting FDACs across England and Wales [S3].

(c) Identified and raised awareness of children on supervision orders as a marginalised vulnerable group.

The team’s research has radically improved the visibility of children returned home on supervision orders [R6, R7, G1]. Mr Justice Keehan (High Court Judge) has attested that “[Supervision orders’] contribution has been seriously neglected” [S11], as children who are the subject of these orders are missing from any local authority reporting requirements to the DfE as a separate category of vulnerable children. Now, following the team’s research, these children are at the heart of policy review and amongst practitioners [R6, S4, S7, S8]. Indeed, Mr Justice Keehan has said that “ The research is widely regarded as the national reference point on supervision orders, and child outcomes and it provides courts and local authorities with crucial benchmarking information” [S11]. New evidence that 1 in 5 children placed on a supervision order returned to court for further care proceedings [R6], raised questions amongst the judiciary about the efficacy of these orders to support children’s safe return home [S11]. Compounding this, the team’s exposure of systematic North/South divides in the use of supervision orders and care orders [R6, R7] attracted extensive media coverage, drawing attention to this issue and raising questions of equity in the application of the law [S12]. Subsequently, a joint report by the Ministry of Justice and DfE, which cited the team’s research [R6, S7], catalysed the President of the Family Division to initiate work amongst Local Family Justice Boards in 2019 to “promote consistent and appropriate decision-making in court”, with supervision orders singled out for special scrutiny [S8]. Furthermore, the team’s finding that inconsistent support had been provided to families of children subject to a supervision order (which raises fundamental issues about their contribution and effectiveness) has been extensively used by a consortium of 4 South London local authorities, local judges, and the Children and Family Court Advisory Service (Cafcass) to benchmark and review their own practices in the report, ‘Six Years on Track: In & After Care Proceedings 2013 –2019’ [S9]. The Director of one of the authorities has said that “the research raised awareness of a marginalised group of children and families ... and directly influenced local practice with strengthened practice protocols for managing supervision order cases, and increased attention to the tracking and understanding of such cases to evaluate ongoing impact” [S4].

(d) Set the impetus for and shaped a national review of supervision orders in England and Wales.

A rapid impact from the first longitudinal analysis of supervision orders [R6, R7], was the decision by the President of the Family Division, in early 2020, to launch a national review of supervision orders in England and Wales [S2, S11]. This is the first review of these orders since the enactment of the Children Act 1989. The review is being conducted by a sub-group of the Public Law Working Group and is co-chaired by Harwin and Mr Justice Keehan, and Alrouh is a member of it. The Chair of the Public Law Working Group has said that “The Public Law Working Group had not planned a sub-group on this topic. However, it was wholly persuaded of the necessity to address the wide-ranging issues raised by the report [R6] and that nothing less than a major review in England and Wales would suffice. The President was in full agreement with our view” [S11]. The review is considering whether supervision orders need to be made more robust and effective and, if so, how this could be achieved, or whether they should be abolished [S10a, S11]. The review has been shaped by the team’s findings [R6, S10b], and the Chair of the Public Law Working Group has stated that “ [Harwin] set out the rationale for the …new sub-group and framed the set of questions to be addressed, drawing extensively on the issues raised by her research [S11]. The review has already collected new evidence from further afield, in Europe, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand - all jurisdictions with supervision orders (or equivalent) - to share experience on how to achieve safer and more sustainable family reunification.

In summary, the Director of Children and Families at Southwark Council has stated that “ while research seldom produces definitive maps, there are sometimes more influential studies that light the path for improvement much more than others, without which we would still be scrambling around in the dark trying to do our best, to find a way, with good intent but little impact. Harwin’s work has provided enduringly bright beacons to guide our path to continually improve the family justice system and ensure better outcomes for children” [S4].

Every day, the family courts and local authorities make critical decisions about children, including that they are unable to live safely with their birth parents and should be removed from their care. It is vital that these decisions, which shape children’s lives into adulthood, are underpinned by the very best research evidence and data. Harwin and Cusworth’s research is focused in this way, and has:

(a) Shaped national policy and practice in England, Wales, and Scotland by linking longitudinal large-scale datasets. In 2018, the then President of the Family Division instructed a comprehensive review of public law in England and Wales for the improvement and reform of the child protection and family justice systems, appointing a Public Law Working Group (PLWG) chaired by Mr Justice Keehan, with Harwin an invited expert member. Harwin and Cusworth’s research ensured that children subject to SGOs were central in the review, given their new evidence about the considerable number of children exiting care proceedings on these orders [R1, G1]. The Chair has stated that the research [R1] “ provided the working group with authoritative national statistics on the scale, use and outcomes of special guardianship. They were an essential context and underpinning to our recommendations regarding policy and practice reforms” [S1]. The PLWG’s subsequent report on special guardianship, which incorporated new national best practice guidance (BPG), was issued to thousands of professional stakeholders in the family justice system (including all family judges in England and Wales, the Family Bar and solicitors, children’s guardians, and social workers) by the President of the Family Division in June 2020 [S1]. The new BPG includes several recommendations directly arising from Harwin and Cusworth’s research, including that SGOs should not be made prematurely by the courts without first ensuring the quality and stability of a placement with family or friends, to negate the unacceptably high number of children placed without a pre-existing relationship [R1]. The Chair of the PLWG has commented that “ The importance of ‘The Contribution of Supervision Orders and Special Guardianship’ [R1] in formulating the recommendations of the PLWG’s Special Guardianship Order Report and BPG cannot be overstated. It has brought real and significant changes in the approach of local authorities, lawyers, children’s guardians and the courts. Most importantly, it has improved the outcomes and life chances of children and young people who are made the subject of special guardianship orders” [S1]. Thus, beneficiaries of the new BPG are children who leave care through SGOs (around 3,500 per year), special guardians, and family justice practitioners.

Research by the FJDP, presented in the Born into Care series, and which made infants the focal point in family justice reform, has (since 2018) provided a focussed analysis for Wales, with rapid and multiple reform of policy and practice [R5, G3]. The Head of Children’s Services at Newport City Council said that “ we have used the research as a springboard to develop specific services to meet the needs of the mothers identified in this research and to develop provision which better meets their needs and so improve outcomes for them and their children. The policy for working with pregnant mothers at risk of involvement with the Local Authority has been overhauled with a complete change for ourselves and the midwifery services. The work of the FJDP revealed we were working to some shibboleths which absolutely needed to be dismantled” [S2]. Reflecting the shift in understanding of the needs of pregnant mothers at a national level, a range of new services have been developed across Wales offering intensive support in pregnancy, including (for example) the Baby and Me multiagency service co-run with Barnado’s (Newport) and Jig-so in (South West Wales). These services provide intensive support to vulnerable parents during pregnancy (Baby and Me), with early evidence demonstrating positive outcomes and a lower rate of care proceedings [S2].

In addition, the Independent Care Review, announced by the Scottish First Minister in 2016 and launched in 2017, aimed to improve the care system for children. It highlighted the importance of using longitudinal and linked administrative data, to better understand children’s care pathways and outcomes. Findings from Cusworth's work [R2, R3, G2] contributed to the Evidence Framework [S3]; her research was commended for “ adding to our knowledge of looked after children’s care journeys” [S3] and went on to influence the final report, ‘The Promise’, published in February 2020. The Former Policy Manager in the Looked After Children Unit of the Scottish Government has commented that the research findings “ have been of great value in informing current and future policy development…I along with colleagues …have used key messages from the research in several Ministerial speeches and briefings across specific policy areas as well as cross cutting themes. The research continues to influence support for families, carers and practitioners by highlighting what more needs to be done to meet their needs” [S4].

(b) Enabled successful campaigns and shaped national training. Harwin, in partnership with Grandparents Plus (the national kinship care charity across England and Wales) and the leading children’s charity CoramBAAF, produced a highly influential documentary film: The First Day of Forever: Becoming a Special Guardian. It drew on the personal experiences of special guardians revealed by Harwin and Cusworth’s research, which highlighted the inequitable treatment of relatives who care for children in out-of-home care [R1, G1]. Launched in June 2020, by December 2020, the film had been viewed more than 5,000 times on YouTube [S5]. In the context of increased awareness of special guardians’ marginal position, Grandparents Plus drew directly on Harwin and Cusworth’s research [R1] and the film to successfully secure funding from the government’s Adoption Support Fund. The charity’s Chief Executive has said that “ The CFJ’s publications were especially relevant to the development of our Kinship Response service which was rapidly designed and implemented in response to the unprecedented social crisis resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic” [S6]. Furthermore, “ The largescale data provided strong evidence of the changing use of SGOs nationally …This information has been a vital underpinning to our policy and lobbying work because it makes the case so clearly that it makes sense to invest in special guardianship. Equally important to us were the qualitative findings of the 2019 report [R1] which revealed systemic problems. We have used these too for service development, funding applications and staff development and policy reforms” [S6]. The national Judicial College (England and Wales) has also used the film in its training programme, with at least 300 members of the judiciary having benefited from seeing it. A Circuit Judge, the Course Director, has stated that “I have seen a real change once people have seen the film and looked at the research in the way they approach a case ... It has brought about a change in awareness and understanding of the needs of special guardians… I know that, as it is quoted to me in Court, and rightly so, when parties seek a delay to allow placement and assessment … The largescale data the research provided has completely changed the way the courts and professionals are now approaching special guardianship assessments” [S7].

In Wales, powerful data visualisations and accessible summaries of key research findings on infants entering care [R5, G3], have enabled practitioners to take up the messages and catalysed practitioner-led change [S2]. In Scotland, alongside final reports [G2, R2-4] and summaries, including an accessible summary for children with an accompanying audio-recording, a series of policy briefings were produced. These, together with a seminar for policy makers, and a practitioner workshop series, run in collaboration with Adoption and Fostering Alliance (AFA) Scotland, maximised the reach and immediate take-up of the key messages in policy and practice [S4].

(c) Influenced the scope, quality and use of population-level administrative data. Through regular liaison with Cafcass (England) and Cafcass Cymru, including via the dedicated FJDP Welsh Reference Group, Harwin and Cusworth’s research has enabled data owners to understand the completeness of their data, and highlighted critical gaps and limitations in their data capture [R1, R5, R6, G1, G3]. The Deputy Chief Executive of Cafcass Cymru has commented that “ Cafcass Cymru are now developing and implementing a case closure process as a means of capturing key elements and outcomes of cases is as a direct result of Linda’s work” [S8]. Cusworth’s research [R6, G3] has also provided valuable information for other data users and showed “ the value of being able to link datasets to provide valuable insights into burning and important issues” [S8].

As a result of Cusworth’s research on combining a series of annual data returns from local authorities [CLAS] on children in out-of-home care [R2-4, G2], the Scottish Government have funded the work necessary to produce a new longitudinal data resource, with input from Cusworth on data issues and quality. The former Lead Statistician in the Children and Families Analytical Unit of Scottish Government has noted that “ This work was very useful as it provided us with additional insight into the quality of data which we were able to build into future versions of the data” and “ provided an excellent example of the public benefit brought about by the use of administrative data” [S9]. Regular feedback to the analytics team and to local authority data providers, together with contributions to discussions about the value of the data and a consultation on children’s social work statistics in Scotland, were highly valued and “ will inform plans for developing the data collection in future, and lead to data that is fit for purpose” [S9].

The research has benefitted, and will continue to benefit, children in out-of-home care, their special guardians and new-borns as they progress through the family justice system. Policymakers are able to act on improved analyses of administrative data but, most importantly, better pathways and outcomes for children are now at the centre of family justice reforms.