Work Package One
We will conduct a systematic literature review of i) international approaches to the review of domestic homicides; ii) identify key learning from international DHRs and iii) investigate any resultant initiatives from the DHRs, focusing on their impact.
Work Package Two
Utilises a mixed methods approach to analyse *300+ publicly available DHRs from 322 Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) in England & Wales covering 2011-2018
We will extract data from the DHRS utilising a quantitative and a qualitative template. The quantitative template will identify and extract variables from DHRs to feed into SPSS. Descriptive analysis will be carried out to generate frequencies and proportions, with cross-tabulation of key variables. Statistical tests will also be used to identify key trends and risk factors.
Secondly, we will conduct an in-depth qualitative analysis of a sample of DHRs of: i) adult family homicides; ii) complex cases where domestic abuse co-exists with substance misuse, mental health or disability; iii) families with children under 18; iv) black and minority ethnic families; v) analyse the recommendations made in DHRs in the above and vi) create an open access repository of DHRs. This work package will provide a large-scale analysis of DHRs as well as a focussed analysis of specific sub-sets and can be utilised to inform prevention and risk management of domestic abuse cases that may lead to homicide.
Work Package Three
Employs an experience-based co-design (EBCD) approach, an innovative, action orientated methodology bringing an additional dimension to interrogate the utility, learning and future development of services from domestic homicide reviews.
Gwent and Lancashire (covering 19 CSPs) will act as study sites for the EBCD component. EBCD is a staged process involving gathering experiences and views of i) family members who have lost a relative to domestic homicide; ii) survivors of domestic abuse who have experienced assaults or stalking.
Twenty one-to-one in-depth video interviews will be conducted which will be analysed using the Listening Guide method (Gilligan & Brown 1991) to identify ‘touchpoints’ to illustrate the journeys of victims, families, good practice and lost opportunities for intervention. The videos will be edited down in consultation with participants to create a digital story as the basis for conjoint activities to develop new ways of working.
Twenty interviews will also be conducted with professionals who have worked with victims or been involved in DHRs and these will be analysed thematically.
Following the analysis of WP1 and 2, and the identification of themes from interviews, a full-day event will be convened with the two CSP networks to share the learning and to identify priorities for action.
