The Lincolnshire Domestic Abuse partnership (LDAP) sits within the Lincolnshire County Councils Adult Care and Community Wellbeing Directorate and forms part of the overarching Lincolnshire response to Safeguarding, Public Protection and Community Safety, and sits alongside:

  • The Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children's Partnership (LSCP)
  • Lincolnshire Safeguarding Adults Board (LSAB)
  • Safer Lincolnshire Partnership (SLP)

The Domestic Abuse partnership works closely with the Suicide Prevention steering group and Prevent workstream recognising the links between Domestic Abuse and these agendas.

In Lincolnshire we take Domestic Abuse very seriously and agencies have worked extremely hard to support victims, survivors and children across the county, as well as striving to introduce effective programmes that tackle the behaviour of abusers.  Each key stakeholder has their own organisational priorities and objectives in relation to Domestic Abuse which are governed separately, however it demonstrates each individual agencies commitment to preventing Domestic Abuse and means the partnership can focus on key areas that add value.                                       

The partnership in Lincolnshire is very conscious of the national issues the country is facing, particularly in relation to violence against women and girls, as well as the local nuances that impact Lincolnshire communities.  It is important to note that when writing this strategy, we had in mind relevant strategies such as the Tackling Violence against Women & Girls Strategy (including men and boys) 2021 (VAWG), The Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Strategy for England and Wales, The Ministry of Defence and No Defence for Abuse 2024-2029 to name a few.

As a partnership we recognise that there are further developments happening nationally and locally that will impact the Domestic Abuse agenda.  The strategy and delivery plans will be fluid to ensure we can respond to these important changes.

The Domestic Abuse partnership has the following groups of which separate terms of reference are available for each:

  • The Domestic Abuse Programme Board – Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) senior leadership board
  • Domestic Abuse Strategic partnership group (advisory role to the LCC Programme Board)
  • Domestic Abuse Operational partnership group

Subgroups include but are not limited to:

  • The Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) Steering subgroup
  • Domestic Abuse Related Death Review (DARDR) and learning subgroup
  • Communications subgroup – this is aligned across the 4 boards and forms part of the collaboration work described
  • Safe Accommodation subgroup

Operational delivery groups:

  • Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) meetings
  • Domestic Abuse Related Death Review (DARDR) decision panel and meetings

The partnership is made up of multi-agency representatives from:

  • Lincolnshire County Council: Community Safety, Children’s Services, Adult Social Care, Children’s Health, Education, Public Health
  • Representatives from the District Councils
  • Lincolnshire Police
  • Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board
  • Lincolnshire Community Health Services
  • Victim Support
  • Specialist Domestic Abuse Services
  • United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals
  • Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust
  • Office for the Police Crime Commissioner
  • Probation Service
  • His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service
  • SSAFA – the armed forces charity
  • And other representatives where required

Legislative Framework

Domestic Abuse Act 2021

The prevention of abuse and the protection of all victims lies at the heart of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 and the wider programme of work. The measures in the 2021 Act seek to:

  • promote awareness - to put abuse at the top of everyone’s agenda, by introducing a statutory definition of domestic abuse and recognise children as victims in their own right
  • protect and support victims - including by establishing in law the office of Domestic Abuse Commissioner, introducing a new Domestic Abuse Protection Notice and Domestic Abuse Protection Order and placing a new duty on tier one local authorities to provide support to victims of domestic abuse and their children in refuges and other safe accommodation
  • tackle perpetrators - extending the controlling or coercive behaviour offence to cover post-separation abuse, extending the offence of disclosing private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress to cover threats to disclose such material, creating a new offence of non-fatal strangulation or suffocation of another person, clarifying by restating in statute the general position that a person may not consent to the infliction of serious harm and, by extension, is unable to consent to their own death
  • transform the justice response - including by helping victims to give their best evidence in the criminal courts through the use of video evidence, screens and other special measures and ensuring that victims of abuse do not suffer further trauma in family court proceedings by being cross-examined by their abuser
  • improve performance - to drive consistency and better performance in the response to domestic abuse

The various aspects of the Act are due to be implemented at different stages as detailed in the Commencement Schedule .

Part 4 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 places a four-part statutory framework for the delivery of support to victims of domestic abuse and their children in safe accommodation and provides clarity over governance and accountability.

Section 54 specifically places a duty on each tier one local authority in England to appoint a multi-agency Domestic Abuse Local Partnership Board which it will consult as it performs certain specified functions under section 53. These are to:

  • assess the need for accommodation-based domestic abuse support for all victims in their area, including those who require cross-border support
  • develop and publish a strategy for the provision of such support to cover their locality, having regard to the need’s assessment
  • give effect to the strategy (through commissioning / decommissioning decisions)
  • monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the strategy
  • report back to central government

The Victim and Prisoners Act

The Victim and Prisoners Act received Royal Assent on 24 May 2024, but individual measures within the Act will not come into force until the Government specifically commences them. However, noting the duty could commence from Spring 2026.

The duty to collaborate under the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 will require local policing bodies, local authorities and ICBs to collaborate in the commissioning of community support services in England for victims of domestic abuse, sexual abuse, and serious violence.

Duty holders must also develop a joint needs assessment and local strategy which demonstrates how they will collaborate to deliver and improve relevant victim support services.

Emergency exit

Cover your tracks online

You can find information at the Womens Aid website on how to cover your tracks online

Lincolnshire Domestic Abuse Specialist Services

Telephone: 01522 510041

National Domestic Abuse helpline

Telephone: 0808 2000 247