Children and Young People who have Experienced Domestic Abuse within their own Relationships

Does your local authority have a policy, protocol or written guidance on how to respond to children and young people who have experienced domestic abuse within their own relationships?

(Yes/no/don't know). If yes, please provide further detail, including any relevant

documents, and specify which age group it applies to (under 16s, or ages 16-17).

2. Do you collect data on the number of young people aged 16 or 17 who have

experienced domestic abuse within their own relationships?

(Yes/no/don't know). If yes, please provide this data.

3. Do you collect data on the number of young people aged 13-16 who have

experienced domestic abuse within their own relationships?

(Yes/no/don't know). If yes, please provide this data.

4. Do you commission any dedicated or specialist support services primarily

for young people who have experienced domestic abuse within their own

relationships?

(Yes/no/don't know).

If yes:

a. Please describe what the service does (e.g. advocacy support, specialist

or trauma-informed counselling, one-to-one or group work with young

people on issues such as healthy relationships and boundaries, targeted

support for carers or parents, preventative or awareness raising initiatives,

helplines, etc.)

b. What age group(s) does it work with? (13-16, 16 & 17s, all young people

under 18, young people until their 18th birthday with the option of

transitional support)

c. How many children has the service supported in the last financial year

(25/26)?

d. How many children were on the waiting list to get support from this

service in the last financial year (25/26)?

5. Does your local authority commission any dedicated support services for

young people who are perpetrating domestic abuse within their own

relationships?

(Yes/no/don't know).

If yes:

a. Please describe what the service does (e.g. one-to-one or group work with

young people on issues such as healthy relationships and boundaries,

targeted support for carers or parents, preventative or awareness raising

initiatives, helplines, etc.)

b. What age group(s) does it work with (13-16, 16 & 17s, all young people

under 18, young people until their 18th birthday with the option of

transitional support)

c. How many children has the service supported in the last financial year

(25/26)?

d. How many children were on the waiting list to get support from this

service in the last financial year (25/26)?

6. Young people experiencing or perpetrating domestic abuse within their own

relationships may be identified by or referred to local authority

commissioned services responding to other safeguarding concerns or harm

types. Is this a common occurrence within your local authority?

(Yes/no/don't know).

If yes, please provide any further detail you can about:

a. Which services these young people are most commonly identified within

or referred to (e.g. child sexual abuse support services, mental health and

emotional wellbeing services, child exploitation support services,

domestic abuse support services for adults or families including refuges,

etc.)

b. Whether, in your professional opinion, you think these services meet the

specific needs of these young people?

Whilst our primary research interest is on the issue of teenage relationship abuse, we

recognise that this harm type is situated within a wider context in which children and

young people of any age are legally recognised as victims of domestic abuse under the

Domestic Abuse Act 2021, when they are either victims themselves, or witnesses of,

domestic abuse by a parent or someone with parental responsibility.

7. Does your local authority commission any dedicated support services for

children and young people (of any age) who are legally classified as victims

of domestic abuse in a family context?

(Yes/no/don't know)

If yes, please detail what the service does, including whether it provides support

to children and young people only, or works with the family.

We would welcome the opportunity to meet with local authority commissioners,

practitioners or professionals with specific expertise on the issue of teenage

relationship abuse to explore the issues raised in this FOI request in more detail.

8. Would you be willing to meet with The Children's Society to discuss the

responses to these questions in more detail, and to contribute more widely

to our research through focus groups or interviews?

(Yes/no)

If yes, please provide the contact details of the most relevant contact(s).

1.The Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children’s partnership has a number of policies that sits under the partnership manual that may be relevant to this request, there is the following:

• Safeguarding Children in their use of Technology (mentions online sexual images and the threat of sharing or disclosing images)
• Working with Sexually Active Young People (includes healthy relationships for under 16 and how to refer if there are concerns, and DA for 16 and 17 years olds)
• Teenage Pregnancy Pathway (clear pathways if DA is disclosed or a concern)

Under the Children's Services manual, they have:

• Domestic Abuse Policy (includes teenage relationships)

2.Yes, please see 3 below

3. Yes. The commissioned domestic abuse support service works with young people who have experienced domestic abuse. Information on the relationship between the individuals is not recorded. The table below provides an indication of newly engaged individuals by age only.

4.No

5.No

6. Yes

Children are recognised as victims in their own right by the agencies that make up the Lincolnshire Domestic Abuse Partnership (LDAP) and the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children Partnership (LSCP). Most commonly, children are referred to LDASS or Children’s Services for support related to domestic abuse or safeguarding/wellbeing concerns. Specialist services are also available across the county for needs such as mental health, and agencies and practitioners are well informed about what support exists and how to access appropriate, targeted help.

a-b. Whilst our primary research interest is on the issue of teenage relationship abuse, werecognise that this harm type is situated within a wider context in which children and
young people of any age are legally recognised as victims of domestic abuse under the
Domestic Abuse Act 2021, when they are either victims themselves, or witnesses of,
domestic abuse by a parent or someone with parental responsibility.

7.Yes

The service provides specialist, trauma Informed support for children and young people affected by domestic abuse, recognising them as victims in their own right. Support is tailored to age, developmental stage and lived experience, and is available independently of whether the non‑abusive parent or caregiver fully engages with adult services (Although usually they do). CYP aged 5–16 can access structured interventions, with extended support for particularly vulnerable groups such as children in care, those with adoption or Special Guardianship arrangements, and care leavers or young people with SEND up to age 25. The service identifies CYP through adult interventions and ongoing risk assessment, completing safeguarding checks, safety planning and liaison with Children’s Services where required.

The service delivers outcome focused interventions to help CYP feel safer, process their experiences, and build emotional resilience. Support is provided through a tiered model, ranging from early help and family‑focused sessions to intensive one‑to‑one therapeutic work for children at higher risk. For those assessed as high risk, specialist CYP IDVA (Domestic Violence Advocate) support is offered, including advocacy, safety planning and coordination with partner agencies. This is complemented by digital resources, training and partnership work across health, police, housing and Children’s Services, ensuring children and young people receive joined up support. The service actively seeks CYP feedback to shape delivery and improve outcomes.

8. We would be happy to meet to discuss the wider scope of the work we deliver. However, as outlined above, we do not specialise specifically in teenage relationship abuse. Our service provides broader domestic abuse support to families, regardless of the identity of the perpetrator.