Seven boroughs plus partner agencies have set up the Prevent and Change programme to deal with domestic abuse in South London.
Led by Lambeth Council, councils covering Merton, Lewisham, Southwark, Kingston, Richmond and Wandsworth will also be joined by specialist providers to deliver different aspects of the initiative.
The Domestic Violence Perpetrator Programme, a branch of mental health charity Richmond Fellowship, will offer one-to-one and group interventions for perpetrators, particularly those with multiple needs, to help stop abusive behaviour.
Refuge will focus on supporting victims and survivors, while the Cambridge Centre for Evidence-Based Policing will evaluate the programme over its two-year lifespan.
Lambeth Council says Prevent and Change will enhance the boroughs’ understanding of harmful behaviours within diverse and marginalised groups, helping the councils to offer community-informed responses.
Online news website localgov.co.uk quoted Lambeth’s cabinet member for safer communities councillor Mahamed Hashi saying: “This type of London-wide collaboration, alongside leading national projects and partners, is essential.”
The councils expect to annually receive in excess of 50 referrals each, giving a total of more than 700 domestic violence cases being covered by the two-year programme.
