Home Office: Safety and justice: sharing personal information in the context of domestic violence – an overview

Introduction

Domestic violence (DV) accounts for around one-fifth of violent crime and claims the lives of two women every week (Simmons and Dodd, 2003). Research studies estimate that
both women and children are abused in 30-60 per cent of cases (Mullender, 2000).

This guide aims to provide both agencies and practitioners with information and sources of further advice about how best to share information lawfully and responsibly.

What does this guide cover?

In this guide we aim to provide:

• A brief overview of why responsible information - sharing is so important in the context of DV, including how it benefits clients and the agencies that serve them.
• A brief introduction to the key legal provisions that relate to lawful information-sharing.
• An introduction to good practice in information - sharing.
• Sources of further information and advice, including guidance, toolkits and templates.

The guide draws upon examples from the CRP VAWI victim-focused projects (see evidence base above) and is balanced towards information-sharing concerning victims.

However, the key principles also apply to the sharing of information about perpetrators.

Who is this guide for?

This guide is for practitioners who directly work with victims of domestic violence or are involved in the assessment of risk. The guide aims to inform decisions to share personal or sensitive information to protect victims and/or enable perpetrators to be brought to justice.

This will include a range of professionals from the health, education, criminal justice and social welfare fields:

• GPs and other healthcare workers;
• teachers and other education staff;
• housing officers;
• social services staff;
• police and other criminal justice workers;
• NGO and voluntary sector workers.