Domestic abuse and the provision of advocacy services: mapping support for victims in family proceedings in England and Wales

Figures & data

Table 1. Support provided in family court proceedings by questionnaire respondents.

Types of services	Number and percentage of support services offering services
Help service users identify their legal needs	17 (77.3%)
Encourage service users to address their legal needs through engagement with the family justice system	17 (77.3%)
Make service users aware of the availability of legal aid	15 (68.2%)
Identify legal remedies available to address service users’ needs	15 (68.2%)
Refer service users to law firms	15 (68.2%)
Attend court hearings with service users	13 (59.1%)
Help service users to complete court forms	12 (54.5%)
Provide service users gateway evidence to enable them to secure legal aid	11 (50%)
Advocate on behalf of service users with the opponents in a dispute	10 (45.5%)
Help service users to comply with court directions	10 (45.5%)
Engage in national advocacy to raise awareness of service user’s legal needs	9 (40.9%)
Provide evidence (such as witness statements) on behalf of service users	8 (36.4%)
Offer drop-in appointments with qualified legal practitioners	8 (36.4%)
Liaise with legal representatives throughout legal case	6 (27.3%)
Engage in research or policy work to raise awareness of service users legal needs	6 (27.3%)
Provide community legal education (for example presentations about legal issues)	6 (27.3%)
Assist service users preparing letters to negotiate a resolution to disputes	5 (22.7%)
Act as McKenzie Friend in court proceedings	5 (22.7%)
Help service users avoid court by offering counselling to service users and family members in relation to their legal dispute	1 (4.5%)
Help service users avoid court by assisting them to negotiate a settlement or resolution to their case	1 (4.5%)
Provide service users financial support to pursue their legal case	1 (4.5%)
Do not offer any of these services	0 (0%)

Table 2. Comparison with community-based family court support identified in SafeLives’ study.

Types of services	% of services offering this assistance (SafeLives)	% of services offering this assistance (this study)
Supporting clients to access legal aid	85%	68.2%/50% (see Table 1)
Support completing documents	82%	54.5%
Attend court with clients	79%	59.1%
Support to access legal support	79%	68.2%