The Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales has called for mandatory levels of coercive control training for all social workers in the light of findings recently published by the BBC that some university/higher education social work courses do not carry out any specific training on coercive and controlling behaviour (CCB). Of the 67 universities that responded to the BBC’s freedom of information requests, 25 (37%) admitted they did not carry out any specific training on coercive and controlling behaviour, others offered as little as one hour during the course of an entire social work degree.

The Commissioner has previously commented that she ‘regularly hears from victims and survivors who describe how allegations of domestic abuse are minimised during proceedings’, something which will not come as a surprise to practitioners who continue to have to grapple with the gap in social workers’ basic understanding of the insidious nature of CCB within relationships. The BBC’s findings should not be taken as a criticism of social workers themselves, but rather the systemic problem of social workers not receiving the education that they require to recognise and address the issues that they are certain to encounter during the course of their careers.

The Crime Survey for England and Wales reported an estimated 43,000 coercive control offences between March 2022 and March 2023, the highest number since CCB was made a criminal offence nine years ago. While this number is already concerningly high, it is likely a vast under-representation of the levels of CCB in society bearing in mind that many victims will never report the behaviour in the first place. Indeed, many will themselves not understand that they are victims of CCB.

Professionals must be able to recognise the signs of CCB in order to protect and assist victims and their families. Unlike other forms of domestic abuse which are more easily categorised, documented and evidenced, CCB is generally understood to encompass a range of acts designed to render an individual subordinate and to corrode their sense of personal autonomy. The key to an understanding of CCB is an appreciation that it is likely to manifest as a ‘pattern’ or ‘series’ of acts, the impact of which must be assessed cumulatively rather than in isolation. Social workers are uniquely placed to assist victims to identify the signs of CCB and to investigate the extent and nature of CCB within relationships and families when issues relating to children’s welfare and child arrangements come before the Family Court.

In 2020, the Ministry of Justice published the Harm Report which identified a series of fundamental barriers to the family courts’ ability to protect victims of abuse effectively from future harm and made a range of recommendations to address these barriers. One of the recommendations was for the establishment of a national monitoring mechanism (under the umbrella of the Office of the Domestic Abuse Commissioner) to maintain oversight of and report regularly on the family courts’ performance in protecting children and adult victims from domestic abuse and other risks of harm in private law children’s proceedings.

The BBC’s recent findings demonstrate the pressing need for similar oversight of social work courses and the need to provide on-the-job training to qualified and practising social workers who never received the necessary education and training on recognising CCB and supporting victims. This gap in education can result in serious consequences for vulnerable individuals. It is of little use monitoring the performance of the family courts when it comes to CCB without monitoring the understanding and knowledge of the professionals who appear and make recommendations before it. Ensuring that social workers are well-trained is crucial for creating a supportive and effective environment for victims.

In 2021, the Court of Appeal heard the case of Re H-N and Others [2021] EWCA Civ 448 with the resulting judgment highlighting the importance of improving our collective approach to issues of domestic abuse and in particular urging that greater prominence be given to CCB in Family Court proceedings. This case should undoubtedly be essential reading for all social workers and on all social work courses. Re H-N emphasised that the harm to a child in an abusive household is not limited to actual physical violence to the child or to the parent. It is vital that social workers understand this, and that this knowledge informs their work on the ground with families.

Practice Direction 12J to the Family Procedure Rules 2010 confirms that domestic abuse including CCB may cause serious emotional and psychological harm to children and members of the family unit. Social workers play a vital role in public law proceedings, where their evidence and the care plans that they produce can affect a child’s entire upbringing. Without the knowledge and skills to recognise CCB and domestic abuse, social workers are unable to signpost victims to resources but are also not able satisfactorily to assess risk to children who live within a household in which CCB is present. Social workers’ roles often also extend to private law disputes between parents about child arrangements, where they are asked by the court to provide their recommendations for contact between children and their parents pursuant to s 7 Children Act 1989. Without the ability to recognise and understand the nature of CCB, social workers may make unsafe recommendations for children which continue to expose them to these dangerous patterns of behaviour. It is axiomatic that any professionals’ goal within family court proceedings must be to make decisions and recommendations that are safe for children.

A lack of training and understanding of CCB has led victims of domestic abuse to describe their experiences in the Family Court as ‘traumatising,’ according to the domestic abuse commissioner. Victims have also described how they felt that their allegations have been minimised or entirely disregarded, placing them and their children at risk of serious harm. The BBC’s findings on the wholesale lack of education on CCB place these descriptions in a troubling context, highlighting the dangerous gaps in professional understanding. This lack of training and education leaves victims vulnerable to further harm, as courts may fail to identify or act on subtle but damaging patterns of coercive control. Without a robust understanding of CCB, professionals involved in child protection and family welfare may overlook vital signs of abuse, leaving families without the protection they desperately need. The emotional and psychological toll on victims is immense, and without better training, these issues will persist, putting countless children and victims at risk.

Social Work England, the industry regulator, claims to inspect courses to ensure that they meet professional standards and safe practice. However, there is an ever-growing number of charities and professional bodies now calling for policymakers and educational institutions to act urgently to rectify this alarming gap in social workers’ education and knowledge. This growing concern reflects a broader understanding that inadequate training compromises the safety and well-being of vulnerable individuals. It is only when equipped with the tools and skills to recognise CCB that they will be able to respond appropriately to and address the risks that CCB poses to children and victims. It is a disservice to social workers and the families who work with them not to provide mandatory training on CCB, especially given the complex dynamics involved in cases of domestic abuse.