Risks inside the home refer to any factors within a child's living environment that could negatively impact their safety, wellbeing, or development. These risks can be physical, emotional, psychological, or social, and may arise from people, conditions, or circumstances in the home.
Domestic Abuse
The statutory definition is clear that domestic abuse may be a single incident or a course of conduct which can encompass a wide range of abusive behaviours, including a) physical or sexual abuse; b) violent or threatening behaviour; c) controlling or coercive behaviour; d) economic abuse; and e) psychological, emotional or other abuse.
Under the statutory definition, both the person who is carrying out the behaviour and the person to whom the behaviour is directed must be aged 16 or over and they must be ‘personally connected’. The definition ensures that different types of relationships are captured, including ex-partners and family members.
All children can experience and be adversely affected by domestic abuse in the context of their home life where domestic abuse occurs between family members, including where those being abusive do not live with the child.
Experiencing domestic abuse can have a significant impact on children. Section 3 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 recognises the impact of domestic abuse on children (0-18), as victims in their own right, if they see, hear or experience the effects of abuse.
Domestic Abuse is very common and under-reported. In the vast majority of cases, it is experienced by women and is perpetrated by men. 1 in 5 adults experience Domestic Abuse during their lifetime. This equates to: 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6-7 men. (NCDV website Oct 2023)
Further information on domestic abuse is available in our Safeguarding Topics section.
Honour Based Abuse (HBA)
A crime or incident committed to protect or defend the 'honour' of a family or community. If a family or community think someone has shamed or embarrassed them by behaving in a certain way, they may punish them for breaking their 'honour' code. It is a form of Domestic Abuse and widely misunderstood. Honour Based Abuse can take many forms, including child marriage, virginity testing, enforced abortion, forced marriage, female genital mutilation, as well as physical, sexual and economic abuse and coercive control. For those wanting to explore this issue in further depth, the programme Honour (2020) available on ITVX about Banaz Mahmood, who was murdered by family members, is a useful resource.
Forced Marriage
A forced marriage is where one or both people do not (or in cases of people with learning disabilities or reduced capacity, cannot) consent to the marriage they are pressurised to enter into, or abuse is used to force them to do so. It is not the same as an arranged marriage where both parties consent to the arrangement. Forced marriages are illegal in England and Wales; this includes taking someone overseas to force them to marry (Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014). In England and Wales the legal age to marry is now 18 years: The Marriage & Civil Partnerships Act 2022,which came into effect in February 2023, prohibits 16 and 17 years olds from marriage or civil partnership, regardless of parental consent.
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
A procedure performed on a woman or girl to alter or injure her genitalia for non-medical reasons. It most often involves the partial or total removal of her external genitalia. In many of the countries where FGM is performed, it is a deeply entrenched social norm, rooted in gender inequality, where violence against girls and women is socially acceptable.
The reasons behind the practice vary. In some cases, it is seen as a rite of passage into womanhood, whilst others see it as a way to suppress a woman’s sexuality. It can cause serious complications for women and girls both physically and psychologically, and the impact can be long-term and lead to infertility, infection and death. FGM is illegal in the UK (FGM Act 2003). It's also illegal to take abroad a British national or permanent resident to enable FGM to be performed, or to help someone trying to do this.
Breast Ironing/Flattening
The process whereby young pubescent girls’ breasts are ironed, massaged and/or pounded down through the use of hard or heated objects in order for the breasts to disappear or delay the development of the breasts entirely. It is believed that by carrying out this act, young girls will be protected from harassment, rape, abduction and early forced marriage, and therefore be kept in education.
Much like Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), Breast Ironing is a harmful cultural practice and is child abuse. Practitioners working with children and young people must be able to identify the signs and symptoms, and must be able to identify girls who are at risk of, or who have undergone, breast ironing. Similarly, to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), breast ironing is classified as physical abuse therefore practitioners must follow their Local Safeguarding Children’s Partnerships Procedures. (Taken from West Yorkshire Consortium Interagency Procedures - Breast Ironing, July 2019 website)
Fabricated and Induced Illness (FII)
More appropriately referred to as ‘perplexing presentations and historically referred to as Munchausen's syndrome by proxy. This is where “a child's clinical presentation is not adequately explained by any confirmed genuine illness, and the situation is impacting upon the child's health or social wellbeing”. FII is based on the parent's underlying need for their child to be recognised and treated as ill, or more unwell/more disabled than the child actually is (when the child has a verified disorder, as many of the children do). This need is thought to arise from two motivations: 1) parental gain (e.g., from sympathetic attention); 2) parental erroneous beliefs (e.g. mistaken beliefs about their child's needs or health). Either way, the child comes to harm. FII overlaps with emotional and physical abuse. FII involving deliberate deception of medical services by parent/carer, and high risk to the child, is relatively rare. It is important to recognise it and act on it, because it is a potentially lethal form of abuse. (Taken from West Yorkshire Consortium Interagency Procedures – Perplexing Presentations (PP) and Fabricated or Induced Illness (FII in Children)