This research emerges from concerns (identified in Chapter One) that healthcare professionals are not adequately represented within interagency initiatives advocated by national government (Hague et al, 1996). As such, the role of other professionals, both in research about domestic violence and in professional practice, is important to the research on which this book is based. In relation to the participating healthcare professionals, the issue of inter-agency collaboration will be addressed in Chapter Twelve. In order to contextualise the stage one participants’ experiences of domestic violence and help seeking, it was necessary to examine their experiences of interventions with other professional groups. This helped distinguish between general professional practice and clinical practice specific to the health professions, and also enabled examination of how the participants’ experiences of health interactions were perceived and contextualised in relation to other professionals. The women who participated in the research identified a range of professionals with whom they had had contact. These included the police, the criminal justice system (including court welfare officers and solicitors), social services, teachers, and a range of voluntary service providers including refuges. This chapter examines the participating women's contact with statutory agencies only.

The police

The police are obviously one of the first points of call for a woman experiencing domestic violence. This intervention is usually related to specific incidents and crisis intervention. In many cases, the police will be called to a domestically violent situation by a third party: a neighbour or friend. The following extracts illustrate how women who have experienced domestic violence perceive the intervention they have had with the police within various contexts: