Recognising and supporting families through domestic violence and abuse

Recent statistics report that 2.3 million people experienced DVA in the year ending March 2020 (ONS, 2020).There is need to respond to the year-on-year rise in significant mental distress issues affecting the health and wellbeing of today's and future generations.All nurses and other health and social care professionals should be skilled and knowledgeable to recognise, assess and protect victims and families where DVA could be evident. Minimising risk of harm and death is an issue that is high on the health agenda (Home Office, 2020). Protecting people from further abuse requires a multi-agency approach. Nurses must ensure they are confident to address DVA; however, they should not work in isolation. Communication with others is vital. Nurses and other health professionals in all settings should be aware of agencies that may be best placed to provide suitable and safe strategies to assist victims and their families.