Review highlights the importance of hearing the voice of older adults and a “think family” approach
A Domestic Abuse Related Death Review*(DARDR) into the death of Sofia (pseudonym) has today been published by the Norfolk Community Safety Partnership (NCSP) to enable lessons to be learned and shared as widely and thoroughly as possible to reduce the risk of such tragedies happening in the future.
Sofia was 89 when she died in a house fire set by her grandson in December 2020. Her grandson was found guilty of manslaughter due to diminished responsibility.
The over-riding themes throughout the review were that Sofia’s voice was not heard or sought by agencies involved; family concerns for Sofia were not explored independently with Sofia; the difficulty in accessing public services for those not familiar with them; and privately purchased wi-fi enabled fire alarms not requiring multiple people to receive notifications of an alarm being triggered, which has led to national recommendations for fire safety.
The main learning points and recommendations centred on hearing the voice of older adults; a Think Family approach; the importance of professional curiosity; the importance of tailored risk assessment, especially around familial domestic abuse; clear communication with all family members and the limitations of assistive technology.
Since Sofia’s death the agencies involved have enhanced or implemented further training and policies around domestic abuse, particularly familial abuse; missed appointments; discharge policies; risk assessments; cannabis use; assistive technology; follow up letters and enhanced welfare checks in education settings.
Mark Stokes, Chair of the Norfolk Community Safety Partnership said: “The circumstances surrounding Sofia’s death have been traumatic for her family. We would like to thank them for their involvement in this review and for painting such a vivid picture of an extraordinary women. We undertake these reviews as a partnership, in order to continually learn and improve services for residents of our county. The recommendations identified in this review have been undertaken and will continue to be monitored and improved upon by the Community Safety Partnership.”
> The full report into the death of Sofia can be found here
* A Domestic Abuse Related Death Review (DARDR), previously called a Domestic Homicide Review (DHR), is a locally conducted, multi-agency review of the circumstances in which the death of a person aged 16 or over has, or appears to have, resulted from violence, abuse or neglect by a relative, partner or member of the same household. DARDRs were established on a statutory basis by the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004.
A DARDR panel consists of key members of staff from statutory, non-statutory, third sector and charitable agencies who provide support for victims of domestic abuse. Working together in this way will ensure the voice of the victim is addressed through the lessons learnt and recommendations of this DARDR.
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