ABSTRACT
Earlier chapters of this book aimed to improve detailed policy and practice in social services departments and probation services in relation to domestic abuse. They have called on professionals and their managers to put on a new pair of spectacles-just as had to happen when the widespread nature of child abuse began to be fully realised-to see men’s violence to women as already present in every category of work and as urgently requiring an improved response. Improvements in the ability of agencies to offer women practical assistance and empowering emotional support, and to help prevent further violence, will have an immediate impact. There is also a need for a more proactive approach, to plan new ways of harnessing social work and probation skills so as to make life easier for women and children and harder for abusive men.
