How do social workers understand and respond to domestic violence and relate this to organizational policy and practice?

Abstract

This study explores British social workers’ abilities to recognize incidents of interpersonal violence, how much domestic violence training social workers typically receive, and how awareness of organizational policies and practice experiences impact workers’ attitudes about domestic violence. Based on our findings we suggest that traditional higher education teaching methods of lecture and seminar combined with a service-learning component to course work should be explored. Additionally, local authorities and other health and social care agencies need to take more responsibility for ensuring their employees understand agency policy regarding domestic violence and how to apply it.