IRIS - tackling domestic abuse
Total Investment: £850,000 over 2 years
The Identification and Referrals to Improve Safety (IRIS) programme is aimed at improving the health sector's response to domestic abuse.
IRIS is a national programme, supported and funded in the capital the VRU since 2019.
The programme provides expert training to clinicians to support them to safely identify women who might be victim of domestic abuse. Clinicians may then refer women to ongoing support within the community provided by IRIS Advocate Educators who are part of local specialist domestic abuse charities.
This year and next year, we will be funding IRIS to work in:
- Redbridge
- Newham
- Richmond
- Kingston
We will also be funding IRIS to pilot a new programme called ‘Advise’, which will be based in sexual health clinics.
Recent research by the National Domestic Abuse Commissioner shows that victims of domestic abuse are most likely to tell a health professional about abuse before other professionals. The IRIS programme is essential for upskilling healthcare staff, including GPs, on how to respond safely when abuse is disclosed.
Our evaluation into IRIS shows that the programme can be immensely successful in securing positive outcomes for women affected by domestic violence and abuse.
The training has absolutely made us more aware of the problem of domestic abuse. It has helped us to identify this, to know how to document this and, most importantly, it has given us an avenue to refer.