The Drive Partnership formed by SafeLives, Respect and Social Finance welcomes the announcement of a £53 million investment over four years to expand the Drive Project, our flagship intervention for high-risk, high-harm, perpetrators of domestic abuse, across England and Wales. This will increase the safety of victim-survivors of domestic abuse, in all communities, by putting the focus on the perpetrators.
Perpetrator interventions are vital to breaking the cycle of domestic abuse – as a SafeLives Pioneer, I strongly believe that we have to stop asking “Why doesn’t she leave?”, and start asking “Why doesn’t he stop?”, and that is what the Drive Partnership puts into action.
Shana Begum, SafeLives Pioneer & lived experience expert
Just days before the funding announcement, Minister for Safeguarding Jess Phillips, was hosted by the The Drive Partnership at a visit to Thames Valley Police, one of the seven Police and Crime Commissioner areas where the Drive Project is already being delivered in partnership with specialist local service provider Cranstoun.
Minister Phillips heard from The Drive Partnership Director Kyla Kirkpatrick how the Drive Project increases the safety of adult and child victim-survivors of domestic abuse and helps prevent future victims by targeting perpetrators and using multi-agency working to disrupt and stop abuse. She learned how it always includes dedicated support for victim-survivors and families.
The expansion of the Drive Project is the result of ten years of working in partnership across specialist domestic abuse services and statutory agencies, and would not be possible without the collaboration of a wide range of both statutory and non-statutory partners, and the ongoing support of a range of funders, including the National Lottery Community Fund, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, and Treebeard Trust.
This investment will see local service providers working together with the Drive Partnership and across all agencies to deliver the Drive Project throughout England and Wales.
The Drive Partnership and its Board are pleased that the Government has committed to halving violence against women and girls within a decade. Alongside the need for well-funded local support and recovery services for victim-survivors, targeting perpetrators to address the root causes of violence and abuse will be essential.
The Home Office’s investment into the expansion of the Drive Project aligns with the Drive Partnership’s 2024 Call for Further Action recommendation for consistent and evidence-informed multi-agency responses to high-risk, high-harm perpetrators across all areas. This Call for Further Action, supported by over 100 organisations, was developed with the input of the Action on Perpetrators Network, the Drive Partnership delivery and co-production partners, and SafeLives Pioneers.
It also calls for recognition across government that domestic abuse is everyone’s business. It is not solely a criminal justice issue, but requires cross-departmental investment. This is a priority that the Network will continue to pursue.
The Drive Partnership has been working to end domestic abuse and protect victim-survivors in all communities for over a decade; marking 10-years of disrupting, challenging, and changing the behaviour of those who are causing harm, using a consistently evidence-informed approach. The Drive Partnership looks forward to expanding this work to protect victim-survivors, in close collaboration with specialist domestic abuse organisations and statutory partners, and would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone involved.
This work can only happen if the focus is absolutely on the safety and wellbeing of the victim-survivors. This investment will see the vast majority of funding flow directly to local domestic abuse perpetrator services and victim-survivor support services, and we will be working in partnership with local services to ensure that the Drive Project is tailored to meet the needs of local communities.
Kyla Kirkpatrick, Director, The Drive Partnership
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