As part of Standing Together’s Crossing Pathways project evaluation, I led a qualitative pathway analysis to evidence the financial value of Clinically Placed Domestic Violence and Abuse (DVA) Specialists within health systems. In a sector where winning “hearts and minds” isn’t always enough, my work aimed to support the case for continued investment by highlighting potential cost savings to the public purse.
To ensure the evaluation was trauma-informed, I collaborated directly with frontline professionals—IDVAs, HIDVAs, and mental health specialists—rather than interviewing survivors. Together, we mapped two comparative health pathways: one with and one without specialist support, illuminating the ripple effects of early intervention.
Despite challenges around data access, I worked with available national unit cost data, uprated for inflation, to provide realistic financial estimates. This work contributed to a growing call across the sector for improved data infrastructure—particularly the need for a single, unified data collection point to reduce duplication and support longitudinal understanding. Crucially, we also need more robust ways to capture the whole-family impacts of domestic abuse, including the long-term emotional, psychological, and systemic costs for survivors, children, and other affected family members.
I’m deeply grateful to the survivors for sharing their journeys, as well as to the participating organisations and their DVA Specialists, whose insight and compassion shaped this work. The findings are now contributing towards building the case for systemic, well-resourced support for those affected by domestic abuse.
Link to the STADA evaluation report can be found here.