Drive

Visit the Drive website

What is the Drive Partnership?

The Drive Partnership is formed of three organisations: Respect, SafeLives and Social Finance. It was initially set up to deliver a three-year pilot intervention working with high harm, serial perpetrators, and has since received funding to expand this work and extend its remit to include national systems change work and public affairs work.

What is the Drive Project?

The Drive project is an innovative domestic abuse intervention that aims to reduce the number of child and adult victims by disrupting and changing perpetrator behaviour.

The Project focuses on high-risk, high-harm and/or serial perpetrators, as this group carries the greatest risk of serious harm, and engagement with available services is low. Drive implements a whole-system approach using intensive case management alongside a coordinated multi-agency response, working closely with victim services, the police, probation, children’s social services, housing, substance misuse and mental health teams.

The Drive Project focuses on reducing risk and increasing victim safety by combining disruption, support and behaviour change interventions alongside the crucial protective work by victim services

An evaluation of the intervention published by the University of Bristol found the intervention to be a highly successful for its cohort. Read the executive summary here, or click here to read the full evaluation.

Learn more about the Drive Project

How does the Drive Partnership create systems change?

The Drive Partnership’s national systems change work advocates for changes to national systems so that perpetrators posing all levels of risk are held to account for their abusive behaviour and can access the help they need to stop whoever they are and wherever they live.

In 2021/22:

• The Drive Partnership commissioned a consortium led by H.O.P.E Training and Consultancy to lead a project focusing on increasing diversity in the perpetrator sector. A period of consultation has been completed and the project is now moving into its pilot phase: a leadership programme for professionals from Black and minoritised communities, and a sector leaders development programme.
• The Drive Partnership launched a pilot project called Restart, an innovative new early intervention for perpetrators causing harm in families working with Children’s Social Care to prevent continued abuse. The pilot includes developing housing pathways.
• The Drive Partnership has been exploring gaps in the response to perpetrators from LGBT+ communities and is convening a cross-sector approach to addressing gaps.

How does the Drive Partnership develop the perpetrator sector workforce?

The Drive Delivery team is working to create a strong network of professionals working to implement and support the sustainability of Drive in their local area. To achieve this, they run a leadership programme that trains professionals from wider statutory and voluntary sector stakeholder services

In 2021/22 the Drive Partnership:

• Delivered 12 day OCN accredited training to 71 Drive Project case managers and service managers on working with high-risk, high-harm perpetrators. 
• Trained 390 non-specialist professionals to increase their awareness and understanding of perpetrator responses.
• Trained 895 frontline professionals who are likely to engage with families who may be suitable for the Drive programme.
• Helped 120 domestic abuse practitioners to support victims associated with Drive service users.
• Provided further training for 196 new multi-agency perpetrator panel representatives and 21 new panel chairs from within police, local authorities and Drive Project services.

How does Drive influence policy?

The Drive Partnership Communications & Public Affairs team work on behalf of the Drive Partnership as well as supporting Drive Project Delivery Sites and the wider sector.

Action on Perpetrators Network

The Drive Partnership leads the Action on Perpetrators network: a monthly online forum created to share best practice, showcase innovation, and influence government policy. The monthly meetings see an attendance of between 35 and 40 professionals from across the sector.

Get in touch about the Action on Perpetrators Network.

Influencing the Domestic Abuse Plan

The Drive Partnership’s Comms and Public Affairs team consulted extensively with the Action on Perpetrators Network and with victim-survivors to develop recommendations for the Government’s Domestic Abuse Plan. As a result, the plan took Drive’s recommendations into account, made strong commitments around “tackling perpetrators”, and announced £75m of funding.

Since then, the Action on Perpetrators Network has reflected on gaps and potential concerns with the plan.

Strategic Reference Group

Drive worked with the Domestic Abuse Commissioner to form the Strategic reference group on perpetrators of domestic abuse – a high level group developing a cross-disciplinary approach to working with perpetrators.
 
Recommendations from the group were sent to the Home Office to inform the development of an overarching framework of standards for perpetrator work.

All Party Parliamentary Group on Perpetrators

The Drive Partnership team continues to support the wider Respect team in its role as the secretariat of the APPG, chaired by Alex Davies-Jones, and helping to deliver ongoing meetings with excellent parliamentary participation.

Learn more about the APPG