Asked by
To ask His Majesty’s Government what analysis they have
undertaken into the links between domestic violence and brain
injury.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health
and Social Care () (Con)
In June this year, the Government, through the Medical Research
Council, announced the £9.5 million traumatic brain injury
platform, which will facilitate research and analysis of victims
of brain injury following domestic violence. The platform is
being led by the University of Cambridge, with the aim of
revolutionising data collection and curation for TBI research.
This will include data linkages between the underlying causes of
head trauma, such as domestic violence, and health outcomes.
(Lab)
My Lords, I am very grateful to the Minister for his Answer. The
death of Sir Bobby Charlton, that great footballer, has brought
attention to the impact on sportspeople of head impacts in
relation to an increased incidence of dementia. Professor William
Stewart from Glasgow University, who has undertaken much of the
work in the sports arena, is doing parallel work in relation to
domestic violence. The scale of intimate partner violence, with
between 20% to 30% of women affected, is huge, and 90% of those
women may suffer brain injury impact. In addition to the welcome
news about research, could I ask that the Minister’s department
looks very closely at stepping up the research but also at
increasing knowledge and awareness throughout the health system,
in terms of prevention and treatment as well as research?
(Con)
I add my condolences following the passing of Sir Bobby
Charlton—a true great. I thank the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, for the
work he has done in this space; it is another example of where
being asked a Question forces us to look at the situation. The
noble Lord made the point very well. Sport is in the news, and we
have all seen the head injury assessment protocols, especially in
rugby, but you are 11 times more likely to suffer a traumatic
brain injury from domestic violence than you are from sport. When
we get the findings from the research, early in the new year, I
invite the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, to join me in ensuring that we
have an action-oriented approach to make sure that the awareness
and research supports a good action plan.
(Con)
My Lords, can my noble friend assure me and the House that, when
he is collecting data, he will also be looking at people from
minority communities, particularly those who cannot report
domestic violence issues for language reasons? Would my noble
friend also talk to his colleagues in education, to ensure that
everyone living in this country has access to learning
English?
(Con)
Yes, on both counts. Unfortunately, domestic violence is
something that affects all sorts of people from all sorts of
backgrounds and minorities. About 5.7% of women and 3% of men,
and a lot of children, are thought to suffer domestic violence. I
am absolutely happy to give that undertaking.
(LD)
My Lords, the Minister has clearly noticed the care taken by both
players and officials during the Rugby World Cup to avoid head
injury. However, there is no referee on behalf of women suffering
brain injury during domestic violence. Will the Government
support training programmes, such as those run by Headway, for
professionals dealing with survivors and victims, and ensure that
that training is extended to the police? Will they ensure that,
at the end of those programmes, the trainees have resources to
which to signpost victims?
(Con)
The noble Baroness is correct. We need to make sure that all our
front-line services are trained to identify potential brain
injuries—that is A&E, GP surgeries, the police and schools.
There is already a programme in schools for children affected by
domestic violence. We have also made sure that every ICB has to
appoint a domestic violence and sexual abuse lead, so that they
can identify these sorts of issues.
(CB)
My Lords, data collection and research is very good news.
However, under normal circumstances, any person who suffers a
head injury, for whatever reason, would be subjected to immediate
testing for a brain injury. Why would that not be the case for
someone who suffers a head injury from domestic violence?
(Con)
It is a very good point. As all noble Lords are aware, often the
challenge is getting people to come forward when they have
suffered domestic violence. Some of this research shows that
there are tools, such as a spit test, to understand whether
someone has suffered from a traumatic brain injury. Bringing some
of those things into play, so that people are identified and
encouraged to come forward, is vital.
(Lab)
My Lords, the Minister is to be congratulated on his call for
more research. Would he care to comment on the use of
organoids—clumps of generative stem cells—which act as an
artificial brain in culture and show clear evidence of certain
injuries, such as whether the brain may be easily propagated?
That kind of research is important but is often condemned in the
press. Can the Minister make sure that the Government will allow
that kind of research to continue? It is completely harmless
ethically.
(Con)
Yes. The main thing is that £9.5 million is being invested into
research on traumatic brain injury, but this is a platform to
allow spin-off research from there. When speaking to people on
this, I am clear that this is not a cap: if we get good research
proposals put forward in areas such as the one the noble Lord
mentioned, the money is there to pursue that.
(Con)
My Lords, it is good news that research is going to happen in
this area. We all know that women suffer through domestic
violence much more greatly. However, there is also research that
shows that young girls in sports suffer more from concussion. Can
we look at the preventative elements to ensure that girls are
safe in sport, and by working closely with DCMS?
(Con)
The hope from this research is understanding all the different
causes and some of the protocols. I know it is controversial
sometimes, because, speaking as a centre half myself, heading the
ball is a key part of the game. However, making sure that
children under a certain age are not heading the ball a lot is
one of the things that we should be looking at as prevention.
(Lab)
My Lords, as not all brain injury from domestic violence is
immediately apparent, will the Minister raise with his colleagues
in the relevant departments the consideration of a reappraisal in
policing and the criminal justice system? Will the Government
also work with those supporting victims of intimate partner
violence to actually give a name to the brain trauma that victims
may be suffering? If victims know that traumatic brain injury is
part of their trauma, it can give a source of strength and
guidance to those who are suffering, enabling them to seek the
right medical support.
(Con)
The noble Baroness makes a very good point; it is often the
hidden side of domestic violence. The problem is that there is
not much information on this, but a US study shows that as many
as between 30% and 74% of women who suffered domestic violence
had suffered from traumatic brain injury. It is about making
people aware that this is not an edge case; this is something
that unfortunately is all too familiar. As the noble Baroness
mentions, every strand of society needs to be aware of this and
to act on it.
(GP)
My Lords, the Minister reflected that many victims of intimate
partner abuse sometimes do not report until weeks, months or
years later. Will the Minister ensure that there are services
available that recognise this medical issue when they may not
present primarily as a medical case, making sure that all the
support that is available to victims of domestic violence is
aware of this issue? In responding to the noble Lord, Lord Hunt,
the Minister said that we will wait for the research. I think
there is already clearly enough evidence in what we have heard
today, and the fact that 3% of dementia in the community is
attributed to traumatic brain injury. We need to act now, not
wait for research.
(Con)
It is a good point, and there are already some very good
examples, such as in Cambridge, where the ICB has a single front
door to make sure that all facilities, whether it is
neurologists, psychologists, physios or speech therapists, are
there and available. The noble Baroness is correct: there are
lessons we can learn and roll out straight away, and we are
looking to do that.
(CB)
My Lords, research projects in Glasgow and at Drake Hall prison
in Staffordshire have shown a very high percentage of female
prisoners to have traumatic brain injuries that have been
sustained as a result of domestic violence. Is it now routine to
screen female prisoners for brain injuries as they enter the
Prison Service?
(Con)
My understanding is that it is not routine at the moment. I know
there is some conflicting research as to how much screening
should be used as a regular tool. I must admit that I do not
fully understand the reasons behind some of that, so I was not
quite persuaded as to why that was. It is something on which I
want to do more research to understand. I will happily write to
the noble Baroness to give her more information.
