SAFECHAIN™ Initiative Launches to Address Structural Failures in Domestic Abuse Safeguarding Systems
Press Release
SAFECHAIN™ Initiative Launches to Address Structural Failures in Domestic Abuse Safeguarding Systems
Winchester, United Kingdom — March 2026
A new safeguarding infrastructure initiative, SAFECHAIN™, has been launched by legal researcher and survivor-advocate Samantha Avril-Andreassen, aiming to address long-standing structural gaps in the way institutions respond to domestic abuse and coercive control.
Despite significant legal reforms in the UK—including the criminalisation of coercive and controlling behaviour under Serious Crime Act 2015 and the expanded definition of abuse introduced by the Domestic Abuse Act 2021—many survivors continue to report that their experiences are lost within fragmented safeguarding systems.
SAFECHAIN™ proposes a coordinated infrastructure designed to improve how institutions share safeguarding information, document patterns of abuse, and maintain accountability across agencies such as courts, police, healthcare providers, housing services, and social care.
“The law exists, but the culture of the courts has not caught up,” said Samantha Avril-Andreassen, founder of SAFECHAIN™.
“We are witnessing what I call the Recorder Paradox — where part-time judges may deploy aggressive litigation tactics in private practice that conflict with the trauma-informed standards they are expected to uphold when sitting on the bench.
The result is that survivors often find their experiences fragmented between institutions.”
SAFECHAIN™ introduces several structural proposals designed to strengthen safeguarding governance.
These include:
Chain of Custody for Victim Documentation
A safeguarding framework designed to preserve institutional records of vulnerability and abuse across agencies, preventing critical information from being lost between police reports, housing files, medical records, and court proceedings.
Institutional Safeguarding Interoperability
A technical and governance model enabling institutions to coordinate safeguarding responses through structured triggers and accountability protocols.
Seal of Integrity Accreditation
A professional standard recognising legal firms and organisations committed to ethical, trauma-informed practice when working with survivors of domestic abuse.
According to Avril-Andreassen, current safeguarding failures are rarely the result of a single institutional failure, but rather the absence of coordinated infrastructure connecting multiple agencies.
“Survivors frequently become the only bridge between institutions,” she said.
“They must repeatedly retell traumatic experiences to police officers, housing departments, doctors, social workers, and courts — often without any shared safeguarding record.”
SAFECHAIN™ aims to address this governance gap by creating a structured framework for institutional collaboration while maintaining strict data governance and privacy protections.
The initiative is currently developing policy papers and pilot proposals designed for engagement with government agencies, legal institutions, charities, and safeguarding organisations.
SAFECHAIN™ is intended as a long-term structural reform initiative that integrates policy innovation, trauma-informed practice, and technological infrastructure to strengthen safeguarding systems.
Media Contact
Samantha Avril-Andreassen
Founder — SAFECHAIN™
safe-chain.org
© 2026 Samantha Avril-Andreassen. All rights reserved.
“The law exists, but the culture of the courts has not caught up,” says, SAFECHAIN Founder, Samantha Avril-Andreassen.
“We are witnessing what I call the Recorder Paradox — where part-time judges may use aggressive litigation tactics in private practice that conflict with the trauma-informed standards outlined in the judicial bench guidance they are later expected to uphold in court.
This gap creates a dangerous space where the lived reality of abuse can disappear between institutions — between the police station, the housing office, and the courtroom.
SAFECHAIN™ was designed to close that gap.
It introduces a Chain of Custody principle for safeguarding documentation, ensuring that evidence of coercive control, vulnerability, and institutional contact is preserved across agencies.
Alongside this, SAFECHAIN™ proposes a Seal of Integrity — an accreditation standard for legal firms committed to ethical, trauma-informed practice.