SAFECHAIN™

Safeguarding Index

Measuring Institutional Integrity in Domestic Abuse Protection Systems

Author: Samantha Avril-Andreassen
Founder, SAFECHAIN™

© 2026 Samantha Avril-Andreassen. All rights reserved.

Introduction

Safeguarding responses to domestic abuse involve multiple institutions operating within interconnected public protection systems. These institutions include police forces, healthcare providers, housing authorities, domestic abuse services, and legal institutions.

While each institution operates under established statutory duties, safeguarding outcomes are also influenced by how effectively these systems coordinate their responses.

Policy discussions in recent years have increasingly highlighted the structural challenges created by institutional fragmentation across safeguarding systems.

The SAFECHAIN™ Safeguarding Index has been developed as an exploratory benchmarking framework designed to measure the strength of safeguarding governance across institutional environments.

The Index seeks to contribute to public policy discussions by examining how institutions support safeguarding integrity within complex multi-agency systems.

Purpose of the SAFECHAIN™ Safeguarding Index

The Index has three primary objectives.

1. To provide a structured framework for evaluating safeguarding governance across institutional environments.

2. To encourage institutional reflection on how safeguarding systems operate across organisational boundaries.

3. To support public policy discussions about strengthening coordination within domestic abuse protection systems.

Safeguarding Integrity Framework

The SAFECHAIN™ Safeguarding Index evaluates institutional safeguarding environments across five governance dimensions.

These dimensions reflect structural challenges identified in safeguarding reviews and domestic abuse policy discussions.

1. Participation Integrity

Participation Integrity examines how institutional systems support individuals experiencing trauma when engaging with safeguarding processes.

Key considerations include:

• recognition of trauma-informed communication needs
• support for individuals navigating institutional processes
• accessibility of safeguarding pathways
• consistency of engagement across agencies

Participation Integrity recognises that trauma responses may influence how individuals interact with institutional systems.

2. Documentation Continuity

Documentation Continuity evaluates how safeguarding information flows across institutional environments.

Key considerations include:

• consistency of safeguarding documentation across agencies
• clarity of information-sharing protocols
• coordination between institutional records
• continuity of safeguarding information across multi-agency systems

Effective documentation continuity can support stronger coordination across safeguarding environments.

3. Institutional Coordination

Institutional Coordination examines how agencies collaborate within safeguarding systems.

Key considerations include:

• structured communication between agencies
• multi-agency safeguarding frameworks
• clarity of institutional responsibilities
• coordination of safeguarding interventions

Strong coordination mechanisms can improve safeguarding responses across institutional systems.

4. Recognition of Coercive Control

This dimension examines how institutions recognise patterns of coercive control within safeguarding environments.

Key considerations include:

• institutional awareness of coercive control dynamics
• training and guidance for recognising psychological abuse
• documentation of coercive control patterns across agencies
• integration of coercive control recognition within safeguarding processes

Institutional recognition of coercive control is an important aspect of domestic abuse safeguarding.

5. Governance and Accountability

Governance and Accountability evaluates how safeguarding responsibilities are structured and monitored across institutions.

Key considerations include:

• clarity of safeguarding leadership structures
• institutional accountability mechanisms
• oversight of safeguarding responses
• transparency within safeguarding systems

Effective governance frameworks support institutional integrity within safeguarding environments.

SAFECHAIN™ Safeguarding Index Scoring Model

The Index assesses safeguarding environments across the five governance dimensions.

Each dimension can be evaluated using qualitative and quantitative indicators to provide an overall safeguarding integrity score.

Example structure:

Participation Integrity – 20 points
Documentation Continuity – 20 points
Institutional Coordination – 20 points
Recognition of Coercive Control – 20 points
Governance and Accountability – 20 points

Maximum Score: 100

Index Categories

Institutional safeguarding environments may be categorised based on their overall score.

80–100
High Safeguarding Integrity

60–79
Moderate Safeguarding Integrity

40–59
Developing Safeguarding Integrity

Below 40
Significant Safeguarding Governance Challenges

Policy Relevance

The SAFECHAIN™ Safeguarding Index is intended to contribute to policy discussions about safeguarding systems by providing a structured framework for examining institutional coordination.

The Index may support:

• safeguarding governance analysis
• institutional self-assessment
• policy research into safeguarding systems
• public discussions about domestic abuse protection frameworks

Relationship to the SAFECHAIN™ Framework

The Safeguarding Index complements the broader SAFECHAIN™ governance framework, which focuses on strengthening institutional coordination across safeguarding environments.

Together, these initiatives aim to contribute to ongoing policy discussions concerning the future of safeguarding systems.

Future Development

The SAFECHAIN™ Safeguarding Index may evolve through collaboration with researchers, safeguarding professionals, policymakers, and institutions engaged in strengthening domestic abuse protection systems.

The long-term aim of the Index is to encourage greater institutional reflection on safeguarding governance and coordination across public protection systems.

About SAFECHAIN™

SAFECHAIN™ is an independent initiative exploring structural approaches to safeguarding governance and institutional coordination within multi-agency environments.

The initiative focuses on strengthening safeguarding integrity across systems responding to domestic abuse and vulnerability.