The Potential for Co-Production in Developing Violence Against Women Services in Wales

Abstract

The UK Conservative government has committed to increasing funding for domestic violence and abuse (DVA) services in England but this has not been extended to Wales. Wales has however made clear commitments to developing these services, through the Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act 2015. This article draws on focus groups and interviews with 53 service users and 31 purposively selected service providers to explore their perspectives on Violence Against Women (VAW) service provision in Wales. There are clear shared priorities and some tensions between service user and provider perspectives on appropriate services. Drawing on the long history of intermediate co-production in VAW services, the article argues that co-production at strategic level is now needed. This would provide an arena for resolving tensions, setting standards and developing funding criteria to enable co-produced VAW policy and build resistance to funding cuts.