‘They speak for you when you can’t speak’ An Evaluation of the Paladin Service Research Report

Abstract

The Paladin service is funded by the Big Lottery Fund and a range of other funders to provide trauma-informed support, advice and advocacy to high risk victims of stalking. From 2018 Paladin introduced a dedicated young people’s Independent Stalking Advocacy Caseworker (ISAC) for 16 to 25-year olds at high risk of stalking. The support is delivered by a team of specialist caseworkers. ISAC support predominantly entails safety planning and evidence gathering to ensure service users receive an improved response from the Police.
This report provides a dedicated evaluation using over 12 months of data collected on victims’ needs and system response. The report outlines findings using outcome data for 427 service users, 75 service user feedback forms, interviews with 15 service users and five ISAC’s, and five case studies. The majority of victims referred to Paladin in 2019 were White British females. Victims commonly knew their stalker and in most cases this had been an intimate partner.
Accessing specialist support is key to the emotional wellbeing and physical safety of victims of stalking, but for many the path to support was difficult and isolating. The report highlights some of the dangerous and inappropriate circumstances that victims face before accessing ISAC support, the inability of services to meet the needs of stalking victims and limited provision.