Trauma-informed guidance for the Domestic Abuse Core Outcomes Set

We have commissioned the University of Sussex to develop guidance to support the implementation of the Domestic Abuse Core Outcome Set (DA-COS).

Inconsistent outcome reporting and the use of a wide range of measures present challenges to generating high-quality evidence for the effectiveness of different interventions that support children and families affected by domestic abuse. To develop the DA-COS, survivors, service providers, commissioners, policymakers, and researchers agreed on a small number of outcomes that are the most important to measure. In July 2025, we published research which sought to provide recommendations as to how the five outcomes in the DA-COS should be measured. This work identified valid and reliable tools to measure the impact of services on the outcomes of children who experience domestic violence and abuse. Read the full reports here.

Implementing the DA-COS presents an opportunity to standardise outcome measurement, enhance service effectiveness, and advance evidence-informed commissioning. However, integrating routine outcome measurement, especially in trauma affected and under-resourced settings, can be operationally and ethically challenging if not accompanied by clear, context-sensitive guidance.

The University of Sussex are developing guidance to ensure that the DA-COS is used ethically, effectively, and safely, with outcome measurement processes that are sensitive to survivors’ experiences, reduce risks of harm, and promote equitable participation across diverse contexts.

This is a nine-month project to produce electronic guidance, including structured participant engagement to define the scope and purpose of the guidance, rapid reviews of relevant evidence, and iterative drafting of recommendations grounded in research and lived experience.