DoJ - Provision of an Advocacy Service for Victims of Domestic and Sexual Abuse

The Department of Justice (DoJ) has a range of powers relating to devolved policing and justice functions and is responsible for the legislative and policy framework of, as well as for resourcing, the justice system. It comprises four Directorates - Access to Justice, Safer Communities, Justice Delivery and Reducing Offending - and is responsible for a number of agencies and arm’s length bodies which enable it to deliver upon its priorities. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) seeks to keep people safe through policing with the community.

This involves understanding and responding to the human impact of policing, creating real participation between police and the community – a partnership in which policing reflects and responds to the community’s needs and in which the community plays an active part in delivering a solution. Tackling domestic and sexual abuse is a key priority for the Justice Minister, as well as for the Chief Constable of PSNI, much work has already progressed, and continues to be taken forward, at strategic, policy and operational levels, to address these issues in partnership with the other Executive Departments; statutory agencies and community and voluntary sector bodies. DoJ, in partnership with PSNI, wishes to appoint a service provider(s) to deliver revised Northern Ireland-wide advocacy services for qualifying victims of domestic and sexual abuse.

The current contract is intended to provide a service for all victims of domestic and sexual abuse who are engaging with the criminal justice system, those who are referred by the Rowan Sexual Abuse Referral Centre and for those who have been referred into a Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC).