Introducing the Respect Competency Framework
We are delighted to launch Respect’s Competency Framework, a landmark resource designed to establish a shared standard for knowledge, skills and values across the domestic abuse perpetrator intervention sector.
Developed in close consultation with member organisations, practitioners and sector leaders, the framework reflects years of learning about what good practice looks like in this complex area of work.
Why does this matter?
The sector has grown and diversified significantly since the early days of domestic abuse perpetrator programmes. That growth is something to be proud of, but it has also meant that the opportunities for the professional development of practitioners have varied widely between services. This affects the capability of the workforce, but this is not simply a development problem, it is a safeguarding risk with real consequences for survivors and children.
What the Competency Framework does
The framework sets out what safe, effective and accountable practice looks like, for practitioners, service managers, trainers and commissioners alike. It is built around two core pillars: reflective practice and values-based practice, and includes competencies for all roles, from entry level through to proficiency.
Core competencies include values, knowledge and skills and apply across all roles. These are then supplemented by role- competencies for perpetrator practitioners, integrated support service practitioners (ISS), service managers and a range of specialist roles. The framework also describes a clear journey from entry point through to proficiency, recognising that learning and practice develop in parallel, rather than sequentially.
Respect’s Head of Services, Ippo Panteloudakis, said:
“We publish the Competency Framework confident that, if it becomes a shared foundation for safer, more accountable and more reflective practice across the sector, it will have achieved what it was designed to do.”
How your organisation can use it
Member organisations are encouraged to treat the framework as a living tool rather than a one-off reference document. It has been designed for use across the full workforce lifecycle: to strengthen recruitment and induction processes, to give structure to reflective practice, clinical supervision and appraisal conversations, to identify development needs and agree meaningful next steps, and to support quality assurance and accreditation evidence. Commissioners and partners can also draw on it to set clear expectations about what good practice looks like when designing or contracting services.
Read the framework
