VISION Policy Briefing: The role of health services in identifying and responding to teenage relationship abuse

 

 

Introduction

Teenage relationship abuse (TRA) is a growing public health concern that the current statutory framework is ill-equipped to address. Under-16s fall outside the legal definition of domestic abuse entirely, creating significant gaps in identification, referral and intervention at precisely the age when abuse most commonly begins. A Youth Endowment Fund survey of 11,000 teenagers aged 13 to 17 found that 39% of those who had been in a relationship had experienced emotional or physical abuse, yet no coherent professional or legal framework exists to respond.

This VISION Policy Briefing draws on findings from three place-based practitioner roundtables exploring TRA and conducted in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Northumbria in 2025. As the first in a series of sector-specific policy briefs it sets out what the health sector is currently unable to do, where the opportunities lie, and what commissioners, NHS trusts and public health leads need to do differently. 

Key recommendations

  1. NHS commissioners to include TRA identification and referral in domestic abuse commissioning frameworks, explicitly covering under-16s
  2. Integration of TRA content into existing safeguarding and domestic abuse training frameworks for all health professionals working with young people, including GPs, school nurses, emergency services staff, sexual health clinicians and mental health practitioners – with outcome measurement built in
  3. Clear referral pathways from health settings into specialist TRA support to be established in every area, regardless of the young person’s age
  4. Health and Wellbeing Boards to include TRA as a public health priority in Joint Strategic Needs Assessments
  5. School health teams to be resourced and trained to deliver TRA/DA content as part of PSHE, building on the school nurse model in Oxford and aligned with the Mental Health Support Team roll out
  6. Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) to develop protocols for identifying TRA among young people presenting with mental health difficulties
  7. Extend operating hours for young people’s services

To download the VISION Policy Briefing: The role of health services in identifying and  responding to teenage relationship abuse

To cite: Weir, Ruth; Barrow-Grint, Katy (2026). VISION Policy Brief: Teenage Relationship Abuse and Health. City, University of London. Report. https://doi.org/10.25383/city.32292564.v1

For further information: Ruth at ruth.weir@citystgeorges.ac.uk

Policy Series