A national evaluation of Project Cautioning And Relationship Abuse (‘CARA’) awareness raising workshops for first time offenders of domestic violence and abuse: protocol for a concurrent mixed-methods evaluation design

Interventions related to the perpetration of Domestic Violence and Abuse (DVA) have gained traction over the past several years, in response to dissatisfaction by victims, an inadequate response from the criminal justice system, increased demand on police time and a lack of rehabilitative responses to the perpetration of domestic abuse. The CARA model is a conditional diversionary caution, offered by police for first time offenders of 'standard' or 'medium risk' domestic abuse, that engages perpetrators in awareness raising workshops and signposts them onto further services. Although quasi-experimental studies have indicated that CARA showed promise at reducing reoffending, the CARA model has yet to be evaluated nationally and there is no qualitative evidence related to understanding or learning about the lived experience of perpetrators and victims as they engage with the intervention.