What to do if you are a victim of domestic violence

We understand the severity of domestic abuse and we take a zero tolerance approach within our communities.

Our focus is to make sure all of our customers feel safe and that any victim of domestic violence has the help and assistance they need from us to help alleviate the problem.

You can contact us to make a report of any abuse within your home. If it is an emergency always call 999. We may be able to assist in making your home more secure or give advice to victims in being removed from a dangerous environment.

Even if you’re just looking for some general support and advice or all you want to do is talk to someone, we are here to offer a helping hand.

What is Domestic Abuse?

This type of abuse is usually carried out by someone close to you such as your partner, an ex-partner or an immediate family member. It can involve a number of behaviours that are controlling, coercive or threatening. Any of these behaviours can cause you physical, mental or emotional pain. Here are a few examples of domestic abuse that may relate to you:

• physical violence (this can include pushing, hitting, punching, choking and using weapons)
• psychological and emotional damage (playing mind games, blackmailing, making someone feel scared or even just making them feel bad)
• sexual abuse ( such as touching, groping, unwanted sex).

Women’s Aid offers some great information about accessing the internet in your local library, a friend’s house or at work as well as advice on saving evidence if you’re being sent threatening or harassing emails. Take a look at their expert advice here.

What can we do?

We take all reports of domestic violence extremely seriously because we believe that every person has the right to live without fear or abuse in their own home. We aim to support you and your family in the right way that suits your personal needs but our main priority is to keep you safe.

If you make a report to our team, we will make sure the information you give remains confidential and any conversations we have with you will be carried out in private. We can even meet face to face at a time and safe location that is convenient to you. Through our specialist schemes we may be able to:

• refer you to the best and most suitable organisations for greater support and counselling services within our network
• arrange for safer improvements to your home as required
• work with our partners such as the police to investigate any incidents
• if you are at immediate risk, we could refer you to the council for temporary accommodation and assist you in finding somewhere new to live that is safe, self-contained and fully furnished
• refer to specialist agencies as required