Domestic Violence

Any incident of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse (psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional) between adults who are or have been intimate partners or family members, regardless of gender or sexuality.

Anyone can experience domestic violence; however, the overwhelming majority of domestic abuse is experienced by women from male partners, with 2 women being killed each week in England & Wales by partners/former partners.

Indications of domestic abuse:

• Being scared of your partner, being threatened or hit
• Feeling isolated from friends/family (perhaps because you are not allowed to go out or to attend social gatherings or to work without your partner’s permission).
• Feeling constantly undermined, put down and criticised.Living with someone who is jealous and possessive of you and controls what you do, what you wear, who you talk to etc.
• Being prevented from having access to money in the household.
• Being forced to have sex or feeling too frightened to refuse.

This is not a complete list – domestic abuse can be a very different experience for each individual and it can take a long time for a survivor to report – the Police tell us that an average of 35 separate assaults will occur before a person will report (many never do) and sometimes, domestic abuse does not entail physical violence. What is common in such relationships is the way in which a pattern of abusive behaviour is used to control and dominate the victim.

In South Notts, there are a range of specialist services which help protect and support survivors, plus a range of other agency help for issues which can be associated with domestic abuse (housing, alcohol/drugs concerns, or emotional health). Specialist services also provide help and support for children and even pets who are involved in households where violence occurs. There are initiatives such as MARACs (Multi-agency Risk Assessment Conferences for those facing the highest risk of harm) and the Sanctuary Scheme which can help make the home of a survivor safer and includes specialist support.

You can get advice on these by contacting the following numbers and if they can't directly help you; they will be able to give you contacts for someone who can:

• If there are immediate safety concerns you should contact the Police: 999
• Women: 24 hour freephone DV Helpline (this is a central number for advice and also helps to access specific local services/refuge/outreach/floating support and support for children) 0808 800 0340
• Women’s Aid Integrated Services: 0808 800 0341
• Men’s Advice Line: 0808 801 0327
• Broken Rainbow (Same sex abuse): 0300 999 5428
• Teen Relationships: www.respectnotfear.co.uk

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