Domestic abuse

Domestic abuse is an incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, threatening or violent nature between people over 16 years of age who are or have been intimate partners or family members.

Anyone can be an abuser or be abused regardless of gender or sexuality.

If you are forced to change your behaviour or who you are because you are fearful of your partner or ex-partner - this is abuse. It is never your fault!

There are many types of domestic abuse including, but not limited to:

• Physical abuse
• Psychological abuse
• Sexual abuse
• Coercive control
• Financial abuse
• Emotional abuse
• Online abuse

It’s important to remember that honour-based violence, forced marriages and female genital mutilation are forms of domestic abuse.

Domestic abuse is typically one person taking control of another person and many aspects of their life. It can also affect the wider household such as children, witnessing and experiencing the abuse.

Domestic violence or abuse can happen to anyone. Recognising the signs of abuse can be hard.

If you answer yes to any of the below you might be experiencing abuse:

• Does your partner attack you?
• Do they threaten to hurt you?
• Have they made threats to your children, your friends, family or pets, or even themselves?
• Are they jealous and possessive?
• Do they tell you what you can wear and who you can see?
• Do they control the money in your household?
• Do they embarrass or bully you in front of others?
• Are their family involved in abusing you?
• Are you are often left anxious or afraid?

It can be hard to admit, even to yourself that you are experiencing domestic abuse. Making the first step to get help is extremely brave. Remember domestic abuse can happen to anyone.

Regardless of how difficult your situation is, you can still get the help, advice and support you need by contacting us.

For more information on Domestic Abuse listen to our podcast series on Spotify below: 

The Southern Housing Group Podcast

To report domestic abuse, or if you have any concerns or questions, please contact us by calling our Customer Service Centre. Here are the details:

Report Now

Send your concern here

Contact Us
Call us: 01403 220440. Lines are open 9am – 5pm; Monday – Friday. Email us at service.centre@shgroup.org.uk

Safeguarding Team

0300 0200 538 - Line open 8am-4pm; Monday -Friday

safeguarding@shgroup.org.uk

Emergency
In an emergency please call the Police on 999

National Domestic Violence Helpline
A national free helpline which is available every day of the year

Freephone: 0808 2000 247 (24-hour helpline) 

Click here for more information and contact details for assistance

What happens next?

We realise that domestic abuse has a serious impact on those affected, therefore we make it our top priority to put the person affected at the centre of what we do.

Your safety and that of any children will be treated with importance. We record all reports of domestic abuse that are shared with us.

We treat each case seriously, sensitively and in confidence. A case handler, usually someone you know, such as your Home Service Manager will attempt to make contact with you within one working day of your report.

We’ll work with you to understand your current situation to make sure that you get the right support. You will then be provided with a unique action plan.

To help support you, we may also work with other partner organisations such as Victim Support, Women’s Aid, local authorities, specialised domestic abuse services, the police and other social landlords.

We understand being safe in your home is important and we can offer additional home security where it’s necessary after an assessment of your case.

We will complete a risk assessment checklist with you to identify the support you need and the level of risk you and your household may be at. In high risk cases we may make a Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences referral to share information with our partners to make sure that we’re all working together with you to help keep you safe.

If you are reporting domestic abuse on behalf of someone and wish for your details to remain confidential, these would not be disclosed.

For more information you can read our Domestic Abuse policy here

How you can get in touch...

If you do not feel comfortable speaking to us first, there are specialist charities you can contact for support, advice and guidance. We recommend that you contact the below services in addition to us as they specialise in domestic abuse cases.

If in immediate risk call 999, otherwise:

If you can't find a local support service the National Domestic Abuse Helpline offers support 24 hours a day. Please call them on 0808 2000 247.

Click here to download further contact details for victims of domestic abuse 

Call our Customer Service Centre on your usual local number or email service.centre@shgroup.org.uk