CONTENTS
1. What is Domestic Abuse?
Domestic abuse is when one person behaves towards another where:
- both people are ‘personally connected’ to each other;
- they are over the age of 16; and
- the behaviour is abusive.
1.1 Who is involved?
People are ‘personally connected’ if they:
- are married to each other;
- are civil partners of each other;
- have agreed to marry one another or have a civil partnership (whether or not they are still planning to);
- are or have been in an intimate personal relationship with each other;
- have one or more children together (have parental responsibility);
- are relatives.
1.2 What behaviour is abuse?
Behaviour is abusive if it involves any of the following:
- physical or sexual abuse;
- violent or threatening behaviour;
- controlling or coercive behaviour;
- economic abuse;
- psychological, emotional or other abuse.
It does not make any difference whether the behaviour is a one-off incident or is made up of a number of incidents over a period of time.
Economic abuse is when someone stops another person:
- getting, using or keeping money or other property (like a mobile phone);
- buying goods or services (for example heating, food and clothing).
Domestic abuse also includes so called ‘honour’ based abuse, forced marriage and female genital mutilation.
1.3 Control and coercion
An abuser who is controlling or uses coercion does so to make the victim feel inferior or dependent on them. The abuser can do this by keeping the victim away from their family or friends, by taking their money and possessions for their own use, controlling and monitoring their everyday behaviour and depriving them of any way of being independent. They also will put a stop to any resistance the victim might show to the abuse and block any efforts they make to escape.
This can apply to people who are no longer in a relationship, but had been together previously.
2. Children
Abusive behaviour towards a child who is under the age of 16 is child abuse, not domestic abuse.
But children are recognised as victims of domestic abuse if they see, hear, or experience the effects of domestic abuse, and are related to the victim and / or the abuser, or if the victim and / or perpetrator have parental responsibility for the child.
3. Victims and Abusers of Domestic Abuse
Most domestic abuse is committed by men against women, but men can be abused by female partners and abuse can happen in same sex relationships.
It can also be committed by young people against other family members or their own partners, as well as abuse of older relatives or those with physical or learning disabilities.
Domestic abuse happens to many different people, no matter what their social class, race, ethnic, cultural or religious backgrounds, sexual relationships or sexual identity.
On average, victims suffer domestic abuse for between two to three years before seeking help, and experience 50 incidents of abuse before gettng help.
4. Taking Action
If someone tells you they are a victim of domestic abuse, tell your manager about your concerns as soon as you can. Tell the person you will have to tell your manager, particularly if there are children or adults with care and support needs in the same property.
If you think someone is a victim of domestic abuse but they have not said anything to you, do not ask them about it, but tell your manager about your concerns and what makes you think they are a victim.
If there is someone in the property who you find intimidating, again speak to your manager about your concerns and why you do not feel safe.
