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Domestic abuse can be defined as:
‘Any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening behaviour, violence of abuse between those aged 16 or over who are, or have been, intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality. The abuse can encompass, but is not limited to Psychological, Physical, Sexual, Financial, Emotional.’
The abuse can also include Digital/On-line Abuse, Gaslighting, Revenge Porn, Stalking and Harassment.
Home Office guidance also includes culturally specific forms of harm which impact upon black and minority ethnic (BME) women. This can include, but is not limited to, Forced Marriage, Dowry related abuse, Honour crime and Female genital mutilation.
Anyone can experience domestic abuse, regardless of their age, gender, religion, sexuality, or ethnicity. However, statistically women are much more likely to be victims of Domestic abuse than men. Children can also be victims of Domestic Abuse, if they see, hear, or experience the effects of the abuse.
There are different kinds of abuse, however it’s ultimately about the abuser having power and control over the victim. The abuse often starts subtly and gets worse over time, so initially it may not be recognised as abuse.
Some signs of Domestic Abuse are:
- Being belittled or put down.
- Being blamed for arguments and abuse.
- Being isolated from family, friends and professionals.
- Putting restrictions on movement i.e stopping you from attending college, work or visiting GP.
- Accusations of flirting or having affairs.
- Telling you what to wear, where you can go and who you can see.
- Controlling your finances, not allowing you access to your own money, withholding money or telling you how to spend your money.
- Monitoring your social media, emails, texts and phone calls.
Demanding to always know where you are, using GPS trackers or location services on mobile devices to track you. - Threatening to hurt or kill you.
- Threats to kill themselves or children.
- Destroy your belongings.
- Physically abusing you by slapping, pushing, kicking, biting or strangling you.
- Touching you in a way you don’t want to be touched.
- Make unwanted sexual demands.
- Pressuring you to have sexual intercourse.
- Hurting you during sexual intercourse.
If you're in immediate danger, phone 999.
If you’re unable to speak and are calling from a mobile phone:
- Stay silent
- Press 55
- Stay on the line while you’re connected to help
If you’re deaf or hard of hearing:
- Use the textphone service 18000
- Or send a text to 999 if you’re registered with the emergency SMS service
- Consider asking someone to call the police for you.
To register for the emergency SMS service, text REGISTER to 999.
Try to move to a safe place, avoiding rooms such as kitchens where harmful objects may be within reach.
Always keep your phone charged and close to you.
Keep a small amount of money, emergency contacts, phone and important documents in a safe, accessible place in case you need to leave in a hurry.
Find out how to report or get support for domestic abuse if you’re not in immediate danger.
Southway Housing Trust
At Southway our staff can:
- Offer appropriate advice and guidance
- Provide housing options advice
- Offer safety planning to improve your safety
- Offer additional safety measures to help you feel safer in your home
- Signpost and refer to specialist domestic abuse services
- Complete Domestic Abuse Risk Indicator Check List and refer to The Domestic Abuse Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC), where applicable
- Offer a safe, confidential, inclusive, and non-judgemental space to disclose
- Hold perpetrators to account
How to contact us for help and support or report concerns relating to Domestic Abuse
You can call our customer hub on 0161 448 4200 (8am-5.30pm Monday to Friday only)
Or you can complete the form below which goes to the housing management and support team. Once we receive your completed form we will make contact with you in 1 working day.
Refuge National Domestic Abuse Helpline
- Free and in confidence
- 24-hours a day
- 0808 2000 247
- www.refuge.org.uk
End The Fear
- Greater Manchester Domestic Abuse Support
- Mon-Fri - 10am - 4pm
- 0161 636 7527
- helpline@independentchoices.org.uk
- www.endthefear.co.uk
Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVA)
- Provides a specialist professional who works with victims of domestic abuse.
- Mon-Fri - 10 - 12pm & 1 - 3pm
- 0161 234 5393
- advisory.service@manchester.gov.uk
- www.hsm.manchester.gov.uk
- An organisation that ensures people suffering, or at risk of domestic violence and abuse, receive appropriate support. They Deliver services from their base at the Pankhurst Centre
- Mon-Fri - 9.30am - 7pm
- 0161 660 7999
- referrals@manchesterwomensaid.org
- www.pankhursttrust.org
Saheli
- An organisation providing a service to Asian women suffering from domestic abuse. They give victims a chance to get away from violent domestic abuse situations by providing an environment which is safe, culturally familiar.
- 0161 945 4187
- email us: help@saheli.org.uk
- http://saheli.org.uk
Karma Nirvana
- Working to end Honour Based Abuse in the UK.
- 0800 5999 247
- https://karmanirvana.org.uk/
Galop
- UK’s LGBT+ anti-abuse charity, working with and for LGBT+ victims and survivors of interpersonal abuse and violence.0800 999 5428
- https://galop.org.uk/
Respect Men’s Advice Line
- Helpline for male victims of domestic abuse.
- 0808 801 0327
- https://mensadviceline.org.uk/
Sexual Assault Referral Centres SARCs and Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVAs)
- Provide specialist tailored support to victims and survivors of sexual violence.
- St Mary’s Centre 24-hour helpline 0161 276 6515.
- https://www.stmaryscentre.org/
National Stalking Helpline, Suzy Lamplugh Trust
- Open 09:30 - 16:00 Monday to Friday 0808 802 0300
- https://www.suzylamplugh.org/pages/category/national-stalking-helpline
Respect
- Provide help for domestic violence perpetrators.
- 0808 8024040
- https://respectphoneline.org.uk/
Shelter in Manchester
Other resources
Here are some useful websites:
- FLOWS which stands for Finding Legal Options for Women Survivors, is a legal support service, designed to help protect women against domestic abuse.
- Hestia Bright Sky is a safe, easy-to-use app and website that provides practical support and information about domestic abuse.
- Hollie Guard is a smartphone app that provides a personal alarm, deterrent, evidence catcher and more.
- Women's Aid - The Survivors Handbook
- Pankhurst Trust - Advice on helping children
- Pankhurst Trust - Children's and Young People's Services
Social housing across Greater Manchester is subject to high demand, with a very limited provision to meet this demand. Consequently, waiting times to be rehoused are substantial.
Southway and the local authority want to, where possible, keep individuals/families living safely in their current home. However, we acknowledge that sometimes the risk may be too great to support this option.
If you feel remaining in your current accommodation presents an immediate risk of harm, then you would need to consider accessing temporary accommodation via the local authority or refuge accommodation via Domestic Abuse Services.
Please contact Manchester City Council Housing Solutions Team on: 0161 234 4692 (9am-4.30pm) Out Of Hours/Emergency: 0161 234 5000 to explore your wider re-housing options.
If you do not feel safe to remain in Manchester, then you can contact any other local authority homeless team and request a homeless assessment due to fleeing domestic abuse.
If you are living within Manchester and have done so for the last 2 years and wish to be rehoused within Manchester, please register on Manchester Move and indicate Domestic Abuse as reason for moving.
To obtain information on current housing demand and wait times, please visit Manchester Move.
Homes should be a happy and safe place for us all, unfortunately, for anyone experiencing Domestic Abuse, this is far from reality. Home can be a distressing and dangerous place to be.
As an organisation, we take Domestic Abuse seriously and want to deliver the best possible support, to any of our tenants, who are experiencing Domestic Abuse. We are also committed to holding perpetrators to account.
Southway has signed up to the Chartered Institute Of Housing’s ‘Make a Stand Campaign’, to tackle domestic abuse.
https://www.dahalliance.org.uk/
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