Domestic Violence Doesn’t Discriminate Either!

We remember listening to the amazing Gudrun Burnet and the Domestic Violence Housing Alliance on a podcast and it struck a chord. Standing Together Against Domestic Abuse is a national charity bringing communities together to end domestic abuse. We openly talk about bullying and kindness, and we thought we knew what domestic violence was, but we learned so much.

Did you know that Domestic Abuse is a violation of basic human rights and a form of gender-based violence?

Domestic abuse occurs when a person or group of people use a pattern of coercion, violence or threatening behaviour to control and frighten an intimate partner or family member. It can include physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, emotional abuse, economic abuse, intimidation, manipulation and humiliation.

Domestic abuse is prevalent across the world and in the UK. Anyone can be subjected to domestic abuse, it doesn’t discriminate and it affects people regardless of socio-economic background, race, faith, sexuality and gender. However, domestic abuse is overwhelmingly perpetrated by men against women.

The Domestic Abuse statistics are harrowing:

• 1 in 4 women in the UK will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime
• 2 million adults aged 16 to 59 years experience domestic abuse in the UK every year
• (1.3 million women, 695,000 men)
• 750,000 children are exposed to domestic abuse a year
• Domestic abuse occurs in approximately 25% – 38% of same sex relationships
• Transgender individuals may be at even higher risk with some research suggesting 80% of transgender people have experienced abusive behaviour from a partner or former partner

Why is this particularly important to us? Well as Property Experts, we help our clients look after their homes and blocks, where their home is their castle and their sanctuary and yet, according to those subject to domestic abuse the home is often the most dangerous place.

We were horrified to find out that domestic abuse is one of the leading causes of homelessness amongst women and housing is the primary barrier for women attempting to leave abusers.

The data is again harrowing, as for people experiencing domestic abuse, the home is often the most dangerous place

• 75% of women killed by their partner or ex-partner in England and Wales are killed in their own home
• 40% of all homeless women state that domestic violence is a contributing factor in their homelessness
• 90% of young people leave home because of family conflict, including witnessing domestic violence or being a victim of physical or sexual abuse.

We weren’t surprised to find out that abuse generally increased during lockdown, our local Police Force, Avon and Somerset Police said it had seen a 10% year-on-year increase in the cases of domestic abuse with 2,000 more logged cases of domestic abuse crimes in 2020 than in 2019.

The Guardian reported that One call relating to domestic abuse was made to police every 30 seconds in the first seven weeks of lockdown. Victims of domestic abuse said that lockdown made it harder for them to escape their abusers.

Resources:

There are some amazing resources, we were so surprised that there are so many resources on the government website: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/domestic-abuse-how-to-get-help#get-help-and-support

Safe Spaces are in Boots, Morrisons, Superdrug and Well pharmacies, TSB banks and independent pharmacies across the UK.

[Safe Spaces - Boots, Superdrug, TSB, Morrisons, +Well, Pharmacy]

Once inside, specialist domestic abuse support information will be available for you to access. Many Safe Spaces are also prepared to respond to the ‘Ask for ANI’ codeword, to provide victims with a discreet way to access help calling the police on 999 or specialist support services.

There are so many more brilliant resources available, with so many helplines ready to help those who have the courage to ask for help. However, often they do not have the confidence to report their abuser and ask for help.

This is where we can all help.

The data is horrifying and the impact and how it affects the victims is harrowing.

So, what can we all do about it, what is our responsibility, because words and platitudes aren’t enough!

What we can all do.

Our moral responsibility is to recognise the signs and take action. Domestic abuse is behaviour from a family member, partner or ex-partner that is controlling, coercive, threatening, violent or abusive, and happens between people aged over 16. 

There are many reasons victims of domestic abuse may not report abuse from partners themselves. Our role is not to ask why our role is to report it.

Recognise the warning signs, which are varied and can include:

• Their partner puts them down in front of other people
• They are constantly worried about making their partner angry
• They make excuses for their partner’s behaviour
• Their partner is extremely jealous or possessive
• They have unexplained marks or injuries
• They’ve stopped spending time with friends and family
• They are depressed or anxious, or you notice changes in their personality

You may be a neighbour who may have seen or heard:

• Threatening and intimidating arguments, which may involve violent language or escalate to smashing up the furniture
• Arguments where the partner blames the other for their actions, saying they are “asking for it” or deserve the abuse
• Individuals with bruising or other visible marks, which may have been caused by physical abuse

For more information, click here.