Report domestic abuse

Domestic abuse is any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between individuals who are or have been intimate partners, or family members, regardless of gender or sexuality.

This definition covers, but is not limited to, the following types of abuse:

• Emotional or Psychological: any type of abuse that involves the continual emotional mistreatment of an individual, including deliberately trying to scare, humiliate, isolate or ignore an individual
• Physical: anything physical that is not consensual, including hitting, punching, kicking, slapping, hitting with objects, pulling hair, pushing or shoving, cutting or stabbing, restraining, strangulation, choking
• Sexual: including rape and coerced sex, forcing a victim to take part in unwanted sexual acts, refusal to practice safe sex or use contraception, threatened or actual sexual abuse of children
• Financial: including controlling money and bank accounts, running up debts in a person’s name, controlling how money is spent, refusing to allow them to study or work, and depriving them of essentials
• Controlling behaviour: a range of behaviour which makes a person reliant and/or dependent on another person by isolating them from support, exploiting their resources and capacity for personal gain, depriving them of the means of independence, resistance and escape, and regulating their everyday behaviour
• Coercive behaviour: an act or a pattern of acts of assault, threats, humiliation and intimidation or other abuse that is used to harm, punish, or frighten their victim
• Cuckooing: when criminals target the home of a vulnerable person, to use the property for criminal purposes, such as drug-dealing, hiding weapons, and other criminal activities. They move quickly between vulnerable people's homes for just a few hours, days or longer.

Anyone can carry out abuse or neglect, including:

• Spouses and partners
• Other family members
• Neighbours
• Friends
• Acquaintances
• Local residents
• Paid staff and professionals
• Volunteers and strangers.

Abuse can happen anywhere, e.g. in a tenant’s own home, in someone else’s home, in the street or even in an environment where it should be safe.

Domestic abuse can affect anyone. Research recognises that there are more cases of domestic abuse against women. However, men are also victims of domestic abuse. 

Abuse can occur in all types of relationships, including gay and lesbian relationships, and violence can occur from other family members, e.g. son or daughter being violent toward a parent. Domestic abuse can also affect more than one member of a household.

All Habinteg staff are responsible for dealing with reports of domestic abuse in accordance with the Domestic Abuse Policy and Procedure. Habinteg is also obligated to provide impartial and factual advice to both parties where a joint tenancy exists.

Scheme-based staff are responsible for responding to and acknowledging initial reports, and providing support to the victim. They are also responsible for reporting incidents promptly to their Neighbourhood Manager or Head of Housing.

Neighbourhood Managers are responsible for investigating more serious or complex cases, initiating and managing any legal action, monitoring and reporting of individual cases and closing cases.

All instances of domestic abuse will be treated as a priority and will be recorded and monitored throughout our investigation. We'll keep the person reporting the abuse informed of progress and what is happening. 

Whether you're a tenant or another concerned person, you can report domestic abuse to us:

• In person
• In writing
• Via the telephone
• Via email
• Via a third party such as a police officer, local authority or other partner organisation.

Please visit our contact us web page for full contact details.

Where there’s a sole tenancy and the tenant is the victim of domestic abuse, Habinteg may decide that additional security measures to the tenant's home may help.

Where there’s a joint tenancy and the abuser is a tenant, the tenancy can only be determined by the courts. Habinteg will provide advice about, and where appropriate assist in, contacting the police, local organisations and support services who deal with domestic abuse.

We’ll work alongside organisations to help stop the abuse while respecting our residents' views, feelings and wishes where possible.

You should be aware that if you raise concerns, we may need to share the details with the local authority or other agencies in order for them to investigate further.

If there’s an immediate risk to a child, young person, adult or yourself, please contact the police.

As every local authority has a safeguarding lead, you can also raise a concern about abuse directly with them. Call the council’s main number and ask to speak to the safeguarding lead or search for ‘safeguarding’ on their website.

You can report your concerns to a member of Habinteg staff. If the abuse is being carried out by a Habinteg employee, contact Habinteg Direct on 0300 365 3100 and ask to speak to a member of our Executive Management Team.

Women and men

Rape Crisis: 0808 802 9999

National Stalking Helpline: 0808 802 0300

Victim Support Line: 08 08 16 89 111

People with learning disabilities or autism

Respond: 0808 808 0700

Older people

Hourglass: 0808 808 8141

Age UK: 0800 169 2081

Women

National Domestic Violence helpline (run by Refuge): 0808 200 0247 (24 hours)

Refuge

Women's Aid

Children and teenagers

The Hideout

NSPCC: 0808 800 5000

ChildLine: 0800 1111

Men

Men's Advice Line (run by Respect): 0808 801 0327

ManKind: 0808 800 1170

SurvivorsUK: 020 3322 1860 (text)

LGBT+

National Helpline for LGBT+ Victims and Survivors of Abuse and Violence (rub by Galop): 0800 999 5428