

Domestic Violence & Abuse
Domestic violence takes place between people who have, or have had a relationship. They include husbands and wives, former partners and children. Domestic violence takes many forms, for example:
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Physical violence – hitting, pushing, causing injury or forcing the victim to have sex
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Threatening behaviour
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Swearing and shouting
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Behaviour that humiliates or degrades the victim
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Taking control of money
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Stopping the victim from leaving the home
Domestic violence can begin at any time during a relationship and tends to grow worse with time and become more frequent.
Who experiences domestic violence?
Domestic violence can happen in any type of relationship – heterosexual, gay, bisexual and transgender.
People suffer domestic violence regardless of their social group, class, age, race, disability, sexuality or lifestyle.
Children are often silent victims. To witness, or be a victim of, domestic violence can seriously affect a child’s behaviour, health, performance at school and long term future.
Factors that can trigger violence include:
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Trying to leave a partner
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Feeling alone and socially isolated because someone doesn’t speak English or has a disability that stops them from going out or talking to people
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Misuse of drugs and/or alcohol
Can anyone help?
To speak to someone in confidence for support, information or an emergency referral to temporary accommodation, contact the free 24-hour National Domestic Violence Helpline 0808 2000 247 or visit the National Domestic Violence Helpline website.