Haven Domestic Abuse Service

Registered charity providing support, advice and safe housing for male and female victims of Domestic Abuse and their children. 

Established in 1987

Haven Domestic Abuse Service has been providing specialist Domestic Abuse Services since 1987. Our services have grown over the years, as well as providing refuge for people from all over the country, we aim to reach people living in rural parts of South Lincolnshire. 

Haven Domestic Abuse Service is a member of the Women’s Aid Federation of England (WAFE) and part of the Lincolnshire Domestic Abuse Partnership.

Our services have grown over the years and our organisation has evolved. The charity was founded in 1987 by two local ladies with a passion for helping people. Not long after opening a telephone helpline, they opened a Women’s Centre in Boston and a refuge to offer a safe place for up to four families.

Spotting the Signs

Warning signs that someone may be in an abusive relationship

Changes in appearance

Avoiding contact with friends and family

Declining invitations to social events

Appearing stressed often with physical symptoms

What is domestic abuse?

The UK government’s definition of Domestic Abuse is “any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening behaviour, violence or 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.”

Why we do  what we do

What abuse charities do and the difference our support can make.

Words from a survivor:

“When you first agree to work with a Domestic Abuse organisation to flee an abusive relationship, you are assigned a support worker. They call you at specific times and use agreed codewords to make sure you are able to talk safely and freely. They advise you on how to plan to leave the situation, what to take, what to do and what not to do. The reality is that you leave with what you can carry. In my case, a rucksack with three changes of clothes for each of us, whatever important documents I could gather, our medicines and electronics. I had a cheap pay-as-you-go mobile phone to use as all our electronics would need to stay on airplane mode to prevent us being tracked…

Words from victim-survivors we have helped

Your voice matters – feedback is important to us!